Used up my last bar of homemade soap and realized I haven't made any for well over a year. Yup, I can make soap... the old fashioned lye and fat kind. Well actually, sodium hydroxide and an assortment of vegetable oils but still the the same old "cold process" method. It's almost as relaxing as knitting. Almost because cleanup is a lot messier than just putting the yarn and stix down on the chesterfield and walking away.
Yup, I can make soap but realized, like most crafts and hobbies, if you don't do it for a while... you kinda loose some skill. Well... that's what happened. First batch didn't blend very well... no matter how long I swirled the glop... it didn't get to the correct thickness before I could even think about pouring it into the molds. What was wrong? Realized I didn't read the scale properly. Suffice it to say... too much oil and not enuff lye makes for a really bad batch! Yarn buddy and I laughed (I only had half a glass of wine and she can't drink... she's making a baby) as we both forgot our math skills. I told her this is what to look for when the glop doesn't work out. Preceded to the next batch and it worked perfectly... telling her this was what the glop is supposed to look like.
I'm reminded of a recent test knit... frogged it back three times because it wasn't working out. After continued chatting with Miss M, the designer, we got it sorted. I know what it's not supposed to look like... and in a few days we'll know what it will look like. Yup, like life, it's all a learning process. Certainly, some life lessons can be rather costly, some even heart breaking... but in the end, with a little re-jigging along with some twists and unexpected turns, things do eventually work out. The outcome may a bit of a surprise but that's what makes the journey worth while. Now, time to clean up the mess in the soap factory!
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