for the guinea pigs - here's a look!

While on a popular 'social network site' I spotted a new idea, though the idea is not mine, the product in this picture is. It's a simple lotion bar that when comes into contact with warm hands melts off just enough of the bar to rub into your skin. Feels great and is not greasy at all! I'm sending out a few of these to guinea pigs, I mean friends, to see what they think. I'm anxious to hear back from them as to what they think, because we love it here!

my first hand spun and hand knit hat!!!

I just finished this hat tonight and I couldn't be more excited about it! It's been a while in the process, because I spun all the yarn from roving I purchased this summer and started knitting it last night. It's a 50/50 combo of mohair and lambs wool and as soft as can be, and it's for sale!

a fun process!

Ding Dong Done!

I've finished all the handmade Christmas gifts and now off to wrap it all up! Can this be correct? 1 day left and I'm done?! I must be forgetting something...


If I don't post again until after Christmas, know that I wish you and your family the Merriest of Christmas's!

53 days??!!

Did I read that right? 53 days until Christmas??!! Yikes! I'd better get cracking. (I put a countdown banner on the bottom of the blog to remind me...) Last year I took the handmade pledge but took it a bit further, I made most of what I gave as gifts and purchased the "ingredients" from local small businesses. I don't have a huge budget for Christmas but it was paid for with cash and I figured that that mal-wart would survive whether or not I spent money there or not. The difference was when I shopped at the smaller stores I was genuinely greeted and thanked for shopping there and they meant it! I worked really hard last year trying to come up with things people would use and enjoy and most of the recipients got hand knit socks, some were made from locally raised alpaca fiber and some were wool, all were a labor of love. This year I'm planning another handmade Christmas; I've written all the things I need to do before Christmas and if I don't sleep a wink between now and Christmas I'll be done by Valentines day! We'll see how it goes and I'll try to post some of the things I make here. One of which is goat's milk soap, seeing as it takes 4 weeks to cure I'm off to do that now. I think I'll start with either peppermint or balsam....

one pair of last years socks... warm and snugly alpaca!