WIP Wednesday!

It's Work in Progress Wednesday!

What does that mean?  It means that on Wednesdays I will be blogging about my current projects in progress...whether they be spinning, crocheting, knitting, dyeing...or even something not yarn related.. (is there really such thing?!)

This week..well..if I'm going to hold myself TRULY accountable...then I have a LOT to show you! LOL  So, be warned this post is photo heavy!

Here we go, in no particular order...

My current FAVORITE shawl.."For the Love of a Hobbit", which is a crocheted shawl (Goldberry) by Michele DuNaier.  I am doing this shawl in 3 different shades of MadTosh DK, Windowpane, RainWater & Magenta.

This is BFL from On The Round, predrafted...and the spinning photo is done inside, with a flash, due to lack of light :/  the color is accurate in the first photo.

 I will use the handspun yarn to make a project for a friend in a secret swap on Ravelry.. 

Here we have what will be (if I finish it) my first knit shawl, Brass, Crass & Full of Sass. Also known as The Age of Brass & Steam by Orange Flower.  (my first bc I lost the Hitchhiker shawl I was doing..that sucker just DISAPPEARED!) But, I keep leaving this one at my mother-in-law's condo, so I haven't made any progress past this photo of knitting at the pool while my kids & husband swam.  This yarn is done in Manos Del Uruguay Silk Blend in Teal.

  

 Ahhh...and here is one of my favorites.."A Song of Friendship"... a Tunisian Crochet shawl, Raven's Song, in Before the Storm on Super Sparkle base, both by Julia W, aka Pandia's Jewels.

Here are the yarns for another project I am working on, but have BARELY started, a chevron cowl, for my friend Kari.  It is being done in Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn in 2 shades of gray, a black, a white, and a pink/black/gray/white variegated. 

I am also spinning a yarn for a friend, in the prettiest pink!  It's Cadillac Pinks luxury blend (merino & sparkles) by Dyeing For Colour. 

Ooooohhh, and here is "Team Cindy", which is for my good friend Tish's mom, who was diagnosed with cancer, and recently had a bone marrow transplant.  This is the First Love shawl by @Michele DuNaier, done in Naturally Caron Spa in Natural, and Premier Yarns Serenity Garden in Twilight, held together.

Ok, there are more, but I'm not sure if I should post them lol I'm getting a bit embarassed by how many WIP's I have! LOL

Another (first) First Love shawl, that after putting all but the last few rows on, I am not sure if I like it...so it's just been sitting there..for a few months lol

There are also, 2 more shawls that the patterns are by Michele DuNaier...they are both Amagansett Girl..for 2 different friends.  One is for my friend Dawn, in MadTosh Sport "Mare"...

and the other is for Tish, in Pandia's Jewels Super Sparkle in "Weyward Sisters".

And last, but not least, (because I refuse to post any more WIP's!) is Unicorn Sprinkles...which is a "Tea Wrap" by Lion Brand, done on Out of Step Dyeworks Silver Sparkle in Mall Rat..this one is a gift too.

So, here ya go, all (well, most!) of my WIP's, on one post...I hope by next wednesday to have finished or made good progress on a couple of these.  And hopefully have started the project in the handspun yarn at the very top. ;)  Shhhh! It's a secret what I'm making though!!  (It's for a secret swap.)  I'm also about to start ANOTHER shawl, for a gift for a swap I am in..but I haven't decided on the yarn yet.

Come join me, and my friends, in my Ravelry group for a CAL/KAL/PAL!  (Crochet-a-long, Knit-a-long, Project-a-long)

Until next time...........oh, and have a GREAT day!

Colgate SlimSoft Product Review

So, I've been a bad blogger, but I aspire to be better.  I've been working on growing my Etsy shop, and my health has been poor.  Things are starting to look up, or so we hope, and I'm working on expanding a few things.  In the meantime, a few friends invited me to join a community called Influenster.  Influenster is awesome.  I get a box in the mail, with a product to review.  I use it, use it, abuse it, use it some more, then post the review on the interwebz. This is one of those reviews ;) My first actually!

The product I received for my first review, in my "VoxBox", was the Colgate SlimSoft toothbrush.  It also came with a sample size toothpaste (Colgate Total Advanced Whitening) & a sample bottle of Colgate Total Advanced Pro-Shield (blue) mouthwash.  I got home from the hospital and this box was waiting for me, yay! After 2 days there, with no toothpaste, this was a VERY welcome package!!

Let's start with the toothbrush.

According to Colgate, the SlimSoft toothbrush is 17x slimmer, for a deep clean.  It has "floss-tip" bristles.  Ok, whoever came up with this idea?? AMAZING!  They deserve some kind of special prize.  Seriously.  Until recently, I used a toothbrush like this (brand left off so as not to be rude, good brand, just the toothbrush wasn't right for me.) ;)

And, when I bought that brush, I thought AMAZING!  But, after a few days, it wasn't soft enough for my sensitive teeth and gums.  And the side bristles hurt.  The SlimSoft brush though, oh wow, nope, no pain.  I've been using it steadily since I got it, and I find that I'm willing to brush more now. (You know, like the actual 2-3x a day you are SUPPOSED to brush, as opposed to the only at night & quick first thing in the morning brushing I did with the other brush above.)  My teeth definitely feel cleaner, and it gets between my teeth SO nicely! (This brush does NOT replace flossing....but, I hate flossing, with a passion...if you do too, check out the flosser picks, much less hassle, less awkward, and they come in mint flavor too.)   This brush doesn't LOOK like anything special, oh, but it is, it so is.  I plan on trying the "Pro-Tip Slim Soft" next.  My back teeth want the extra love it provides.

Toothpaste/Mouthwash:  As I said before, this product box came with a sample tube of toothpaste & sample bottle of mouthwash.  My regular toothpaste of choice is Crest Pro-Health Sensitive or Whitening (depends on which one is available at the store I'm at.)  This toothpaste is definitely a competitor.  I prefer the mintier Crest over the Colgate, but the Colgate Total Advanced with Whitening, in combination with the Colgate SlimSoft toothbrush, left my teeth and mouth feeling over-all cleaner than the same brush with the Crest toothpaste.  I may just have to buy more of this toothpaste! (ya know, when the 3 boxes of toothpaste my mother-in-law bought me at [insert giant mass supply box store name here] runs out.)  And, last, but not least, the mouthwash.  I use Listerine.  I like the fresh minty taste, not so much the burn, but it's worth it in the end.  The Colgate Total Advanced Pro-Shield mouthwash (in "Peppermint Blast") was...uneventful at most.  I wouldn't call the "Peppermint Blast" a "blast" of anything.  It had little to no flavor (in my most humble opinion)...but, as I said, I use Listerine, which is a burning hot EXTREMELY minty (and don't forget the added alcohol) flavor.  So, next to that, how could this have any flavor without the alcohol burn?  I will say that I did enjoy that it did NOT burn (especially after I busted my lip the other day!)  But, without the burn, my mouth didn't feel as clean as it does with Listerine.  For some folks though, the burn is bad, for others, we like it.  This is just MY opinion.  I will add though, that I woke up with icky breath in the morning, after using this.  When I use Listerine and whatever toothpaste/toothbrush, I still have icky breath in the morning...just with minty lips.  I DID notice a definite difference though in waking up after switching to the Colgate SlimSoft toothbrush with the Colgate Total Advanced with Whitening toothpaste.  And I'm going to say it was due to the two together, as I DID try the brush with my old toothpaste.  (I did not try the new toothpaste with my old brush, that sucker got downgraded to sink/tub cleanerbrush!) :P

So, all of that said, the (wow this is a mouthful!) Colgate SlimSoft toothbrush gets an A+ in my book.  The Colgate Total Advanced with Whitening toothpaste gets an A.  And the Colgate Total Advanced Pro-Shield mouthwash gets a B.

I hope you enjoyed my review, and keep an eye out for more.  I will also be reviewing some yarns soon (possibly today..) and doing a store update soon as well, so keep your eyes peeled!!

**Please note: I received this product free in exchange for my review.**