Waxing eloquent
Nov. 20th, 2017 09:51 amLast weekend ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wednesday_10_00 and I went to visit ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mangaroo. We did a little shopping at a game store, then walked all over town to take photos at scenic spots. We finished up at a fabric shop, where I picked up a few more buttons.
I made myself an account on Ravelry with my usual handle (weyrbrat), mainly to keep track of all the books I've been accumulating, because it's getting hard to remember what I've already purchased and what I've just browsed online or checked out from the library. I'm going to try to keep it updated with my current projects.
This weekend, whilewednesday_10_00 flew back to Michigan for a family event, I worked on rendering the beeswax I collected when I harvested my honey. It was a little confusing, because the book I read said that after the wax/honey is melted in a double boiler, the wax would float to the top. I thought that meant I would have to scoop the melted wax off the top, like skimming cream off milk. As it turns out, you have to filter the whole thing through cheesecloth first to get out any contaminants, and then it separates while it cools. At least now I know, so I'll be prepared next time I try it.
On Sunday I used the honey and wax to attempt making a batch of soap. The hardest part was measuring out the palm oil, which is solid at room temperature. I had to scrape at it with a spoon, whereupon it turned into little crumbly snowflakes that went flying everywhere. It was quite messy. At least the rest of the process went reasonably well, and I got the mixture poured into the molds.
I hadn't anticipated how fast it would cool. The first few molds went fine, but after that the mixture thickened to a pudding-like consistency. I did my best to stuff it into the molds, but it was chunky and wouldn't get into the fine details of the designs. So it's not retail-level quality, but it's decent for a first batch. Next time I'll have to pour more quickly to get it all in before it solidifies.
Now the soap just has to sit and cure for a month. I'm hoping to use the best ones as Christmas presents.
wednesday_10_00 and I went to visit mangaroo. We did a little shopping at a game store, then walked all over town to take photos at scenic spots. We finished up at a fabric shop, where I picked up a few more buttons.I made myself an account on Ravelry with my usual handle (weyrbrat), mainly to keep track of all the books I've been accumulating, because it's getting hard to remember what I've already purchased and what I've just browsed online or checked out from the library. I'm going to try to keep it updated with my current projects.
This weekend, while
wednesday_10_00 flew back to Michigan for a family event, I worked on rendering the beeswax I collected when I harvested my honey. It was a little confusing, because the book I read said that after the wax/honey is melted in a double boiler, the wax would float to the top. I thought that meant I would have to scoop the melted wax off the top, like skimming cream off milk. As it turns out, you have to filter the whole thing through cheesecloth first to get out any contaminants, and then it separates while it cools. At least now I know, so I'll be prepared next time I try it.On Sunday I used the honey and wax to attempt making a batch of soap. The hardest part was measuring out the palm oil, which is solid at room temperature. I had to scrape at it with a spoon, whereupon it turned into little crumbly snowflakes that went flying everywhere. It was quite messy. At least the rest of the process went reasonably well, and I got the mixture poured into the molds.
I hadn't anticipated how fast it would cool. The first few molds went fine, but after that the mixture thickened to a pudding-like consistency. I did my best to stuff it into the molds, but it was chunky and wouldn't get into the fine details of the designs. So it's not retail-level quality, but it's decent for a first batch. Next time I'll have to pour more quickly to get it all in before it solidifies.
Now the soap just has to sit and cure for a month. I'm hoping to use the best ones as Christmas presents.
