I used up some more of the horrid 70s color scheme yarn from Willow Ridge. I thought the 70s coloring was appropriate for the Star Wars theme, anyway. I really like how this bag turned out, and might make more Star Wars themed bags to go with it. I could have a whole line-up of them, lol. X-wings, Death Star, Darth Vader, Yoda…

I actually knit two of these, identical to each other. The first one, I made for my friend Abby, and included it as part of my Unexpected Crafty Gifting task for my 101 Things project.

The second one, I made for me, but I am entering it into the State Fair, so I have not worn it. After I got it all done, I noticed a fairly glaring mistake, but I wasn’t about to go back and fix it at that point, so I’m guessing it’s not going to do too well at the Fair. Ah, well.

And I’ve recently given cheese making a try. I wrote about it over at Boulevard Farm, my new Urban Homesteading blog.

But I’m happy with both pairs. I LOVE the purple pair. The yarn is nice (it’s Joann’s Sensations Bamboo and Ewe, which knits up nicely) and I love the pattern (Harris Tweed). This pair was made for a friend of mine, at her request. I don’t think there’s ever any way to charge a fair price for a hand-knit pair of socks, lol. $1 million should suffice.

The stripe pair is from Knitpick’s Felici yarn. I love the yarn, and I like the pattern, with one exception - it’s baggy around the legs, particularly the cuff. Annoying!

It started with an overabundance of milk, and my need to use it up before leaving for a week. I decided to bust out a quick batch of soap while waiting for some of the milk to heat to an appropriate temperature for yogurt.

I started with an organic glycerin soap base, and then I added a bunch of fresh goat’s milk - from Ginger, my goat. (Have I mentioned I have a goat? Yeah. She lives in rural Swan at Sugar Creek Family Farm. She is the queen of the barnyard, at least in her opinion. And she produces about 2 gallons per day. um….  it’s a lot of milk.)

After that, I threw in a dollop of raw honey from Cypress Grove Farms, also in Swan.

And I added a touch of honey fragrance for a bit of boost to the honey scent.

mmmmm.

There is a LOT of milk in this soap, making it really a lot like taking a milk bath. It’s very soothing and gentle, not drying at all. I fell in love with it while suffering from some sort of rash from an unidentified weed of some sort that itched like crazy. It was so nice feeling on my irritated skin. And the scent is pleasant but not overwhelming.

Yeah, I love it. Want to try it? Available at Etsy!

But I was pleasantly surprised to find that making balloon animals is not altogether difficult. The hardest part is getting the dang balloon tied. Second hardest is not wincing every time you twist, in anticipation of popping the thing!

May’s theme for the Etsy Cloth Diaper Team is Flower Power, so in honor of May, I’ve listed this fitted diaper over at Etsy.

Well, currently, I have the hammock lowered to about a foot off the floor, and Genna or Wally - or sometimes Genna AND Wally - can get in and out as they please. Genna likes to play in there, and Wally has always loved hanging out in there. With it lowered, I don’t worry as much about Genna falling out and getting hurt, but I still put a quilt on the floor under the hammock. (It’s a cement floor otherwise - ouch!)

The Chronicles of Prydain socks. The Chronicles of Prydain is a fantasy series focusing on a young boy named Taran, and his coming of age. It is actually a very engrossing set of novels, and I enjoyed them very much.

I chose white yarn for these socks, because Hen Wen, the oracular pig, is white. I liked this pattern because it is simple, like the characters in the book, but has a touch of royalty. The yarn is a heaver weight than is typical for socks, giving them a rough look, like I imagine the clothes of poor Taran to be. The pattern is Brigid.

The yarn is Soft Wave from Queensland Collection, purchased at Rose Tree Fiber Shop in Ames.

For the record, I did not enjoy knitting socks with a 100% cotton yarn.