New soap and body product classes

Joan Morais, a certified aromatherapist and instructor, is teaching some great classes this year!

Here’s just a sampling:

NATURAL SKIN & BODY CARE PRODUCT MAKING COURSE
JULY 23, 24, 25, 2009 Last one for 2009!
Thurs, Fri, & Sat, 9:30am-4:30pm
Courtyard Marriott, Fairfield, CA

Learn how to make body lotion, anti-oxidant facial cream, anti-wrinkle eye balm, purifying facial toner, facial cleansing milk, and more.

NATURAL SOAP MAKING COURSE
AUGUST 9 & 10, 2009
Sun & Mon 9:30am-5:30pm
Courtyard Marriott, Fairfield, CA

Learn how to make cold process soap, goats milk soap, marbled soap, honey, oats, herbal tea soap, shea butter soap, moisturzing complexion soap, hand milled, rebatched soap, shampoo bar, and even a pet shampoo bar and more!

NATURAL SKIN & BODY CARE PRODUCT MAKING COURSE -intermediate level
OCTOBER 16, 17 & 18, 2009
Fri, Sat, & Sun, 9:30am-4:30pm
Courtyard Marriott, Fairfield, CA

This course is for those who have taken the beginner level course and will teach more advanced techniques to lotion maing and aromatherapy, as well as perfumes, body oil, massage oil, and deoderants.

Glow: Create Your Own Aromatherapeutic Skin Care Products and Candles
OCTOBER 25, 26, & 27, 2009
Kripalu Center for yoga & health
Stockbridge, Massachussetts

Please visit her website for more detailed class descriptions and registration info.

Looking for a herbal shampoo? Check out our DIY recipe for making your own natural herbal shampoo with basic supplies. We also have a herbal conditioner recipe too. Home-made shampoos and conditioners are a great way to strip back to basics and control what herbs you are putting into your hair shampoo and products. Store-bought herbal shampoo contains lots of numbers and ingredients that as the consumer we know very little about.

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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]

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