Bundle of Lime

I don't know how we got to the end of November already but here we are. The Midwest had a couple of really nice days around Thanksgiving Day so I can't complain but as of today, we are back to the cold windy weather we've been experiencing for the last couple of weeks. I don't envy those who have already had more snow than we have gotten in Nebraska (which hasn't been much at all). I should be embracing some inspiration to knit warm sweaters, make hearty stews and drink hot cocoa. Instead, I have found myself struggling to do much of anything that doesn't involve my couch, a blanket, fleece pj pants and my four-legged companions. In my previous post , I made some body butter using shea butter as a base ingredient in  this recipe . To follow up, I also made the same recipe using mango butter instead of shea butter with the intention of comparing the two. After a couple of weeks of using both body butters, I have to say that it is a toss-up. The shea butter i...

Let's face it. Winter in the Midwest is dry. My hair gets static-y from the dryness, my hands get rough, and my skin itches from the lack of moisture in the air. Not to mention going from indoor cozy to outdoor Hoth doesn't help the situation. I've struggled with this most winters since I moved to Omaha and based on an internet search for homemade skin moisturizers, I'm not alone. I have long been interested in making my own skin care products. I've been a hobby aromatherapist since I was 14 years old. In high school, I thought the coolest job in the world would have been to do product development for Aveda (this was after Jim Henson passed away, sadly, and I had to give up my first dream of moving to California to become a Muppeteer. And alas, I didn't do so hot in high school chemistry). Over the years, I've dabbled in making my own moisturizers and lotions with very mixed success. A little over a year ago, I had a health issue which led my doctor to r...

Lately I've been itching to get back to some sewing. And after the excitement and fun of Halloween, that is exactly what I have done. About a month ago, a friend ordered 3 custom silk bags from me. I haven't made any in a long time but luckily I had step-by-step instructions written down in a little notebook that I had stashed away. I'm so happy that I did that! Part of the process involves dying the silk, which is one of my two favorite parts...my other favorite part comes when you get to see the final product. Below is a picture of the dye pan for 1 of the 3 bags. Doesn't look like much, does it? I used green, blue and yellow silk dyes on this one. The order was for one bag in sea green, one in blue, and one in yellow. The biggest question in my mind was how was I going to get a sea green. Somehow it seemed to work! Of the bags below, the bag on the left is the same as the fabric in the above picture (which is the sea green bag). The middle bag is a combina...