I have been heavily into the procrastination bug lately. I have Uni assignments that have been fully researched but I am putting off writing them for some reason. The upside of this procrastination bug is that my house is much cleaner and my craft is going great guns. I have been making a lot of soap sacks in the last month. I originally started out with a knitted pattern that I linked to in my last blog. Here is a picture of some of the finished products.
These soap sacks have either a lavender soap with lavender flowers mixed through it or a lemongrass soap that is coloured green. They both smell divine. The soap sacks are so easy to knit and only take about an hour for me. I found that I could knit them relatively quickly but I always put off sewing them up. It wasn't hard but that is my least favourite part of knitting. I had a think about it and decided that I would rather try and develop a crochet pattern that could be done in rounds so that I could eliminate the majority of the sewing up.
Here is a photo of my crocheted soap sack. They take the same amount of time to make up but I have now eliminated the drudgery of sewing the seams together. Here is how I made them for anyone interested in giving them a go.
Crocheted Soap Sack
Using a 5 mm crochet hook and 8ply cotton, Ch (chain) 12.
Round 1 - SC (Single crochet) in second chain from the crochet hook and every chain until end. Ch 1. SC in the bottom loops of original chain. Ch 1. Slip stitch to first SC.
Round 2 - Ch 1. SC in each SC and Ch until you return to the beginning. Slip stitch to first SC. (24 SC in total)
Round 3 - Ch 3. DC (Double crochet) in each stitch until end. Slip stitch to first SC.
Round 4 and 5 - Ch 1. SC in each stitch until end. Slip stitch to first SC.
Repeat rounds 3 to 5 another 3 times or until soap sack is long enough.
Loop round - Ch 1. 1 SC, *1 Ch, 1 SC in second stitch*, repeat from * until end.
Next 2 rows - Ch 1. SC in each stitch. Slip stitch to first SC in round.
Finish by tying off the thread and sewing it into the soap sack to hide it. Thread some ribbon through the loops to allow the soap sack to be closed off.
I have also been knitting some new slippers for me. I use 3 balls of 8ply wool and 1 ball of feathers for strength. Harley and I both live in these sorts of slippers for about 9 months of the year as we live in a cold part of the world. Here is a photo of my new slippers.
My next project was a blanket for a friend who has just had a baby. I thought that this blanket would be so thick and warm and would be perfect for the cot or the pusher when out. I was disappointed that I couldn't get a pastel blue colour in a thicker wool so I made it a darker blue. It is just a simple rectangular granny square. Rather than individual squares though, I decided to just keep doing it in rounds until it was big enough. I wouldn't have wanted to do it much bigger though as it was getting very awkward to work with.
Lastly, I have also made 2 new batches of soap. I have a picture of my raspberry soap that is a gorgeous red colour. I made this soap with my new soap moulds which were so easy to use. I bought proper soap moulds so they were more even in their appearance. I have also done another batch since this one that is a sandalwood soap and is a greeny/yellow colour. It hasn't had enough time to dry properly yet. Here is the raspberry soap though.
I got 16 of the rectangle bars and the 4 character soaps. All the children who come here when I am making soap think the frogs and ducks are so cute so these will probably end up being presents for children. I used the same recipe as my previous entry and it, again, made heaps of soap.
My plan from now on is to concentrate on finishing all of the granny squares for my blanket. Harley likes the idea so much that, when my blanket is finished, he has put in an order for his own too. I also will need to make a couple of aprons as my sister in law and my sister are both having birthdays in the next month so I will need to make gifts. Happy crafting and soap making everyone.
