Booties, Soapmaking, Non-Business Stuff

I just noticed that I like to title my blogs with a list of three items. Must be the way I think or something. Anyway, here are some more pictures and a few thoughts.



I finished the booties in the nick of time before the shower. Aren't they cute? That funky smudge my camera did at the top make them look ethereal or something. (I really need to replace my camera, as the next three pictures will attest.)
On Monday night, I went over to Annie's house for a soapmaking/craft night. I met Annie a few weeks ago at the Church of Craft meeting, and she was nice enough to include me. Here's a picture of all the participants and the finished products (plus some lemons). Left to right: Annie, Jessica, Susan (standing--I met her last summer at Church of Craft), Libby, and me (standing). I had such a good time making soap, eating lavender shortbread cookies (homemade by Jessica), knitting, and meeting some new people. Plus, we did a swap of things we didn't want anymore. Some of my clothes found a new home, and I went home with an awesome black short-sleeve shirt with a cool collar. I hope to do it again soon! (And I apologize if I got anyone's name wrong. I'm really horrible with names.)
Here's a close-up of the soap. Aren't the duckies cute? Soapmaking can be really addicting. I still want to try the lye method, but I need to buy a lot more supplies for that than the melt-n-pour method. Plus, I'm afraid I'll blind myself or something.

Here's a really crappy picture from the shower on Tuesday. The woman in beige is Jackie--she organized the shower (and made us play fun games). The woman in white is Michelle, who's expecting the baby in July. I really enjoy knitting for babies; right now I'm planning my next project for Fatma, Niki's co-worker who's expecting this summer. After that, if I run out of babies, I'll start over on the ones I've already knit something for. And I'm still trying to figure out a cute sweater or ensemble for Tiana that could be ready by the time Denver winter hits. Something tells me it will have to be pink.

In other news, I had a really bad day at work yesterday. To help myself through it, I called That Yarn Store in Eagle Rock and signed up for a finishing class next week. (I've learned a lot about finishing garment on my own, but I feel like I'm still too sloppy. This should help.) It was great just talking to someone about knitting (and crochet too, since I'm planning to go to the hyperbolic plane workshop they have on Sunday at 4:00) and not even think about work for a few minutes. I feel a lot more centered since I took up knitting 2 years ago in June. Looking back, it seems like an inspired decision since I really have needed something to take the edge off in the past two years.

Finally, I'm almost freakin' done with the mismatched socks from Nancy Bush's book. I'll post pictures soon. My next sock project will not include stripes I have to make myself by alternating yarn colors. I want a nice, uncomplicated sock pair that doesn't involve endless weaving in of ends. I'll have to watch a movie and weave in all the ends or I'll get too annoyed. (I already have a skein of Sockotta just waiting for me.)

That's it for today. Carry on!