How To Bind a Quilt With a Sewing Machine

Learn to Knit an Entrelac Scarf

Sew Much Ado: Tutorial: Homemade Laundry Detergent

Sew Much Ado: Tutorial: Homemade Laundry Detergent:

Description:
This tutorial will guide you through the steps to make your own homemade powdered laundry detergent.

Ingredients:
1 bar Fels-Naptha bar soap
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda
1/4 cup Baking Soda
*All of these items are found in the laundry isle next to the laundry detergents.  If you live in Utah -- I had best luck at Winco for all the supplies, I was not able to find the Fels-Naptha soap or washing soda at the Walmart or Target in my area, but you may have better luck.
*If you try this recipe and like it, you can double or even triple the ingredients the next time you make it to get a larger batch.

Life is a Ball of Yarn

I Love Natural Stone Sinks

I am so excited just thinking about some of the things that we do around our house.  We love to do little projects.  Ok, I admit some of them start little and turn out to be H-U-G-E.  But...this one will not be huge or difficult.  Yesterday I decided that it's time to do a little bathroom remodeling.  That means that I get to do some designing.  Yeah!!!!  I'm not much of a designer but I don't have to be, because so many companies make it completely simply.  Which reminds me...

Ever since I first saw the natural, hand crafted stone vessel sinks at Eden Bath I knew that designing and replacing my sink would be so easy.  And the faucets that are specifically designed for vessel sinks fit well into any decor.

My very, very favorite are the stone vessel sinks that are available in a range of natural stone materials such as granite, marble, travertine and onyx.  The possibilities are simply endless.  Did I mention they are natural stone material?!

Knitting Too Tight

WWKIP Day

Somehow a few weeks back I managed to come across a World Wide Knit in Public Day website.  Well needless to say...I was all over it.  I started making flyers and getting them posted and getting our little group all psyched up about it.  And...then...it happened!  WWKiP Day happened and my little group gathered and we celebrated with others around the world and we knitted in public.  Ok - we really knit in public every chance we get but there was a sense of something.  Maybe it was a sense of other knitters.  Maybe we could secretly hear the knitting needles singing as we all knitted together.

Well guess what?  WWKiP doesn't officially end until Sunday.  Ha!  Just another day to celebrate another day of knitting.  I'm lovin it!  We will be gathered again at our local library this Friday.  Wow - that's tomorrow, June 15th.  We will join others around the world to Knit In Public. 

Would you like to find a gathering near you? Click here to search the official WWKiP Day website. If you can't find a meet up scheduled in your area, just grab your yarn, needles, patterns and head off to a local coffee shop, library, park bench, cafe, big oak tree or where ever suits your fancy.  Join us all around the world for WWKiP Day.

If there’s no meet up scheduled in your area, you can still join in the fun! Simply take your yarn, hooks, and needles to your local coffee shop, park, restaurant, or other public space and start crafting. Make today and every day your own personal WWKiP Day!

If you are in my area, join us at the Bronson Public Library every Friday from 2:30 to 4:00.  We would love to see you there.

A wonderful THANK YOU to Lou Elliott Jones, Editor for the Ceday Key Beacon, Tri County Bulletin, Williston Pioneer Sun News!

Fixing a Dropped Purl Stitch

Kenny Rogers Baseball Song - "The Greatest"

Everyone is a winner and the greatest at being themselves. So...Think of this as YOU today and every day.  Rhonda...this means you the most!

Homemade Laundry Soap

Laundry Soap

1/3 bar  Fells Naptha grate very fine

½  cup Washing Soda

½  cup Borax Powder

1.  Mix 6 cups water and Naptha over low heat until dissolved. 

2.      Add Washing Soda and Borax Powder and dissolve over low heat.

3.     Remove from heat and add 4 cups hot water into bucket. 

4.      Add soap mix and stir.

5.     Add 1 gallon plus 6 cups water.

6.     Stir well.

Let this sit / set for at least 24 hours.  I love this recipe and it is very inexpensive and it really gets your clothes clean.

You will need to stir before every use.  

*If you add  about 1.5 cups of any store bought laundry soap it will be smoother and not so lumpy when cooled.

Bzz

I love being a BzzAgent!  Did you know that you get to review products? I just received this in the mail and now I will be sharing the information that I discover.  If you would like to be a BzzAgent, just ask me how.

How to fix a dropped knit stitch

Weather calls for a Dip

What's the weather like where you are?  Well it's hot.  I really mean it's H-O-T! 

There is nothing as refreshing as  a swimming pool.  I grew up with a swimming pool and I just love having one.  Yes, I have to admit that the kids love it too.  Just something about water that is so refreshing and so calming.  If you don't have a pool then think about the possibilities of owning one.  Your kids will actually want to stay home during the summer break from school.  Their friends will actually want to come over and hang out.  Golly gee, it just sounds like a win win situation.  Ok, don't say it because I am reading your mind.  You are thinking, hmmm....I just want my kids to stay out of my hair during the summer.  Well they will with if you take the first step and contact True Blue Pool and Spa.

I believe that a company should provide the consumer with a high quality product and that they should offer courtesy and friendly service. With more than 14 years of experience and an avid competitive swimmer, the owner of True-Blue-Pool-And-Spa.com knows what a customer expects and delivers what is expected.  Don't just call anyone with your pool.  Call them, email them, however you wanna do it, just do it. 

Ok, maybe you are going to tell me that you already have a pool.  That's ok too and I sure hope that you enjoy it as much as we enjoy ours.  If you need any maintenance, repairs or you just have a pool or spa related question, just check out the links that I have.

I gotta run!  The kids are wet and calling me for a game of Marco Polo.  Yeah, you remember that from when you were a kid. 

World Wide Knit In Public Day

World Wide Knit In Public Day is the largest knitter run event in the world.

Each local event is put together by a volunteer or a group of volunteers

The dates for 2012 are June 9th to the 17th.  The second Saturday to the third Sunday in June. 

9 whole days of fun! 

You can get your special gear here...buttons, t-shirts, bags and more!

What's in a Washing Machine

Have you ever wondered what's in a washing machine?  Ok, maybe not.  Anyway I'm gonna tell you.  Your clothes are exactly what's in a washing machine.  Yes, the same ones that you spend hundreds of dollars on.  Yes, the same ones that you try to take such good care of.  Well, there's more than just your clothes in there.  There's your money.  I told you that you spend hundreds of dollars on those clothes.  How about laundry soap?  Yeppers, that's in there too.  Funny how we spend so much on laundry soap and then we put it in the washing machine and the washing machine just pours it down the drain.  Ha, I bet you never thought about that!  Well my laundry soap cost me 1 cent per load.  Yes, I make it myself. 
So anyway....
The Tuesday before Mothers Day, my washing machine decided to quit.  No two week notice, no retirement pension plan, just quit.  Now that I think about it, maybe for the past 4 years it was on it's retirement pension plan.  It sure was needing parts about every 4 or 6 months.  So now I am the proud owner of a brand spanking new washing machine and dryer.  Yes!  The whole set!  The dryer timer quit about 2 years ago and we have been nursing it along all that time.  Besides that, it was geriatric any way.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.  I'm kinda geriatric and I'm ok (I think).  So we made that decision to just kick them both out of the house and buy new ones.
Part of the washing machine now lives in the chicken pen.  It is the 2 sides and front piece that we put in the chicken pen.  It's pretty cool and the chickens love it.  So...maybe it's not what's in a washing machine...maybe it's what's on a washing machine.

Stop Wasting so Much Water

Not too long ago I wrote an article about water.  Our water is so precious and there is no way that I can stress that enough.  Recently I went back to work and on my drive to and from work, I see large irrigation systems running.  Are they watering anything that we can eat?  No.  They are watering grass.  Grass!  I don't know what they are going to do with the grass but I do know that if the animals don't have any water to drink, then the grass isn't any good.  About 2 weeks ago, around 12 noon, a sod farm had their irrigation going also.  Why?  We are in a severe drought.  People are loosing their homes to sink holes as I type this. Wells are going dry.  Bottling companies are pumping water by the millions of gallons a day, depleting our aquifer and our drinking water.  People stop wasting so much water!

It saddens me to hear of so much bacteria in our water.  Recently one that has really touched my heart is a young lady from Georgia.  Aimee Copeland is a vibrant young lady that I have never met.  I was listening to my favorite radio station yesterday on the way home from work and there was a prayer that went out to her.  I was curious and today I searched and found her website and learned of her accident.  Aimee had an accident from a zip line and developed Necrotizing fasciitis also known as Flesh-eating bacteria.  She needs your prayers! 
So you are asking what exactly this has to do with water.  It has everything to do with water.  The less water we have the more bacteria we will have.  Go and read the story about Aimee.  And put her in your prayers.

Watering the Garden

We haven't had much rain here in my area and my garden is hesitant to grow and produce without the rain.  I've had to really get creative in ways to water without waste.  By that I mean that I have to water my plants without wasting water.  When watering the garden, it is important to water deep because it sets the roots in deeper soil allowing them to go without irrigation for longer periods of time.  Now the best water for any plant is rain water, but we can't control when or how often or how much of that we get.  I love the Rainbird products for my sprinkler heads and I like dealing with a company that I can trust.

Take care of your garden and it will take care of you.  Water the garden but don't waste the water.  Use products, supplies and a company that you can trust.  Ask questions from other gardeners, join a forum and relax with irrigation supplies that you can count on from a company that you can trust.

Enjoy the water that we have and the garden that you will grow!