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DIY Pressed Flower Candle

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This candle making tutorial shows you how to press flowers in to your handmade candle. The tutorial will guide you through attaching the flowers to the edge of the glass before pouring your wax in to the jar. You can see the full candlemaking tutorial here. 

 

Flowers 

Here are some fun flower facts you might not have known. 

Did you know that broccoli is actually a flower?  

Some plants such as orchids do not need soil to grow-they get all of their nutrients from the air, clearly not the plants that I have cause they apparently need more water than I gave them. I do not have a single green finger let alone a green thumb. I am pretty sure I could kill a plastic plant given the chance.  

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants. 

Flowers did not always exist they only appeared around 140 million years ago.  

Roses are related to apples, raspberries, cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines, pears and almonds, I guess that is why they are edible right?  

  Dandelions might seem like weeds, but the flowers and leaves are a good source of vitamins A and C, iron, calcium and potassium.  

Sunflowers move throughout the day, following the movement of the sun from east to west? have you ever noticed this?  

Flowers and plants have been used medicinally for thousands of years. Some flowers, such as the lotus, have religious or historical significance. 

In the 1600s, tulips were so valued that they were worth more than gold 

Lavender is a beautiful purple flower that is native to the Mediterranean. It has a scent that is known to relax people and is a well used calmative. 

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A Whimsical Sock Pattern to Blow Your Mind

You probably know by now if you’re a regular reader (and if you’re not, welcome!) that I love a knitting pattern that’s a little silly or a little different from the usual. Classic patterns are great, too, but sometimes you just want to make something with a bit of whimsy. And when it’s super functional, too, that’s even better.

That’s the case with the Bananen-Socken pattern from Susanne Shahin. These banana socks are one of those patterns no one seems to be totally sure where it came from, and this free pattern on Ravelry explains how she makes them based on how she learned it.

It’s a sock that’s curved and when not on a foot it looks rather like a banana. There’s no heel, and you can use whatever number of stitches you need to make it fit your foot. If you’ve knit enough socks to know how many stitches you like you can just use that number, or the pattern notes include sizing charts to help. (It needs to be multiples of 2 for the ribbing.)

After working a traditional cuff, the body is made with ribbing on the back and welts (or what the pattern calls horizontal ribbing) on the front, which is what gives it the curved shape. There’s no heel, but there is toe shaping, but for the leg and the foot you just keep working the same pattern as long as you like.

I’m a little skeptical about how these socks will feel with ribbing on the bottom of the foot, but I’m definitely intrigued and will probably give them a try. 

The pattern notes are available on Ravelry in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish. If you head to the pattern page you can see a photo of what it looks like on a foot, and it just looks like a normal sock.

Have you ever knit banana socks or do you want to now? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: Susanne Shahin]