Quilting & Soapmaking

Finally caught up on the Tonga Rhapsody BOM, here are all seven blocks with the sashing.........

There is more sashing and other stuff that goes along with the blocks, you can see a photo of the finished quilt if you go here.

In the past few months I have been busy researching soap making......Rhonda at Down to Earth has a very informative post (just click on the blog name) the recipe that she posted is the one that I used, it's very simple, just what I needed for the first time.  The only thing that I added was Lavender Essential Oil.  I also read 'Soap Maker's Workshop' by Dr. Robert S. & Katherine J. McDaniel, it was very helpful and included a DVD that showed the process.  Here are some photos I took, the first one shows how I had everything set up and ready for each step................

The white "box" is an old Styrofoam cooler that is lined with a trash bag, I used this as my "mold".  The jar with the clear liquid in it is the water that I added the lye into, it is cooling while I heat the oils.  You can see the small bottle of essential oil that is ready to be added to the soap, you can also see off around the corner the hand blender ready to go, I just used newspaper to protect the counter top. 

Heating the olive oil and coconut oil (the white chunks).......

The soap just before it's ready to be poured into the "mold"...............

Today I took it out of the mold and cut it into bars, now I just need to wait approximately 6 weeks for them to "cure"!  Overall the process is very simple, that being said, it is VERY IMPORTANT that you do your homework before making your first  batch of soap, Lye is very caustic, so please do the research before trying this for the first time.  I was also able to speak to a friend of a friend that has been making soap for over 10 years she was able to give me some great tips, like the cooler as a mold, and using a tall jar to mix the water and lye, so be sure to check with friends they might be able to give you some great tips! 

See the "chicken" in the background, I picked up her up in the free bin at the quilt shop, rusted to perfection!

New BOM & a New Skill

Friday's snow meant that I had to wait an extra day to pick up my new Block of the Month.......Tonga Rhapsoday designed by Wing and a Prayer. 

This will be the first quilt I have ever done with batiks, I really love the colors!

When I read  the directions I realized that I had to paper piece four of the sections, I was concerned because I have never done it before.....well thanks to the Internet and the two quilting "bibles" that I have I was able to figure it out!  As a matter of fact I'm excited because I will be able to try some of the blocks in The Civil War Love Letter Quilt book that I bought last summer! 

This afternoon I finished up block 1 of Tonga Rhapsody........

I am going to behave and NOT sign up for any new BOM for a while, I have lots of projects that are WIPs and many more that I would like to make.  Especially since I now have a new skill that I will have to practice sometime soon!