Knit: Citron

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Mabel

Citron
Pattern | Citron by Hilary Smith Callis
Yarn | Simple Scarves Silk-Wool Laceweight in Electric Blue
Needles | 4.5 mm circulars & 4 mm crochet hook

This was a simple knit – knit, purl with plenty of increases and decreases to get the ruffles. I made a crochet edging to finish off the shawl and instead of the recommended number of repeats (five), I made seven (or was it six?) repeats, resulting in long tedious nights of stockinette stitches and mindless knitting in front of the TV/laptop.

Blocking this was a challenge – I think I overblocked towards the bottom of the shawl which resulted in the last section of ruffles disappearing. I’ll have to keep in mind not to do the same the next time I put this in the wash.

Other than that, I’m loving the yarn and colour despite how “noisy” it seems. It’ll go perfectly well with solid tops or dresses – I can see it being showed off prettily on a simple black number. The silk in the yarn gives it an added shine and like my Jaali, I cannot stop molesting it. If I were to ever go back to dyeing, this would be one yarn base that I would hold onto simply because it’s amazing to knit with!

Now that I’ve cleared this, I’ll be gearing up for a cardigan KAL as well as the upcoming Ravelympics 2012 (and more reviews on medical scrubs)! I don’t know what possessed me to sign up for a KAL (Knit-A-Long) and the Ravelympics but hey, I figured I might as well hang onto my knitting mojo while I still have it! Hehehe.

Avocado-Mango Skin Relief Butter

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Mabel

Avocado-Mango Skin Relief Butter
Contents | Avocado Butter and Oil (Persea gratissima), Mango Butter (Mangifera indica), Vitamin E (Tocopherol).

After nearly two weeks of testing ingredients, I can finally whip up a butter for Noah. I have been doing patch tests for avocado oil and mango butter on his arm and leg. (Avocado butter is essentially the same as the oil except the difference in fluidity and physical state.) The results have been promising so far so time to get cracking on the butter (I have been busy looking at things like how to repair leather furniture – don’t ask!).

I chose avocado oil and butter because its high content in Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids which are lacking in most people suffering from eczema. It is also high in sterolins which can help heal, soften and moisturise skin. The butter is extremely rich but easily absorbed, making it a good night cream – something which Noah really needs as he often wakes up with flakey, slightly dry skin.

Because this butter is very soft at room temperature, I needed a harder butter to stiffen the cream up and picked mango instead of the usual cocoa and shea butter. Noah appears to be allergic to nuts so shea is out and I didn’t dare chance cocoa since I have yet to test it out. I settled for mango instead after reading that it has been traditionally used for its skin softening, soothing, moisturizing and protective properties. It can also help restore flexibility and reduce degeneration of skin cells AND has UV protection properties!

No fragrances or anything fancy – so the butter pretty much smells like avocado. Quite vegetably and not at all unpleasant, if you ask me. I intend to start him on this tomorrow and hope that his skin will get better in time! *keeps fingers crossed*

Simple teething pads

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Mabel

Simple teething pads
Pattern details | None
Batting | PSR Quilt Bamboo batting (0.9 m x 1.25 m)
Fabric | 100% cotton fabric from www.fabric.com

Of lately, Noah has taken to gumming the straps of the Ergo carrier whenever I babywear him and I can’t exactly dump the entire carrier into the machine to wash it even though it’s okay to do so (not frequently tho – as per manufacturer’s recommendation). I was not very keen on spending around €20 for teething pads and decided to make a simple pair with the leftover batting I had from the quilt I made from him. To match the green of my carrier (Ergo Performance), I picked a paisley patterned fabric I purchased while I was in Singapore.

While measuring it, I thought I had enough fabric to go around the strap in order for me to utilize the KAM snaps I have in my stash. However, after topstitching the layers together, I discovered that I had forgotten all about seam allowances, resulting in a pad that didn’t lay on top of each other. I will have to make do with hook-and-eye closures instead so until I get my hands on them (tomorrow, I think), it’ll be held together with basting pins.

I didn’t use a pattern, just decided to layer the batting on top of the fabric (right sides facing in), sew and turn it inside out before topstiching around to reinforce, beautify and close off the opening. It’s a quick project (I did this while doing other things like checking out diet pills that work) and you can whip up a pair of these in under 30 minutes or less, depending on how fast you sew and cut/prep your fabric.

Lemonade trumps the lemon!

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Mabel

Y’know the saying “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”? Well, this is a fine example of just that.

Inspired by this post on using different oil infusions as a colorant, I decided to plunge into uncharted waters and whip up my own version. No no, nothing fancy like swirls. Just two layers with soap balls and bars as embeds. The colours I had in mind were just two – creamy yellow and a nice lavender. I thought alkanet and madder root infusions would do just the trick.

Apparently not.

What I got was an icky blue-green-grey layer that was neither blue or green and definitely not purple!

From one angle, it looks grey, another brown-grey and when I showed it to Nil, he just went “Uhhh…it looks interesting”. He then suggests that I save a few bars for my mother-in-law, an artist and remarked that it reminded him of paintings by Gustav Klimt. After doing some search, I would say that this batch of lemonade reminds me of more geometric abstract art.

Still, it’s flattering when he tells me that a botched batch is artistic!

Shea & Mango Rich Skin Butter

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Mabel

Shea & Mango Rich Skin Butter
Contents | Mango Butter (Mangifera indica), Shea Butter (Butyrospermum parkii), Calendula infused Sunflower Oil (Helianthus annuus), Avocado Oil (Persea gratissima), Soybean Oil (Glycine soja), Walnut Oil (Juglans regia), Rosemary Oleoresin, Vitamin E (Tocopherol), Essential Oils (Geranium, Chamomile, Rose).

This is an ultra rich whipped butter I made for super dry or mature skin. I used the same oils from the soap I formulated for my mum and these oils are:

Avocado oil which contains contains large amounts of vitamins A, D, and E as well as protein and amino acids.
Soybean oil which is high in both linoleic and oleic acids, making it a good moisturiser.
Sunflower oil which is high in vitamin E.
Walnut oil which is high in linoleic acid and vitamins A, C, & E.

The result is a highly hydrating butter which I would probably only use at night, just before going to bed.

I had to use a little bit more essential oil that I normally would as the scent of the walnut oil was a bit tad strong. The avocado oil and mango butter gave the mixture a slightly green-yellow appearance so if you’re aiming for a nearly-white butter, sorry, you’ll have to give this recipe a miss.

A note to anyone attempting to whip mango butter – it sets up really fast so it would be a good idea to use it in conjunction with a softer butter like shea.

I hope the recipients will like this butter. I particularly adore the scent, especially the geranium – very relaxing. Nil didn’t quite like the scent blend – he thought it reminded him of burnt air! (He thinks my peppermint soap smells icky – a sign that his nose is NOT suited for this sort of work – blending and sniffing fragrances!)

Keeping my fingers crossed…

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Mabel

One big thing about soapmaking is that if you discover in the beginning that you may have a tiny problem with your soap, you have to wait at least 16-18 hours before confirming it.

That’s Pure – my breast milk-shea butter soap – saponifying. It’s currently gelling (see this link for an explanation on what gelling is) but that isn’t the problem. The problem is in the beginning – at the lye solution stage. I used 100% frozen breast milk and added in the lye gradually, stirring a lot as I went along. I thought I stirred enough but as I reached the bottom of the container (while pouring it into my soap), I saw a few (around four to five) tiny lye pellets.

My heart sank.

Undissolved lye.

I didn’t use the pellets (thankgoodness there wasn’t any more milk-lye solution in the container) but now I wonder if my soap has undissolved lye. I will have to wait till tomorrow before I find out and if there are lye pockets, I’ll end up rebatching this like how I did with my cucumber soap.

So yes, am keeping my fingers crossed!

Knit: Hooting!

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Mabel

Hooting!
Pattern | Owelet by Kate Davies
Yarn | Cascade Yarns Eco+ in Summer Sky Heather
Needles | 6 mm & 6.5 mm circulars

I never really got around to making any sweaters for Eva until last year when I began to clear all my WIPs or newly started projects. I decided to take advantage of this love and plunged into uncharted waters – sweaters! To make things simple and easy, I decided to use a pattern that called for bulky or aran weight yarn, figuring that I might finish it faster.

I settled for Cascade Yarns Eco+ because of the price. Originally, I wanted something along the line of teal but they ran out and I didn’t want to wait so I settled for a lighter shade of blue. At first Nil sounded skeptical when I told him that I couldn’t get my hands on teal but when he saw this colour, he gave his okay.

I made this in Kids Size 2 (age 5-6) but an unfortunate glitch saw me knitting the sleeves in 6mm instead of 6.5mm and skipping out on three stitches. While Eva could still fit into it, it is rather snug so it meant some serious blocking for the sleeves. The width and length – as you can see – is ample so I didn’t really block this to death. I figured that in time, if I need it to be wider, I’ll block it then but for now, the sleeves need more vigorous blocking than the other parts.

Now that this is done, I’m contemplating between finishing my entrelac shawl or starting a lacework piece in one of my handdyed yarns. I miss knitting lace!

Calendula Frosting (Whipped Shea Butter)

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Mabel

Chamomile Frosting (Whipped Shea Butter)
Contents | Shea Butter (Butyrospermum parkii), Calendula-infused Sunflower Oil (Helianthus annuus) and Sweet Almond Oil (Prunus dulcis), Calendula Powder

I had to be very careful when formulating this as this is for Noah and meant to replace his current calendula cream. He has eczema, if I haven’t mentioned it before so I can’t just put in anything I like. It could just cause a flare-up and I definitely don’t want that. So I settled with what he has been exposed to – Shea butter, sunflower oil and so forth.

I left this unscented so the only scent I get is from the calendula – I used dried calendula petals and ground them up as finely as I could before adding them to my shea butter. Then I added in a calendula oil infusion – basically calendula petals soaked in a blend of sunflower and sweet almond oil. I made this infusion a few days ago and it sat in my slow cooker for over 12 hours before cooling down and sitting in the oil for a further two days.

Why these three oils?

Well, I read that Shea butter has anti-inflammatory benefits and can aid in cell regeneration, healing as well as offers some degree of protection against the sun’s UV rays, while sweet almond oil is soothing, easily absorbed and gentle, making it suitable for babies or adults with sensitive skin. Sunflower oil contains high amounts of Vitamin E, fatty acids and antioxidants and is non-comedogenic.

You may not be able to see it here but the texture is very much like the previous frosting I made for Eva – very fluffy and airy. The picture you see is the frosting fresh from whipping – it needs to set for at least 12-24 hours before first use but I couldn’t resist. Hehehe.

Like the previous frosting, it is a rich cream and I hope will do wonders for his dry and flaky skin. The lotions I have been using for him don’t last long – I reckon they are just too light – and I find myself putting more and more each time. I didn’t make much; just enough for a 150ml container. As usual, I didn’t have any on hand and used two 110ml glass hermetic sealed jars I bought earlier.

Can’t wait to try this on him tomorrow! Hopefully his skin condition will get better with frequent use of this! *keeps fingers crossed*

thescarfer.net

knit. spin. weave. sew. bake. cook. hike. think. live.

Category Archives: Crafts