Photos from Scotland's heatwave

As I may have mentioned before, it has been very hot here. Up to 33 degree Celsius, which for Scotland is not normal. However it has meant a lot of really nice sunsets and an opportunity to play with my camera. Although we have not had much rain, we have had some wonderful skies and the colours of the landscapes have been stunning. So, while I have been melting into a greasy spot over the last few weeks, there have been some bright spots too.

Home made knitting bags

Recently my Mum got new curtains for her kitchen. As always seems to be the case with shop bought curtains, they were way too long and she had to cut them to fit. The offcuts were adopted by me. So, when I was looking to try out some project bag designs I headed straight for the spare fabric.

I managed to get three bags out of one of the remnants. The first one is a medium size bag that I am keeping my current knitting in, a scarf using Olann 4 ply yarn. It was made by folding a rectangle of fabric in half, stitching up two sides (remembering to add the handle to one side before stitching) and adding a zip to the top. Not rocket science and does the job very well. The Olann yarn is wonderful, by the way. I'm very excited about using it.

The next one was made using an image I found on Pinterest. Unfortunately I cannot find it now but there were no written instructions, just a picture of a pattern and a few photos to show the construction. So it was all a bit hit or miss - and a few choice words. But it worked out OK. It's a cute little cube bag that will hold my smaller knitting tools like stitch markers, measuring tape and stitch counter.

The last one is a bigger bag. There is a canvas knitting bag that is very popular at the moment. I have seen them on a few blogs and vlogs. However, when I went to check them out I choked on my cup of tea when I saw the price. What? £60 for a project bag!!! (That's $65 US or €68.) Erm, there is no way I could afford to pay that for a project bag, even if it was rather nice. So I tried to make a similar design myself, without a pattern.

The 'real' project bag has a very simple construction. No fancy panels, it's pretty much cut from one piece of fabric, has no lining and just a couple of pockets inside. I didn't want to copy the design precisely but there were some elements that I liked, e.g. the yarn guides on the inside pocket and the drawstring.  I also added a lining to mine as the curtain fabric was quite lightweight.

I am pretty pleased with how it looks. I hand twisted my own drawstring using some 4ply woollen yarn I had in my stash. The eyelets were the hardest part. The instructions always say, 'tap lightly with a hammer' when they really mean 'beat the 'so-and-so' into submission using all your strength'. But it is done and I am happy. It is my first fully functioning knitting bag with lots of pockets and with a multitude of uses.

Return of some favourite paper beads

I have some favourite paper beads back in stock after a year on vacation. Vintage Music, Vintage Script and Day of the Dead are all back on Etsy. They were some of my best sellers for years but, eventually, their popularity waned and I gave them some time off. In October, however, my Etsy store (and the beads) will be 10 years old and I feel it was only right that these beads get to take part in the celebrations. More news on that to come nearer the time.

What on earth is a lotion bar?

This week I made some lotion bars. I don't know about you, but I had never heard of them before. It turns out that they are a solid form of skin softener, much like lotion in a bottle, but in a bar. I came across them by chance last week while watching a knitting podcast. I had to investigate.

Basically, they are a combination of natural fats and oils that can be scented with essential oils. When set they are used by rubbing them over the skin, rather like you would use a bar of soap but without the water. They are really simple to make - I mean REALLY simple. I have always loved making my own beauty treatments (when I was growing up my Mum's bathroom looked like a war zone after some of my 'experiments') so I had to try it.

This is the basic recipe that I used. Equal measures of shea butter, beeswax and coconut oil. As simple as that. The recipes I read were all American which meant 'cups' were mentioned as units of measure. But as long as you are using equal quantities it doesn't matter how much or how little you use. You could use a tea spoon of each for a very small quantity.

I found a seller on Ebay selling 25g bags of shea butter and used 25g each of the coconut oil and beeswax which I happened to have at home. These small quantities made 12 little 'bars' for my own use. You need to use a 'double boiler' or 'bain marie' style set up. I used a jar sitting in a saucepan with water (see below) and set it over a low heat until everything was melted. It took about ten minutes. Then I poured the liquid carefully into an old silicone mould I had in the cupboard. I have read that they last for six months to a year but they do need to be kept out of direct sunlight and away from heat - otherwise they melt into a puddle of goo.

My 'double boiler' in action

Lotion bar recipe:
25g of shea butter
25g of coconut oil
25g of beeswax
Essential oils of your choice

Method:
Put all the ingredients into a double boiler and bring the water to a gentle simmer. Heat all the ingredients using a low to medium heat until melted, stirring occasionally. Once everything has melted and combined, add the essential oil to suit your own sense of smell. Pour CAREFULLY into a silicone mould or ice cube tray. Leave to cool and set (you can put the moulds in the fridge to speed this up).

I did not use any essential oils in my first batch but did for the second. It actually took more oil than I expected to get a subtle scent so it really is about trial and error. Just add a little at a time until you get a scent that you like. You can mix essential oil scents too. I used patchouli and rose. The natural smell of the oils is very pleasant though.

As I work with paper so often I find that my finger tips get very dry and rough. Since I started using the lotion bar my fingers are much less dry. Definitely a thumbs up from me.

If you would like to know more, the best article I read on the subject is by Little Pine Low Carb. She goes into lots of detail about using beeswax (or not using beeswax) and gives some wonderful recipes. I now know what people will be getting for Christmas this year. By the way, the mixture makes great lip balm too.