Frolic and Scrub

I took E and Z to the Fiber Frolic this weekend to look at wooly mammals. They fell in love with the bunnies and an adorable baby goat. I fell in love with the border collies—I need a sheep dog to keep all these kids in line (unfortunately I don’t think the kids have the right herd mentality). We learned how to make felt balls and dyed wool with Kool-Aid (if you try this at home, use the unsweetened kind—we had some very happy ants frolicking in bright orange wool Sunday night).

I bought some wool roving and felting needles to try felting at home (this falls under the "supplies for making stuff" exemption) and this:









A broom corn pot scrubber. I noticed it after we watched the Shaker broom guy making brooms for a while. I’ve been wondering what I’d do after we ran out of plastic scrubbies—C washes dishes with a rag, but I prefer something more abrasive (now that we have a dishwasher, this is less of an issue). I did buy a package of Chore Boys after I used our last bit of steel wool to scrub melted plastic off the wood stove, but I didn’t feel good about it. So yes, this is a new purchase, but it is handmade (somewhat locally, when compared to China) and totally bio-degradable. It also gives of a pleasant hay-ey smell while you scrub a pot, which certainly beats that smoldery metallic S.O.S. Pad smell I remember from when I was a kid.