Felted Soap - I Found it on Pinterest

I have thoroughly been enjoying Pinterest for many months now.  I've been seriously inspired and I've learned things I may have not known I wanted to learn.  I spend the last hour or so before I go to sleep every night checking my favorite boards, it relaxes me and I enjoy seeing what others find interesting.

Many months ago, I came across a felted soap tutorial by the Frugal Kiwi.  I had recently started needle felting, and dabbled in a little bit of wet felting when making small wool balls.

I pinned the tutorial and kept it in mind for a day when I was looking for a new challenge.  Well I finally got around to it and I wanted to share my results with you.

The idea of felted soaps is appealing to me as a fun project, and something practical to give away as gifts.  The wool makes a great lather, and keeps the soap from being too slippery so you can use the entire bar.  I had set aside two bars of soap especially for this project, the large bar is just a generic store brand bar of bath soap.  The smaller one is a sample from Tom's of Maine that came with my favorite deodorant.   The tutorial is very thorough and I encourage you to go over and check it out, as I won't be sharing the process here.

What I do want to share is some of the problems I encountered on my first tries:

• I was trying to be sparing in the wool that I used, even knowing that it would shrink as it was felted, and as you can see I did not cover the entire bar.  So next time I'll use more wool!
• I was not prepared for the amount of suds that this project would create.  I originally started off with a bowl of hot water so I could sit down for the process.  However I soon had to move to the bathroom sink as there were suds everywhere!!  

Overall it was a fun experience and I encourage you to try it!  Don't be afraid of messing up, it's soap and wool, you can't really ruin it.  Come back and let me know how it went for you!

Rainy Days and Mondays

I'm sure I've used that title before, because really how can you not when it's raining on Monday.  Things this weekend were pretty quiet.  I'm dealing with shoulder pain that is most likely from overuse. Which normally I wouldn't think it would be possible to over use anything with the fibro and fatigue, but it hurts when I crochet, knit, and draw.  Three things I've been doing a lot of lately.  I'm not sure if it's a real injury or just a new addition to the Fibromyalgia pains.  I thought maybe over the weekend I should see the doctor, but I may just wait it out.  Icing and taking muscle relaxers seem to help it quite a bit, and I'm resting it as much as possible.  But sometimes it's just so hard to sit still.

Right now I'm at Stauf's, drinking an iced latte.  I've cut most caffeine out of my diet to heal my gastritis in my stomach.  The more active I am, the better I do with a little caffeine in my system.  I've gone from drinking 7 plus Diet Pepsi's a day to maybe a coffee, or a pop, or a tea every other day or so.  I think it's a pretty good change.  When I have a headache the caffeine actually helps now, and I'm such a big fan of water.  I'll post about my Sodastream soon.  I chose a latte today because it seems to be the most satisfying for me.  I drink it slower than iced coffee or an iced chai.

Some things that you can look forward to this week on the blog:

• Pictures, information, and links to my new t-shirt designs.  Hand drawn designs of my favorite things.
• Another post about "I Found it on Pinterest"
• And on Friday more Links, Likes, and Love

The picture above is from a few weeks ago, I'm actually sitting here listening to "Electric Avenue" because I switched computer bags and forgot my headphones.  Luckily, usually the music selection is pretty good and eclectic.

Until later!

Links, Likes, and Love

So it's Friday and it's been a busy week.  The first half showed a large improvement in my health and I finished projects I'd been working on and started others that had only taken form in my head.  I wanted to share with you some of the important things from this week in a series I hope to do weekly.  Here are some links to items you should pay attention to, two things I liked, and one love for the week of August 20, 2012.

Links:

• Skreened- Check out this custom apparel company.  It's part of a new project I'm working on and if you look hard enough you just might get a look into what I've been doing this week.  Eventually this will be some shameless self promotion that I will write more extensively on later.
• Geek and Sundry-  This is a seriously awesome YouTube channel featuring the best in "indie geek culture."  The hubs and I have seriously enjoyed watching Table Top together which is Wil Wheaton and guests playing board games, and Ryan always checks up on Felicia Day's weekly Flog.

Likes:

Yarn- Last week I had the occasion to buy new and exciting yarn after meeting and agreeing to test knit a pattern for The Intinerant Knitter.  I spent the week working with Malabrigo Silky Merino and it is absolutely wonderful.  The color is amazing and it is an absolute dream to knit.  Silky Merino a DK weight blend of, as the name states, silk and merino merino wool.

• The Weather- The weather this week was absolutely blissful.  After months of scorching heat, making me and everyone else miserable, I've enjoyed several days of sunny comfortable weather, and nights cool enough for two blankets. 

Love:

Baseball

When I was a little girl I would listen to the Phillies games on the radio with my Grammy Bea, and my best friend in elementary school was a bit Mets fan.  I never really gave baseball much thought in high school and college, but upon moving to Ohio Ryan and I became Cincinnati Reds fans.

Baseball has become a pretty big part of our summer activities, but for the last several years I haven't really felt well enough to attend games.  We've spent a lot of time listening to the Reds on the radio this summer and they are kicking butt.  But we also have a AAA team right here in Columbus.  Last night I attended my first Columbus Clippers game in their new Huntington Park.  We use to go to games before I got sick at the old park, and I was excited to see what the new one has to offer.  My favorite thing, very few stairs.  We happen to enter through an entrance that had stairs from street level, and I thought things weren't going to go well as the pain in my hip immediately started acting up.  But that was all I had to conquer and the rest of the night was relatively pain free.

Also I got to eat yummy ballpark food like peanuts and popcorn.   It was a really good night and I hope to be able to do it again next season.

Bed Time Yoga- I Found it on Pinterest

Source: fitsugar.com via Chrissy on Pinterest

Exercise has been one of the best things I have done for my fibromyalgia.  I love to get out of the apartment to ride my bike or go for a walk, however that is not always possible.  Besides the monster pain I often experience, there is also a large amount of fatigue that plays a role in my ability to get moving.  I have a pretty regular yoga routine that I attempt to do several times a week, but even then it is sometimes difficult to get myself onto and then up from the floor again.

A few days ago I came across this yoga routine on Pinterest and immediately clicked over to fitsugar to check it out.  I've been doing this sequence before I get in bed for the night.  I'm certainly enjoying it.  Even if I have done other exercises or yoga during the day this gets things loosened up before I attempt to fall asleep.  I've also been heating my tighter spots (my shoulders and hips) and the combination has me feeling really well.

This is not just for my chronically hurting friends, I want to encourage my crafty readers to give this a try at the end of the day as well.  I KNOW you are sitting for hours on end in front of your sewing machines or writing blog posts at your desk.  You totally can benefit from a little loosening up before bed.  Remember to breath and quiet your mind as well, and you'll be asleep in no time.

Let me know how it works out for you in the comment section below!!

Reusable vs. Disposable: Face Wipes

There is a certain balance that I try to maintain in my life between reusable items and disposable.  I try to do what's best for the environment while at the same time lessening the burden on my often fatigued body.  It shows up in all sorts of way, from the food containers I use, to the way I clean the bathroom.

The top choice for me is always reusable.  If I can do something with a cloth or container that can then be washed and used again, I do.  There is however, one area in my life where I often take the disposable route when my legs are tired and my head hurts.   Bending over to wash my face in the sink is not always an option.  To solve this problem and to avoid any more fatigue I keep disposable pre-moistened face wipes on my night stand.

I know I'm not the only one, and be honest, even as a healthy person how often have you thought, I just don't want to get up and wash my face.  But in the end you know how much better you will feel.  Even when I was working full time I often kept face wipes in my bag to freshen up after a long shift.

I've used several different brands over the years and can't say that I have a favorite.  It's often a matter of price when I'm shopping for a new pack.  But don't get rid of your face washes and wash clothes just yet, because for me they are still a necessity.  I must wash with a medicated face wash at least once a day to prevent break outs.

Another fatigue saver that I also use is baby wipes.  They come in conveniently small packs that you can often buy on sale, or in larger bulk containers.  Keeping baby wipes in my crafting area has prevented me from distributing a mess (such as, pain covered hands) all over the apartement.  They may not clean up the stickiest of messes, but they do contain said mess until further measures can be taken.  I also use them if I'm knitting, crocheting, sewing and stop to have a snack, they are a quick way to clean up so my snack does not incorporate itself into my craft.  They are also great for travel.

Reusable vs. Disposable will hopefully be an ongoing series in my blog as I discuss how and when I make choices between the two.

Have you used disposable wipes?  What you your thoughts?