THE MAKING OF SOAP

Making homemade soap is fun and open to endless, creative interpretations.

Photo credit: Richard Karper

One of the most frequent comments I hear when someone is interested in my handmade soaps goes something like this: "Oh, I just love this natural soap! I remember my grandmother used to make that awful lye soap but I just like using the natural stuff." This is a bit of a riddle because all soap, by definition, is the result of the reaction between fats and oils and sodium (or potassium) hydroxide, or as it is more familiarly known: lye. Simply put: no lye, no soap.

A variety of both liquid and solid fats, ranging from Coconut to Olive, and many others, can be used in natural soap-making. 

A solution of lye crystals in water is also essential in soap-making.

Perhaps because common lye is also known by the somewhat ominous-sounding name of sodium (or potassium in the case of liquid soap) hydroxide, and the current popular perception is that "natural" and "chemical" are mutually exclusive terms, many associate lye soap with harshness and austere frugality. But let's make our high school chemistry teachers proud and demystify the whole soap-making process.

The first step is to overcome our misconceptions about chemicals and re-frame them as yet another way to talk about everyday, common items with which we are familiar. Some rascally (and witty) scientist with a bit of spare time in the lab came up with the following information in the interest of public safety. Read along and see if you can identify this common chemical:

Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) is a colorless and odorless chemical compound, also referred to by some as Dihydrogen Oxide, Hydrogen Hydroxide, Hydronium Hydroxide, or simply Hydric acid. Its basis is the highly reactive hydroxyl radical, a species shown to mutate DNA, denature proteins, disrupt cell membranes, and chemically alter critical neurotransmitters. The atomic components of DHMO are found in a number of caustic, explosive and poisonous compounds such as Sulfuric Acid, Nitroglycerine and Ethyl Alcohol.
For more detailed information, including precautions, disposal procedures and storage requirements, refer to one of the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) available for DHMO. 

If you have guessed what this chemical compound is (and you are chuckling to yourself), give yourself a gold star and move to the head of the class. Yes, Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) is good old-fashioned water, couched in the language of science. You can read the entire, highly entertaining,  text, precautions, and safety guidelines here if you like:  http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html

My point is that just because something is called by its scientific name is not necessarily cause for alarm. The language of science can be every bit as fun as Pig Latin was as a kid if we choose to play along. So, back to soap...

Soap, quite simply, is the result of a chemical reaction between fats (or lipids, as a scientist would say) and lye (Sodium Hydroxide) often driven by heat, in one form or another, over time. All of that can be written using letters, numbers, and symbols if one takes a playful fancy to that sort of thing. Maybe you are wondering about what you have heard about lye and its caustic qualities. That is absolutely true. It is indeed caustic and should be used with care and presence of mind while wearing protective gloves and safety goggles. I am never sure how to address the fear that many express in handling lye. It is true that it is not a time for goofing off or being inattentive but that is also true of making a pot of soup. Sharp knives for chopping meats and vegetables, hot burners, and simmering liquids on a stove all pose a risk and should be handled responsibly but I haven't met anyone yet who has opted not to eat because preparing a meal could be dangerous. Making soap basically requires the same skill set. Educating myself and then proceeding with due sobriety and awareness has proven sufficient for me so far.

Fats/Oils along with a lye solution reacting in a process called 'saponification' that will result in SOAP!

Back to the lye Grandma used to make soap to meet the cleaning needs of home and hearth. What is lye, besides Sodium (or Potassium) Hydroxide, as if that clarified anything, and how was it made? The history of soap-making is long and interesting but I will step into the flow of that story at the point of Early America. Settlers couldn't order their supplies from Amazon or soap-making companies as I can today, nor could they nip out to the nearest big box store for a jumbo pack of Ivory. Undaunted, they gathered the hardwood ash from their fireplaces and combined it with rainwater to produce an alkaline solution we would call lye water. Hold on to your alchemical wizard's hat because wood ash is an excellent source sodium (a salt), especially sodium and potassium hydroxides and carbonates, all forms of alkali. Rainwater was allowed to trickle through a bucket of sifted hardwood ashes and the resulting liquid that leached out was the lye mixture used, along with rendered fat, to make soap to meet the cleaning needs around the homestead. In 1791 a French chemist named LeBlanc, which ironically means 'the White', invented a process of making soda ash by electrolytic reaction, allowing for the production of uniform, hard bars of soap to be produced and eventually leading to that wonder of wonders, the Ivory soap bar that floats. Fascinating!

Post World War II, factory soap production actually shifted to detergent production as companies sought to find new uses for a whole new arena of synthetic chemicals. According to THE SOAPMAKER'S WORKSHOP: The Art & Craft of Natural Handmade Soap by Dr. Robert S. [a retired chemist] and Katherine J. McDaniel, the Tide company, "...produced [their product] by sulfonation of the condensation reaction of benzene with olefins. Tide was introduced the same year as the automatic washing machine cleaner. Over the next 30 to 40 years, synthetic detergents took over the washing detergent market and then began dominating the bar soap market as detergent bars were introduced...What is usually considered to be soap is either a synthetic detergent (syndet) in compressed solid form or a blend of soap with synthetic detergent (a combar)."

In a nutshell, I do something closer to what Grandma did back in the day, although I use a crock pot and often purchase my sodium hydroxide in bulk. I find soap-making creative, useful, and just good, clean fun as well as an interesting science lesson.

Bubbles!

Making Time That Flies

When we first started this blog, the vision was to have regular posts about all of the various things we were creating, building, crafting, and exploring here at the Hobbie Homestead. I (Leenie) thought it would be simple to post a photo or two each week of whatever was grabbing our attention and keep everyone abreast of our latest endeavors. It turns out that was a tall order. I am chagrined to discover that our last post was in May! I thought it was maybe last month.

Obviously, we have been busy. Pete has attended music/artisan shows and events. In fact, he will be at the Frostburg State University Appalachian Festival next weekend playing music with friends as well as displaying some of his hand-carved treenware pieces that will be available for sale.

Leenie was excited to welcome her first ever herbal assistant here for a month this summer...and what a month that was! It revealed how important getting appropriate help is to the functioning and growth of a fledgling business. We will be looking for ways to integrate this key resource into our lives in the coming years. Otherwise, the summer was spent offering herb classes, wild herb walks, and making products for local markets and shops.

In the midst of all these undertakings, we managed to fit in a family camping trip that was wonderfully refreshing, some dance camps for our teen daughter, and continuing education for Pete and I in a variety of forms (sometimes as students and sometimes as teachers). It is very interesting to be transitioning to a stage of life wherein it is time for us to share what we have learned and inspire a whole new generation to carry on the craft of creativity in one form or another. How did all of this happen so fast? Life is a breathtaking adventure. 

OPENING

As Pete and I readied our home and various hand-crafted creations for our first ever open house, we made some important self-discoveries. I (Leenie) am, by nature, a private person and, by temperament, an introvert. Pete carries the ball, socially speaking, most of the time for our duo. 

But one thing we share in common is an intense love of and appreciation for our home. We love it on the messy, chaotic days of newborns and toddlers, and we love it on the, admittedly rare, days of sublime order and clean, uncluttered surfaces, neatly made beds, and shiny, smooth floors. It's all good for us because it is home, a place of people-before-things, a haven and creative workshop in one, and the gathering spot of our most beloved and favorite people on the planet. This works for us.

However, as we sorted stacks---of books and magazines, socks and containers, seeds and shoes---we looked around with more critical, metaphorical eyes that can't appreciate or sense the laughter ringing in the walls from decades of celebrating the blessing of family. Or appreciate why a treasured plastic dump truck still enjoys pride of place in our unruly garden, even though the original owner has long since grown and flown. 

And then there are my little green friends, the wild herbs, both medicinal and culinary, that grace the beds and borders, paths and woods. (I have foregone the habit of referring to them as 'weeds'. For the full text of that lecture you can sign up for one of my wild plant talks or walks. Ha!) I have been gathering wild foods and medicines for more than three decades and have grown comfortable with the serendipitous and capricious nature of plants that decide a walkway would make an excellent home for a delicate Lobelia inflata specimen. Or the foundation path by the outdoor water spigot proclaimed, "Perfect!" by a fabulous Mama Elder (Sambucus nigra) for raising a brood of seedlings. 

Life is a come-as-you-are event. We will never be ready in the sense of everything being perfect. Showing up and finding something to love is what it is all about. Pete and I reminded one another that we love our home just as it is and we can stay with that even as we open the door to others. It won't match every taste or need, some may feel more negatively critical. That's okay. It has taken me a long time to learn to appreciate what is, on any given day, and love it rather than consider the infinite list of what is not. 

In the midst of getting ready, the inevitable happened..."unexpected interruptions" that were not interruptions at all, but the natural results of caring and being connected to friends and clients who happen to have an unscheduled need or request. Although these opportunities had not been on my to-do list, it was a joy and honor to pause and attend. People before things. At the end of one long day a dear friend asked me, via online chat, how I was doing. I said I was okay but, of course, I was not getting everything neat and pretty as planned. I told her that I wished everyone who came to our open house could see the beauty in the commonplace that we see, the celebration in the mundane. She said something that I will always cherish. I won't get it verbatim but she told me that some people wear rose-colored glasses and see life in a way that no one else can understand, but that I hand out those glasses to everyone I meet, just by being myself, so everyone can appreciate what I see. It doesn't take special glasses to see that this woman is a very special friend. 

So, if you're free today and you care to come and enjoy a rosy view of life as it is, swing by between noon and 4 p.m. for some tea and treats. We can talk wood and wild herbs, sunshine and gardens, or whatever else you fancy!

VINTAGE SUITCASE UPCYCLE...Or Apothecary To Go!

It can be fun to learn a new skill or craft, to shop for and gather all of the tools and materials, even to take a crafting class or follow a tutorial. But we often feel the most creative excitement from taking a look around at what we have on hand and coming up our own plan, sort of "getting off the blacktop" creatively speaking.

Limited parking and space at our home makes offering herb classes here quite restrictive and many people observe that we are definitely pretty far off the beaten path. This winter I (Leenie) decided to put on my thinking cap and come up with some new ways to teach herb classes at other locations without trying to move my 3 cupboard herb storage area (plus things on the pantry shelves and in the freezer) and a trunk load of tools and utensils. I found an old, small suitcase that had once belonged to Pete's grandmother in our storage room. It is sturdy and all the clasps work fine despite probably being over 70 years old. It smelled rather musty as well, but I saw possibilities. Because it is rigid and quite solid I observed how when stood it on end it could open rather like a steamer trunk. I told Pete about my idea to convert it to a portable apothecary for classes and asked if he would be able to build small compartments inside to house a variety of herbal preparations in various sized bottles, jars, and sacks. Thankfully, as always, he was able to work his wood wizard skills in creating just what I had envisioned.

First, I cleaned the exterior and gutted the torn and stained lining. Some cleaning (with homemade Citrus Vinegar), airing out in sunshine, then closing it up with aromatic Lavender from the garden resulted in a fresh smelling suitcase. I began painting the interior just to improve the appearance a bit and then handed it over to Pete to customize the shelving units. Then it was ready to paint on the outside and fill with the tools of my herbal trade.

I took my wonderful little portable apothecary out for its first teaching gig this past Saturday. It was a breeze to pick up this little, lightweight case by the handle along with a handful of note cards for my talk, a disc for the slide-show, and a few business cards. So much fun and now that I know that it works so well I am already on the look-out for a couple more vintage suitcases for other herbal classes. Next up: a Portable Herbal Spa!

ADVENTURES IN HANDMADE LIVING

Pete constructing our hand-built home from locally sourced wood 

20+ years ago.

From those first camping trips as teenagers, Pete and I have shared a passion for making things ourselves from materials at hand. Forty years and 4 kids later we are still having fun carving, fashioning, shaping, weaving, composing, formulating, and just generally loving our handmade life. 

Pete, in the main, is a woodworker and has constructed all sorts of useful things from hand-carved spoons to guitars to the home we live in. He makes treenware (hand-carved wooden utensils like spoons, ladles, bowls, and such), organic furniture, stringed instruments, among other things. Leenie, in the main, is an herbalist devoted particularly to wild plants as foods and remedies. She makes a variety of herbal preparations and items related to gardening and herbs, but is most enthusiastic about teaching others about wild-crafting (gathering from the wild) and cultivating herbs and to make their own apothecary products.

This blog will be our outlet for sharing what we are making, sometimes our musings on the process, letting you know about classes and/or where you can purchase our artisan products, and hopefully a place of learning some modern technology skills to link our yen for ancient crafting to a modern world. 

Here are a few photos of current projects to inspire and spark your own creativity:

Dough bowls and ladles from local Sycamore

Vintage suitcase upcycled to a portable apothecary for herb classes away from home

Beautiful Walnut ladle made from local sustainably sourced wood

Sign up for a weed walk or herb talk with Leenie this summer and learn about the common plants of uncommon value right outside your door