Wow, is this an early spring or what? Our daffodils have come and gone, and our pear tree is in bloom... just in time for the frost tonight. Ah well, some blooms may not have opened yet. This is an Eastern Towhee below.
I've been making our soap for more than twenty years so a lot of my soap molds have cracked and become useless. I found some zinnia flower molds on Amazon very reasonably priced and snapped them up. This is a sampling of the different batches I've done.
Each color was part of a 4-5 lb. batch. We're pretty much set on the soap front for quite a while.
This light orange one smells delicious as I grated orange peel and added it to the soap mixture. Remember Creamsicle ice cream bars? Oh yeah, that's what this soap reminds me of every time I use it.
You may remember this little guy from my last blog post. He's part of the knitting pattern String-Along-Toys by Susan B. Anderson.
I got the pattern when it first came out and was on sale for a limited time, but it's $10 (ouch) now.
Personally, I think that's too much for a pattern you have to knit yourself, but nobody asked me.
What child wouldn't want a set of these? I sure did. o.O
There was a bit of a snafu among these birds over the feeder after I snapped this photo, but all's well that ends well. Hope you're enjoying these warmer days.
Very pretty soap, Toni! Love your knitted animals too. Grandson Felix, loves frogs. Thank you for sharing your Spring, it hasn't shown up here, yet. Looks like you are going to need a second bird feeder!
ReplyDeleteHugs
Jane
Thank you, Jane, the critters were fun to knit. I'm sure Spring will be at your place soon. I'm loving these last chilly days myself. I have a hanging metal feeder, but the windows are plastic that has become very ugly and opaque. They just don't make em like they used to.
DeleteUoh my! I love the zinnia soaps! Creamsicle is a favorite comforts of childhood fragrance, isn't it? Have you ever blogged about your soap making process? Would love to make mine too!
ReplyDeleteHi Marcie! I haven't blogged about actually making my soap as so many other blogs have. My favorite soapmaking book is the Complete Soapmaker by Norma Comey. It's just beautiful and will give you lots of ideas for your soap. I used to use only beef tallow, but now I'm experimenting with coconut oil and still tweaking how I want it to turn out. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteI will look for that book. I have never dived in to soap-making, because it seems like I will need a whole set of equipment. I would go with a vegetarian soap option, so the coconut oil sounds promising!
Deleteyour knitted animals are just adorable-love the frog especially-are you making melt and pour soaps or from scratch soaps? very pretty I have lots of molds I would love to sell if interested
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kathy. My soaps are from scratch. If you can send me a pics of your molds I'll see if I can use them. Thanks!
DeleteYour soaps are just gorgeous! I love the new molds! Also like your little birdies! Happy spring to you! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, JES, and happy spring to you!
DeleteHello, I love your Towhee and the woodies. Great shots. Your critter are cute, love the monkey. The soaps are pretty. Happy Monday, enjoy your new week!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eileen, Happy Monday to you! Towhees are one of my favorite birds.
DeleteI love your knits :) and your zinnia soaps!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sandra, your knits ad sheep are adorable, and thanks for stopping by. :)
DeleteThe Towhee shot is wonderful. You go, DSLR girl! Love the soaps, but I'm afraid I'd try to eat them. The knitted critters are adorable. You're so talented! We were in your neck of the woods last week and enjoyed some beautiful 70-degree days. We left on Friday, to avoid the snowy forecast for Saturday/Sunday. How bad did it get?
ReplyDeleteLinda, you just have the eye for good photos. Not that mine are, but the birds are the only pics I took with the new camera. I think I need therapy for being too lazy to quit using my phone camera. lol The weather didn't get bad at all near our house, just cooler which we love. I'll drive out to the next road over from us later and see if I can spot any snow in the mountains and let you know if they got any.
DeleteYou've been busy! My daughter wants to grow lots of zinnias and sell them when we move to the country, so she will love looking at your soaps. My almost ten-year old boy is becoming a bird nerd, and is always asking why we don't see different birds here. He would love a towhee in the yard!
ReplyDeleteLove,
Marqueta
Hi Marqueta! I hope your children enjoy the pictures, and thank you for stopping by.
DeleteWhat a beautiful soap you make! Too bad I can't smell them through the screen but I'm sure it must be delicious. $10 for a pattern is too much, if you ask me. I wonder why do they charge so much money for a single pattern when you can buy a book with lots of them for the same price. Oh, well. Nevertheless, your yarn critters are great! I love them hanging together and holding hands. :-)
ReplyDeleteTake care and enjoy the cool weather while you can. It won't be long till the first heat wave hit us.
Thank you, Alhana! I think the knit designers would sell a lot more patterns if they priced them reasonably. We are really enjoying the cold air today, and we saw that the mountains have snow so it's a perfect day.
DeleteAnother blogger shared your link with me and I knew that I would enjoy myself here because Linda (To Behold the Beauty) knows the things I like. She was right! Love the nature shots, the fact that you make your own soap. The Zinnia soaps are beautiful. Plus you enjoy crocheting. I don't knit, but I love to crochet. I'm currently working on a baby afghan for a sweet little girl who is to make her appearance in May. And you love to cook...so do I...and baking is really FUN! I surely have enjoyed my visit with you...I'm your newest follower.
ReplyDeleteHi Diana, and thank you for visiting and leaving such a nice comment. I love to meet new-to-me bloggers with the same interests so I'm going to check out your blog as soon as I finish typing this. Thanks again!
DeleteWow - the bird photos are amazing - great color. I just love those little string along animals. I've never seen them before but they sure do look like fun. I just finished a three week project of mending a quilt for our grandson - he has slept under it every night since he was 4 (and he's 12 now) so I might reward myself for a good job with the pattern for the sweet animals - looks just the perfect project for relaxing.
ReplyDeleteThank you, JoAnn. Your quilt projects are amazing.
DeleteLovely birds - and knitted animals :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by. :)
DeleteVery nice ! I like your soap !
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
DeleteHello, I wanted to stop back and say thank you for linking up your pretty birds and post. Have a great day and new week ahead!
ReplyDeleteGreat photo of the bird and your soaps are lovely!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your visit.
Have a Happy Day!
Peace :)
I am now your newest follower! I swear I leaned forward to sniff that luscious orange creamsicle soap!! Yum! And those little animals are adorable. I'm afraid if I made them, I'd have to keep them! Lovely blog...I'll be back for sure!
ReplyDeleteI'm so amazed at your bars of soap, they're real works of art, thank you for sharing such wonder !!!
ReplyDeleteWishing you a most lovely remainder of your week
and a peaceful Springtime
XO Daniela at ~ My little old world ~ (Dany)
ypur soaps are very lovely wouldn't mind having some. I loved orange cicles one of my favorites. Do you sell them.. and your knitted critters are sweet. With love Janice
ReplyDeleteHi Janice! I don't sell the soaps, I'm so sorry. I would encourage you to try your hand at making your own, though. It's a very satisfying endeavor and you end up with the best soaps to be had. Thank you for stopping by.
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