Craft Masters!

With Hannah getting ready to go back to school on Monday, no one has really felt like tackling any of the large, looming projects, so we’ve been whiling away the time with various small craft projects. I crocheted this peek-a-boo sweater (that I can’t actually wear due to the sudden onset of Fall):



While I colored some xmas door-hangers, John put together a paper model that he had bought a while back of the Blue Tower of Bad Wimpfen:



I used my mighty craft skillz, Hannah’s stash of paper, and a template from a book to create this b-day card for John:



And all 3 of us got busy with the tie-dye. Lovely MIL had sent this kit, which we had promptly used, but we had some dye left, so we stashed it under the bed for later use. I came across it recently, but we had used up the packet of soda ash (to help the dye stick to the fabric better). Using my powerful google-fu, I figured out what exactly soda ash is (sodium carbonate aka salt of soda aka Na2CO3) and what it is used for (various types of cleaning, including laundry). I scoured the laundry aisle at the grocery store, and BINGO! Washing soda. Unfortunately, I had overlooked the fine print on the kit’s instructions, which said to use up the dye within 2 days of reconstituting it with water. (And also that it only works on natural fibers.) So our cotton tees that looked like beautiful rainbows after dying ended up pink and blue pastel after washing (and my puffy cloud socks turned out to be synthetic and dingy-looking):



Other than all the crafting, we’ve just been lounging about.