Much-Needed Updating

It's been way too long, but I finally found some time to get on both my store here and my Etsy shop and get my items updated.  I added a few things - I didn't have my goat milk soap listed! - especially some yarns and knitting, and delisted a few things that I've either sold elsewhere or used myself :)  I still have a few more items to add - the rest of my soap, for instance - but it's definitely better.  Pop over if you get a chance and see what you think.  My felted soaps are pretty popular here, I'm going to be making some more pretty soon so I'll get more pictures up when I have some new colors.  

I've been making soap as well this week, I got 3 batches done in the last few days, and should make at least one more.  The goat milk soap is popular, I have to make more of that every few weeks.  I have soap on consignment in a second local store now, so it's moving a bit faster than it used to - certainly a good thing, but if I don't stay on top of it, I get backed up and have to make multiple batches!  I made two different batches of goat milk soap and then one of my most popular plain bar, a lavender-vanilla fragrance in a very simple recipe - just coconut and olive oils, beeswax and cocoa butter.  I also sell this in a nice molded bar with a lavender plant on the front, but the plain bar sells faster so every so often I make a batch of just the squares, no fancy molds.  

One of the batches this morning was a demo for a friend, I fairly frequently have people request to see how to make soap.  I'm mulling over the technicalities of putting on a soaping workshop for a local homeschool group - it shouldn't be too difficult but I need to plan it out well in advance.  In the meantime, I am doing a fiber workshop/demo for them this next Friday - yarn-making start to finish.  We'll start with photos of alpacas getting sheared, then how to skirt fleece, hand-carding and drum-carding, quickly demo and try drop spindles and my kick spindle, and then I'll demo the spinning wheel.  I have a second wheel for anyone with some prior experience to try out, but I really reccomend using a drop spindle for a while first to get a better - slower - understanding of what is actually happening, before jumping into a wheel.  The first time I tried a wheel I made a mess - it woud yank the fleece out of my hands, so I'd slow down and then the wheel kept spinning backwards.  It was awful, mainly because I didn't understand what was supposed to be happening - how to hold the fleece, how to draft, etc - and once I had a year of drop-spindling under my belt, I transitioned immediately to the spinning wheel.  

I'll finish up the workshop with making a 2-ply yarn and winding off onto a niddy-noddy.  I think it'll be fun, and hopefully get some kids interested in making their own yarn.  I know one family in the group already has sheep and a wheel, but the others may not have had much exposure to this sort of thing, and I always enjoy introducing people - especially kids - to new experiences.  If any of y'all are in the neighborhood next Friday afternoon, feel free to stop by and join us - we'll be finishing up with a short farm tour and then pony rides :)