Bison Down

Our local bison shop, Bison World, saves the shed down from their herd for the local spinners. I picked up a 1.4# bag today. I've read about how dirty it can be, so on the way home, I also purchased a yard of tulle. when I got home, I dug up a long zipper and fashioned an enormous garment bag.

Instincts told me I should really dump the fiber into the bag outside. Add to that- the initial rinse should be with a garden hose outside!
I'm finding little sticks, clumps of mud I thought were rocks, and leaves initially. I knew it would be a lot of work. This is going to be a running blog as I work on this project. My main concern is spinning short fibers. So far, I've tried some 1 1/2" fibers and had to stop. I may blend this with a longer fiber, but that involves getting a drum carder.

Homemade Shampoo that works!

I read about this a couple places. At first I was doubtful, and used it planning to have to rewash my hair, but it really does work. I would use this shampoo all the time, but I can't get my husband convinced, and I don't like a bunch of bottles all over the bath.

In an empty shampoo bottle, pour 1 Tablespoon of Baking Soda. Fill the bottle with water and shake. The soda will form a solid cake in the bottom, but it is also in the water. I just shake the bottle a little before each shampoo, and pour it over my head. There are no suds but it washes your hair clean. I condition with regular Conditioner (Suave of course).

The homemade recipes called for straight Apple Cider Vinegar, and I'm sorry, but it smells. It does not come out like they say, it doesn't make a wonderful tingle with the Baking Soda, either. Suave is just over $1.50 and worth it. Honestly, I buy that for shampoo, too. But if you are ever out of shampoo, just mix this up and you can keep adding water to the bottle till the Baking Soda is all gone then start over.

Homemade Detergent: Not so good

In  a previous blog, I spotlighted recipes for dishwasher detergent, Laundry detergent etc etc. After several months of using these recipes, here are the results:

                              the glass on the left is clean after using two wash loads of Cascade Platinum. The glass on the right is one of our worst examples of the homemade detergent, but all of our glasses have been feeling chalky for a long time now, and the Cascade has everything feeling clean and salvaged.



I have to go ahead and endorse the Tide Pods, too. I really prefer using the Pods to the soapnuts that I was so crazy about. I love the artificial smell. I'm just going to go with that clean scent.

My Little Paw Paw Tree

 

This is year number three for my pair of Paw Paws. Year one, blooms, but not enough between the two trees to really pollinate.

Year two, a couple paw paws which fell off during a big storm.

Year three, this cluster of four paw paws, whose only flaw was a spittle bug leaving some white at the base of one of them. I was hopeful. They were almost ripe.

Last week I went to check on them, and they were gone. I spotted it from a long way away. Just gone. Then, I noticed that not only had something eaten my fruit, but threw it up next to the tree!
After scouring the ground, I found a couple remains and was able to smell and feel the fruit. Pretty sure that the size of the gigantic bite marks were raccoon. It smelled really yummy. Soft to the touch. The rind is still green but the fruit was yellow inside. I had been feeling them and waiting for them to turn yellow.
In the Bible it tells us to wait until the third year and the harvest is ours, so I assume next year is the year!

Planting Cotton in Indiana

I have plants! I did quite a bit of research on planting cotton in Indiana. These plants were started inside (but not as soon as next year), and have been fertilized twice (which I almost never do to my plants, explaining the low yield in my vegetable garden). I planted the cotton in a pattern between tomatoes and okra, not realizing that okra and cotton are related so the pattern wasn't as pretty as I hoped.





 Then I surrounded each plant with basil and cilantro to ward off bugs. It's too early to tell if I'll actually get any cotton puffs, but look at the bolls:

 

 

Cotton plant. I don't think it is nearly as big as they grow in Cotton Country.

 

Below is an Okra plant. The leaves are very different, but the flowers are similar. Okra has the dark center, cotton is pure yellow, then when it is fertilized the flower turns pink. They are also related to Hibiscus, which grows well in Indiana.

 

As the weather cools, the bolls are getting dark spots on them, and turning pink at the base. I know nothing about what will happen. The bolls are heavy, and I had to stake the plants after the last rain because they all tipped over. Somehow I can't see cotton farmers messing with that, and the dried cotton always looks so straight in the field.

 

I have cotton!!!

 

For this year, my sister (from Tennessee) is scavenging some more so that I can make a project, but I will have quite a bit. I plan to make face scrubbies unless it really makes a lot.

 

 

 

 

Sewing Your New Zipper

For the last post, we adjusted a zipper's length. I adjusted both ends because I used Make-a-Zipper, which comes in five foot lengths. You can also buy a ready made zipper and adjust it.
We are making a pouch.
You only need one zipper. I was making more than one pouch. See the other blog post to make the tabbed zipper. It should be the width of your project.

 

 

Sew right sides together. The computer ate my photo. For positioning, hold it in place and flip it to see if everything will end up where you intend.

 Turn inside out and topstitch the edge. I move my needle over using the zigzag function on the sewing machine (did you know you can do that while sewing straight?) This way, You can use the edge of the presser foot as a guide.

 

 

Making tabs at each end makes this step easier: fold the pouch right sides together, and sew from the top all the way around. If you were assembling with the zipper sticking off the edge, the machine would not like the glump of zipper at each end.

 

OH YES**** Do you notice that the zipper is open? Even planning this blog, I still started around each bag and realized at the final moment that I had it zipped shut. You won't have even a tiny space to wiggle it open on this design.

Turn right side out.

 

View of the tab

 

View of tab on other end

Make a Zipper

For many of my patterns, custom size zippers don't fit. Rather than limit myself to the manufactured lengths, I learned long ago how to adjust. Most zippers can be sewn right through. For thicker or metal zippers, the technique I'm going to show works just as well. Simply skip sewing through the teeth and leave a longer tail inside the tab.
Step one:

 

Cut the zipper just a little smaller than your project (or you can cut it the same size if you wish. For my project, I wanted the finished ends of the tab to show.

 

Step two: cut 4 tabs the width of the zipper and long enough to stick out past the edge of your project (trim the ends when you are finished)

 

 

                                              completed zipper (I'm making 5 pencil cases).

 

Another view of the finished zipper

 

Step three: line up two tabs with the zipper in the middle. Sew across the end several times. If you are using a thicker zipper, lift the needle across the teeth. If you have a good amount of teeth past the seam, the tab will stop the zipper pull from running off the end.

 

Running back and forth. One end (the top probably) will be open. Hold the teeth as close together and as flat as you can and continue as before.

 

Step four: open tab, smooth flat and sew either the sides or the bottom edge (close to the end so it doesn't show in the final seam)

 

There you have a zipper of any length, ready to install. For the next blog entry, I'll use this zipper in a pencil case style pouch.