Weekly Roundup: Woodland Wonders Crochet Along and Lotion Bars

Last weekend I went out of town for a show, and was a bit busy during the week, so I didn’t get to do a weekly roundup. As a result, this weekend I really needed some at-home time – I always do when I feel like I’ve been out too much. My daughter was on vacation this weekend, too, so we didn’t get to have our usual Sunday outing. So I spent the entire weekend at home cleaning, cooking, relaxing with my cats, and making things.

This included testing out different recipes for homemade lotions bars, and in the process I learned that although it is really soft and moisturizing, I really don’t like the scent of shea butter, so I ended up with a recipe that I did like with coconut oil and beeswax as the main ingredients. I will tweak it a bit more, and if I get them just right, I will add them to the shop.

I was also very happy to see that Coastal Crochet had another wonderful crochet-along this month: “Woodland Wonders.” I absolutely love her designs and am excited to make another blanket of hers. This one features another palette of beautiful complementary colors, just like the “Postcards with Love” blanket she designed for another CAL I participated in. For Woodland Wonders I got a bit of a late start but made a lot of progress today while I binge-watched “Your Honor” on Netflix (so good).

Last week’s book, Prodigal Summer, was a touching and captivating look at the people and landscape of the rural south, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was the perfect intro to summer. I feel like I haven’t read a classic in a long time, so this week’s pick is The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway.