Finished first batch of dryer balls...

I am on the couch with ornery dog and I just tucked both kids into bed. All said, alot was accomplished today. but there's still so much more to do tomorrow :) I should probably be putting away laundry, sorting the next loads, and unloading the dishwasher. But this seems like more fun.

We slept in today, which was nice. The kids played when they woke up so I let the dog out and fed him and then took a bubble bath. I had spent some time last night working on wool dryer balls. I wanted to start them with a sweater core so that I didn't use so much expensive wool roving. The only sweater I could find was a wool/acrylic blend, and while I deep down knew it wouldn't felt like I really wanted it to, I decided to try it anyway. It felted partially. So then I covered them with wool roving, and instead of just wrapping like I had seen many people do, I actually needle felted it on there. I also made one with a solid wool roving core. That one felted beautifully, and was therefore much smaller and very solid, but also twice as expensive. I have a friend who has volunteered a 100% wool sweater so tomorrow I hope to roll a few more and see them felt much better. Luckily the fact that I have lots of laundry leads me to do lots of felting while actually getting clothes clean too :)

Anyway, while the kids played I felted the dryer balls that I had made last night and finished this morning. I got the kitchen ready to make soap and Ginger came over for eggs and we made two more batches of laundry soap. One for her to take home and one for me. So now I have 20 gallons of detergent in the basement.... so I won't have to drag out the food processor for soap making for a while :)

This afternoon I put Marek down for a nap and got Ardyn set on the table to make some beaded bracelets. I ate my lunch and lay down and before long Ardyn came in to lay with me. It felt like she and I just barely fell asleep when we woke up to Marek crying, he had woke up and after going to the bathroom to go potty, got into some bathtub paints and got them all over his face, in his hair, and in his eyes. He was hysterical. It was burning of course and he wanted me to fix his eyes. I put him in the tub and wiped him down with a warm washcloth. What a fun way to wake up. An hour early and to a screamer. *sigh*

We made supper and Ardyn helped me make brownies (or maybe vice versa.) Then daddy came home from work early because he was not feeling well. I did my best to keep them quieter while he rested but I am afraid that's kinda ridiculous. At about 8:30 I decided it was bedtime. We have an early playdate tomorrow and I figure they need all the rest they can get before then. I do to, but I am not sure if I can sleep yet. Plus Evan is resting in there and it's always hard for me to sleep when he has gone to bed first. It's foreign to me, he NEVER goes to bed first.

Tonight I made a couple more dryer balls with outer roving. Then the dog got ahold of them. Then a few of them look a little rough and I will have to re-felt them. Earlier today my three needle felting tool broke two needles so I am VERY Carefully felting with one precarious needle (which takes three times as long) and hoping that it doesn't break before I can get replacement needles here from Amazon. So here are the sweater centers ready to hit the wash for their first round of felting.

And here is the first bath of finished ones... with the exception of the larger orange and brown in the background, which hasn't been felted yet.

The smallest one in the center with the earth coloring is the wool roving core, which is why it is so much smaller than the rest. It felted beautifully but that means it shrunk more :)

Yesterday I got the Sit n Stand Plus out and wiped it all down. it had been in storage for a while and was dusty here and there. I didn't armor all the wheels though :) I took my pics and posted them. I didn't get a bite yet. I am probably asking too much. Oh well. We shall see.

Also took pics of the Shake and Go track. If it doesn't get any bites in the next day or two I will put in on eBay. The same track is going for anywhere from $25-45 plus shipping on eBay :) Crazy. I had hoped not to ship it, but I do want it to be gone.

Well, I guess I should go switch laundry and get myself to bed. Tylenol PM might be necessary tonight! It's been an hour and the kids are still playing back there.