I made a small batch of goat milk soap a few weeks ago…now they are ready for use. This one is made using all vegetable oil include rice bran, which is one of my favorite oils to use in soap making.

As for the scent, I prefer to use only essential oils (neroli and bergamont) since it has many skin healing benefits as well.

Goat milk itself makes for a great skin conditioning soap. Adding mineral rich Dead Sea mud also helps with detoxifying the skin. The mud contains minerals such as potassium, magnesium, sodium, bromine and calcium. And when applied to the skin it helps to detoxify and improve circulation.

I also included a little bit of Dead Sea salt as it’s proven to help with clear up skin problems. I guess I can say this is one healthy skin soap.

This is the first vest I knitted following a pattern provided by Debbie Stroller. Debbie is known for many popular knitting books and her website has lots of cute patterns. Check it out here!

Once you get the pattern going, the cables and balls are actually fun to knit.  I didn’t use Debbie’s yarn, but substituted with Lion Brand wool-ease.

It only took 2.5 balls of yarn and a few weeks to knit.  I ended up tweaking this pattern a bit.   As for the pattern inside the diamond cable, it was not done with seed stitch but instead has ribbing. And for the stitching the shoulder, I used Kitchener Stitch because it comes out looking seamless.

I am thinking of making another one in navy or cream color.  And also try knitting the vest in the round so there is less to weave or sew together.

The vest is a size medium and fits me just right.I was hoping this vest would be wearable in the spring, but so far it’s been too warm. Guess it will come in handy for next autumn and winter.

Photo of “Study Hall Vest” by Stitch Nation designed by Vladimira Cmorej for Debbie Stroller.

This gray speckled soap is one of my latest handmade soap made with Dead Sea mud and salt.

Ingredients: Organic extra virgin coconut oil, palm oil, soybean oil, rice bran oil, water, sodium hydroxide, Dead sea mud & salt, Neroli essential oil.

It’s one of the newest soap I’ve been wanting to make and try for the longest time. Because of the Dead Sea mud and salt, this bar would be great for those with skin disorders such as psoriasis, eczema or acne. Great as a facial or body bar.

It still requires a few more weeks to cure, but still OK to use at only 2 weeks. It’s a nice hard bar with tiny bubbles. Unfortunately the Neroli essential oil scent disappeared after a few days of curing. So it doesn’t have much of a scent. But the best part is that it leaves skin super soft and clean.

I only made a small batch and with many of my handmade soaps, they all seem to last a long time.

There is silver yarn, now there’s silver soap… actually made with Colloidal Silver. CS is great stuff, mostly known for it’s immune strengthening abilities. I usually have a bottle of CS around and take a couple of tsp a day when I feel a cold coming. I also like to apply some CS on cuts and noticed how fast my skin heals.

So adding CS to soap is a fantastic idea! There are many skin care brands out there with their version of CS soap.

Cor’s standard size soap (120 gram, about 4 oz) sells for $120…yes that is correct. Before you lay down all that cash for soap, they also have trial size bar you can try for $15.

This is what COR states about their soap, ” It has been shown to even out the skin tone, reduce the appearance of sun spots and pore size, maintain the skin’s natural moisture factor, visibly reduce the signs of aging, and protect against the hazardous effects of the sun.” If it’s true then it sounds like amazing stuff.

Like any other beauty product out there, it depends on the person’s particular skin type, so results may vary.  Overall, many Amazon’s reviewers believe it’s really helped their skin.

Other makers of CS soap include The Heritage Store’s CS soap at a more reasonable and affordable price of $3.97 for 3.5 oz bar.

Besides CS soap, I’m thinking another great way to add CS to skincare is to just spray the solution onto skin after washing it. A simple and great way to prevent break-outs. Much like a skin toner, but made with CS.

Even when I haven’t made new soap lately, I am still always happy to hear about new soaps along with all their skin healing benefits.  If I were to make CS soap anytime in the future, I would make one with Dead Sea mud or maybe activated charcoal and peppermint essential oil for a refreshing scent.

I found this cute scarf pattern from Lion Brand Yarn. It’s called “Meandering Rib Scarf”.  I love that it’s reversible, as both front and back looks the same.

It was a simple project with only two knit type of stitches (knit & purl). Just be sure to keep count!

Sometimes it’s nice to have a simple project at hand. Something to knit a bit, leave, and pick up again.

Nothing is more relaxing then getting the chance to sit down and knit a few rows each day.

The one pictured on the chair was knitted by Lion Brand Company.  It looks so pretty - all nice and plush. They used Fisherman’s Wool, which is a lovely wool to knit.

My version was knitted with machine washable acrylic yarn. It’s surprisingly warm and soft.

As much as I love wool yarn, most of them are a bit itchy. Unless it’s merino or cashmere blend. Cascade’s super wash wool is another nice one that isn’t too itchy for me.

Lion Brand has lots of nice and free patterns. Registration is also free. Enjoy!

Photo on right is from Lion Brand Yarn.

I first saw these books at the local bookstore and thought what a cute and clever idea! Especially if you love knitting and love cats… or dogs.

And to my surprise I received these books as gifts. I got both “Knit Your Own Dog” and “Knit Your Own Cat” books.

Knit Your Own Cat: Easy-to-Follow Patterns for 16 Frisky Felines
The Second Litter: 25 More Pedigree Pooches
by Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne

Just from flipping through both books, the dog one has more realistic looking knit dogs. There are neat little tidbits of information about each pedigree.

Here’s a knit Weimaraner. Some interesting notes from the book, “Originally from Germany, the Weimaraner has been a popular gun dog with European royalty. A bit of a clinging vine, once a Weimaraner trusts you it won’t leave your side. Surprising owners have included Brad Pitt and Ataturk.”

The cat version of the book had cat’s with such funny faces. It must be hard trying to knit tiny cat heads. I would probably change it up and give the cats larger eyes since cat’s do have huge eyes. Almost like cartoon characters.

But there are still a few cute cats, especially the Tabby (which comes in Orange or Gray stripes) that are nice. And the classic black and white cat Tuxedo cat is cute too. Maybe I’m just bias because these cats look just like the cats I’ve come to know and love.

I have yet to knit anything from the book so I can’t say much about the patterns. I do like that the book is small and would fit nicely into a book bag. Just looking through the pages is fun enough.

I’ve heard so many nice things about Noro Yarn that I finally got my hand on them. It’s very pretty yarn made of 70% wool and 25% silk.

Here’s a little bit of history about Noro Yarn:

Noro Yarn was founded 30 years ago in Japan by an artist name Eisaku Noro. Noro is a gifted painter that decided to become an artist in yarns instead. His yarn color composition reflects his artistic talent.

Many knitwear designer like using Noro Yarn for their pieces. One of my favorite is French designer Danièle Dietrich of Elle Tricote. There is a warm Bohemian feel to this look. Photo from Elle Tricote.

On an ecological factor, Noro’s usage of chemicals is reduced to the absolutely necessary minimum.

Despite their warehouse being located near the March 11 Tsunami, Noro states their yarn was not effected by the radiation and has inspected the yarn for safety.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wishing everyone a warm and wonderful Christmas. - CN

This would make for a good morning. I especially love how surprised the cat was to see the yarn invasion.

This was posted on Youtube by madeofwool. It’s a knitted adventure about a boy and his cat who travel far and wide to deliver parcels in their little red plane. Two of my favorite, knitting and stop motion animation - all in one cute adventure. Very cute & creative!

I’ve always admired “entrelec” knitting and have finally decided to give it a try. This type of knitting gives the appearance of basket woven strips of knitwear.

The pattern for this colorful entrelec beret is free from Lion Brand Yarn and Ravelry. You do have to register as a member to get the pattern. Don’t worry, signup is free.
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The ribbing and main color is knitted with worsted weight wool blend yarn from unknown brand. And the second color is knitted with Lion Brand’s “Amazing” line of variegated wool blend yarn in Aurora.

It does take some practice to begin knitting entrelec. And there are lots of turns after the diamonds are finished. But once you memorize the steps, it can be lots of fun. And I found that entrelec knitting in the round is much easier than flat entrelec knitting.

Overall the beret came out nice and colorful, except it was a bit too “slouchy” for my taste. I’m thinking of making a smaller version, using less stitches and row. It would have been nice to add this hat to my list of Christmas gifts, but maybe next winter.

Today I picked up a new knitting book, ““. There were lots of nice sweater patterns that I’d love to work on someday. Exactly when I will knit them, I don’t know.

The thought of accumulating more knitting books made me wonder if this book will just end up collecting dust on my shelf.

So why do I keep buying more knitting books? Just like some ladies I know, they can never have enough shoes or purses. I guess for me, there can never be too much yarn or knitting books!

So here’s a few more knitting books I like to add to my wishlist:

: Making 20 Figures with Wool Roving and a Barbed Needle

“Anyone can make cute and cuddly creatures from a handful of fluff and a barbed needle! There are only a few books written on the subject and most of those focus on ‘flat’ needle felting on a surface. This book is about sculptural needle felting—creating 3-D animals and figures using the felting needle to sculpt wool.”

The mama & baby penguins are too cute! I’m not exactly sure what to do with little wooly animals… maybe Christmas ornaments?

: An Introduction to Revolutionary Knitting with 28 Modern Projects by Daniel Yuhas

“In Knitting from the Center Out, Daniel Yuhas teaches knitters the fascinating technique of starting a project with just a few stitches and knitting outward, in revolutions (or circles).

Throughout the book are enlightening explanations of the underlying math and the architecture of the flat and dimensional shapes.”

This new way of knitting sounds really interesting. I am a fan of circular knitting and would love to try something like knitting from the center out.

When it comes to knitting, I think Daniel Yuhas said it best, “It’s amazing how two sticks, two stitches, and some twisted string can be combined in so many innovative ways to make so many beautiful things.”

All photos from Amazon.com