A lavender bottle sachet / La bouteille de lavande

I was browsing facebook this morning and noticed the prettiest lavender wand sachet made by Irina from Belarus (JewelryFloren). She got so many blooms this year that she was able to make 25 pretty sticks from just 2 lavender bushes.

I love this idea because all the sweet buds stay inside after the stick has dried out and it still will look pretty and ready to do its job to refresh your linen closet or dresser draw. The idea of  "La bouteille de lavande" came from France where lavender is a part of culture and history. Oh so romantic!

All you need to make 1 stick like this is about 25 to 30 lavender stems, 2 1/2 yards of narrow satin ribbon (about 1/4" wide) in your favorite color and a sewing thread.

Сlean your lavender stems from the leaves and bottom flowers. Gather them together and tie the stems tight right under the flower heads with a sewing thread. Now, bend the stems to the sides to cage the flower heads inside. Run one end of the ribbon along side the flowers to poke out of the bottom of the flower cage. Tie your pretty satin ribbon on top of sewing thread and start weaving the other loose end of the ribbon around the top of flower cage using basic under-and-over basket weaving technique. Push the sticking-out flowers back to cage with a toothpick.

Keep weaving tightly (very important since the lavender will shrink as it dries) to get a bottle shape.

Tie both ribbon ends tight around the base a few times and make a pretty bow. 

Voilà! It's ready to use, just let it dry and enjoy!

Thank you, Irina, for this great idea!

Winter season at Socksandmittens

This fall and winter we added some new product to our socksandmittens shop on Etsy. For men, we created a new line of fingerless gloves made of undyed wool contained lanolin oils.

This yarn comes in two shades, oatmeal and brown so we played with it a little and made 4 different designs with it. 

 

The gloves made with this yarn are very pretty and can be a nice thoughtful handmade gift for a natural fiber lover.

For ladies, we tried some new yarns also. There are gloves and arm warmers made of very soft alpaca, extrafine merino wool & angora yarn  and we just made a couple of new wrist warmers of colorful Noro yarn. Please stop by to see them in our shop!

As always, please remember how to care for your garments made of natural fiber. Hand wash it in lukewarm water and lay flat to dry on a surface covered with a clean colorfast bath towel.

 

This winter was so cold in many areas. Please stay warm!

Potpourri ball, the Holidays gift idea

I bought the clear plastic glass ball at our local craft shop another day with great intentions to crochet around it. When I came home I start to look at this ball from another angle. The clear glass ball is a perfect way to preserve the summer and have it all year around!



So my idea is simple: gather your favorite botanicals, dry them, add 1 drop of your favorite essential oil per 1 cup of dried mix or leave it unscented, it is up to you.


Take the cap off the ball and carefully place your dried botanicals inside.


Put the cap back on and tie a pretty ribbon on top. Add another ribbon to hang the ball. That's it! Your one of a kind small but thoughtful gift is ready!

A plastic clear ball will work fine for this idea but I would use a clear glass one for this purpose. It is more friendly to the Earth and also the scent will stay brighter. The botanical mix, the ribbons and the scent are your choice, there is plenty of choices, just look around!


This idea is also great for the party favors.

Beautiful in gray

Gray is one of my favorite colors. It's quiet, cozy and works great with your skin tone. It's the color of a cloudy sky but to me it's optimistic. Gray looks equally good in man's or woman's clothing, it's classic.Talking of knits, gray looks perfect in any type of stitch, lace or cable. Gloves, hats and scarves are perfect accessories to show how fabulous you are. Gray allow you to blend with surroundings and observe. Every shade of gray is gorgeous.
If a cloudy day is not what you are in a mood for today and you need some color, just add a splash of bright color. It will lift your mood.

New at Socksandmittens - baby alpaca and wool gloves

This year we are planning to add some new designs and new materials to our shop .
For example, these gloves are made of high quality undyed peruvian baby alpaca & wool blend yarn and they are very light and the softest gloves ever!The yarn is a bit pricey so the price of gloves are a little higher but there is such a nice Earthy feeling about them!
There is going to be more models in pure alpaca or alpaca & wool blend in a variety of colors. I've just ordered some samples of yarn so they will be available for sale at Socksandmittens as soon as we will finish with our custom orders!

Interview With A Star - Sasha & Veronika at Herbolution!

We all are concern about a clean environment to live in. Many of us make a lot of efforts to inflict minimal or no harm to the planet. We buy eco friendly products, recycle, switch to the solar and wind energy and so many other things!

When I came across Herbolution shop on Etsy I was curious to what’s behind the interesting name! So I got in touch with the shop owners and they kindly agreed to tell me and my readers their story. I’d like to introduce you today a couple who chose the green way of living for themselves and also put their Earth friendly thoughts into their products.

Please meet Herbolution!

Q: Please introduce yourself and your company.
A: We are a loving couple, Sasha and Veronika, who love each other, adore Nature and are passionate about creating things. Herbolution is a natural and eco-conscious alternative to conventional bath & body care, home accessories and many gifts.
Q: What is the story behind Herbolution?
A: The best way to describe it would be like this.

After we stepped into a life of eco-conscious living we where constantly seeing the separation of two kinds of people, ones who care about the environment and Mother Nature so much that they sacrifice their personal comforts (the "Eco-geeks"), and people who prefer comfort first and then look for ways to reduce their impact on the environment. So the picture was like this: "eco-geeks" where refusing to use many nice things until there was a proper eco-alternative on a market, while others where using what’s available and enjoying things that were offered by conventional industry.

So we decided to combine the best of two worlds and created Herbolution, where we can equally care for the environment and a customer.

This way everyone is happy with our product. "Eco-geeks" can feel the comfort of our sachets, keyboard wrist supports and eco friendly natural bath products, while other people will feel delightfully spoiled with our natural organic products that care about their beauty and well being.

Q: What would you say makes your shop unique?

A: We are trying to have all the good things in one place. All our products are made from scratch. All the ingredients we are using are 100% natural and mostly organic if available. We are using only biodegradable or recycled packaging. The combination of all of these features makes our store unique and joyful to shop at.

Q: What are your main sources of inspiration?

A: Our inspiration is coming from the beauty and resilience of Mother Nature, as well as permaculture concepts and practices. But the biggest portion of our inspiration is coming from our happy customers!

We’d like to thank all who are dedicated users of Herbolution products for their time and efforts to spread the word and for their descriptive and generous feedbacks.

Q: Do you take custom orders?

A: We LOVE custom orders. Every custom request proves us how conscious the customer is about natural ingredients and appreciates our individual approach.

Q: Do you have a Favorite quote you'd like to share with us?

A: We would like to share few quotes from our Eco-Calendar:

“Because we all share this small planet Earth, we have to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. That is not just a dream, but a necessity.” The Dalai Lama

"We cannot solve the problems that we have created with the same thinking that created them." Albert Einstein

Q: Where one can find more info about Herbolution and buy your products?
A: You can read more on our website or blog ,

follow us on Twitter ,

become a fan on Facebook

shop on our web-store on etsy,

artfire and

eCrater

If you read this article and decide to shop at one of our stores, feel free to mention “socksandmittens “ in checkout message box to get 10% off your purchase (it will be refunded to you after your payment).

Thank you so much, Sasha and Veronika, we wish you well!

Newly made - cotton beach blanket!

I crochet this sunny beach blanket for a friend.

She likes it! :)
It is a wonderful pattern and I made this blanket from cotton yarn. Since the thread is really fine, I have put a lot of thread and work in it.
I am definitely happy with the result!
So, I am thinking about making the same one for myself! :)

New at Socksandmittens - fun fingerless gloves

I've started to list some new products for this fall and winter. I know it is still June but there is always cold temperatures somewhere, right?

Anyway, these are made of 100% wool, they are nice, cozy and looks like fun! I am always thinking Christmas, so I would say these are also suitable as a nice winter Holidays gift! or just to wear in a cold office when working with computer.

Have a wonderful summer,

Tanya