Shop Update!!

It has been a while since I've announced an official shop update.
The Smitten Hat pattern was added over the weekend. I had it set up so that the the shopping cart would automatically take you to the pdf link, but there were too many issues with that so....I will now email you the pattern as an email attachment within a few hours of purchase. I check my email all day long, so you'll probably get it in less than an hour, but we'll say 8 hours to be on the safe side. Thanks to all who have purchased it.
I've just now added a new page to the shop: Tread Lightly Herbals Handmade Soaps and Salves.
There's a wonderful Hand Butter, a Barrier Butter, and of course the Bunion Balm:


They are all made with Shea Butter as a base (the Hand Butter has Avocado Butter, too!) to which essential oils and other goodies have been added.
Soon I'll be adding hand made soaps to the new page, as well as the Smitten Mittens pattern to the patterns page.
With all the rain and sleet around here of late, I've had lots of time to devote to the shop!

The Smitten Hat- New Knitting Pattern!

I've just added a new pattern to the shop:

I love this hat...it's pretty (if I may say so myself), it fits well, and it was a blast (fun and fast) to knit.
It is an instantly downloadable pdf file, so you can have it done in time for Valentine's Day if you like. Check it out:
Smitten Hat(scroll down to bottom of page)
The heart patterns are based on a traditional Fair Isle star pattern.


In other news, Bunion Balm tins have arrived (finally) and I'll add it to the shop next week.
Thanks to those of you who have kept our family in your thoughts...it seems to be helping.

A Time to Sit, a Time to Type

Whew! The holidays were a whirlwind, and I'm glad to be in January.
The ski hats were all (6!) finished just in time to give to their grateful recipients, who seemed to really like them.
I loved seeing family at Christmas.
New Year's Eve was nice, but New Year's Day brought an unexpected sadness to my family that is too personal to get into, but if you pray in any way, please send some this way. Thanks.
I haven't done any knitting since the last ski hat was finished. Instead I've been working on another long-time love....making herbal concoctions! Doesn't that sound fun? Over the years I've made ointments for various things like dry cracked skin, contact dermatitis, babies' diaper rashes, etc. Two years ago I began suffering from bunion pain (not fun for a hiker), and last year I made a balm, Bunion Balm, to relieve my foot pain. It worked, and I've decided to sell it. It is all natural, all vegan, and full of good things like Shea Butter and essential oils. I'm just waiting for my balm jars to come, and then I'll let you know when I add it to the shop for purchase. I'm also going to sell other balms that I've made and used, and some hand-made soaps that have worked beautifully for my family.
I should have taken a photo of the hats before wrapping them, but I was in too much of a rush to think of it.
My husband and in-laws gave me supplies for making soy candles, so I've also been playing around with those.
I hope each of you had a wonderful holiday break.