Monday, January 08, 2007

Soapmaking and other stuff

I used to make soap. Really, really good soap from scratch using the lye and all. I got started doing that when I came across it in a house I was showing one time. There were bars of soap layed out on a table in the basement of this house and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what it was. There were about 50 of them and at first, I thought it was some kind of candle wax. So I asked the seller what it was and she said she had a little soap making business. So I bought a few bars and I was hooked. If you've never used a bar of handmade soap made with really good oils, you haven't lived! The difference is incredible. So I ended up researching online and buying everything I needed to get started. And I got incredibly hooked. And let's face it, one can only use so much soap. I needed to create and experiment, and the only way I could afford to do it, and not have my house taken over by soap, was to sell it. I mostly only sold it at Christmas time. But I did well with it then. I was one happy soapmaker. Sort of a mad scientist with it if you will. Then my mother got sick. My mother had a job when she got sick. She worked at home for the state. So, initially, I did that job for a long time until my mother finally conceded that she would not be able to go back to it. I stopped making soap during that time because I didn't have time to do it. It takes the better part of a morning or afternoon to make a batch of soap. And I did it in my kitchen so I had to put a lot of time into preparation and clean up. When I finally had the time to do it again, I just didn't have the desire. That's when I started knitting. There is no one hour prep time and one hour clean up time with knitting. But to make a long (very long) story short, I found an old bar of my soap with the Christmas stuff this year. It was still good. So I put it in the shower and it all came back to me why I started making it in the first place. It's fabulous. I looked online to try to buy a bar similar. I found one for $5.50. plus $5.50 shipping and handling. $11.00 for a bar of soap? I think not. So, soapmaking, here I come again. I hope my knitting doesn't suffer. And speaking of knitting..... I'm making good progress on Meghan's sweater and I finished a sock. I'd love to show you photos, but apparently Blogger doesn't want me to.

3 comments:

Yvonne said...

You start making soap again, and I'm buying...!

Anonymous said...

Yes, please do start making soap again, you loved it once, you'll love it again!

Donna said...

mmm handmade soap. I'll buy some cause I love it, but dont want to make it.