Update on rendering beeswax

The beeswax is rendering quite well, although the summer months aren't quite cooperating. Supposedly it's August when it's really hot - still in the peak of summer, but here in the Methow we are experiencing temps in the 70's - and lots of cloudy rainy days - none of which are conducive to melting wax. So far we have two gallons of wax, with a half barrel more to go.

What you see in the photo is the "slum gum" left behind with the wonderful wax in the bread pan in the bottom. I hear the slum gum works great as a fire starter so we'll be giving that a try.

Here's a close up of the wax. We'll melt it again on the wood stove this winter to clean it up even more. Then we'll be making candles and putting some aside for salves.

Here's a toast to bees and their incredible gifts.

Rendering Beeswax

An incredibly generous friend gifted me with a 55 gallon drum of un-rendered beeswax.

Another generous friend made me a solar still to turn this gloppy mess into pure beeswax for candles and salve making.






If you've never seen un-rendered beeswax, you'll immediately notice it's resemblance to alien intestines.





This picture doesn't quite portray the sticky, gloppy mess that this stuff is, nor can it demonstrate the beautiful beeswaxy smell that surprisingly emanates from it. My friend assures me that with the sun's help this will turn into beautiful beeswax.

Here's the solar still:


How it works, is you place the beeswax mix into the upper portion, close the window top and let the sun melt the mixture. It's melt at different times and the beeswax drips into a container down below. We've only just put the beeswax in, so I'll keep updating on it's progress.

Thanks to Dave and Gabe for making this project possible!

Braintanning Deer Hides

My husband has been busy this week scraping, soaking, and drying deer hides. These are actually hides from last fall that have been preserved until now. I can't wait until I have my full braintanned outfit.

If you've never seen this process or never felt the incredible end product you would be amazed. It's unbelievable to watch this bloody hairy hide turn into to some of the softest more durable fabric ever made - all with the help of bacteria, hard labor and you guessed it, brains.

What's even more amazing to me is that our ancestors figured out this complicated multi-step process all around the world.

Having braintanned clothing is one of our next steps in taking responsibility for our impact on the earth. 100% natural, local, and sustainable - these clothes shine in comparison with clothing shipped from overseas, made in sweatshops with deplorable conditions with fabrics grown with a multitude of pesticides. Plus, they are absolutely beautiful. I'll be sure to model my clothes as they become available.

Sustainability: Re-usable bags

I just love bags. I love getting funky looking bags and thrift stores and using them to carry home my wholesome food/library books/mail in from town. Re-used bags have a style with which boring brown paper bags just can't compare.

This holiday season my sister sent me two super cool bags that she crocheted out of used plastic bags. I have found these bags to actually be quite magical. They seemingly hold everything - sort of like a Mary Poppins bag, and are incredibly strong. This is a great use for all of that incredibly annoying plastic. I highly applaud the various countries and grocery stores who have stopped carrying plastic bags. Until they are gone for good though, you can read an article my sister wrote about these bags and learn to make your own here.

When I was at the local co-op near Seattle I bought a few of these nifty bags for putting vegetables in. You could also easily make these yourself by buying a similar meshy fabric and making a simple bag. We used to wash out our plastic bags for fruits and veggies, but these are much more practical for keeping things together.

Sustainability: Ethical Clothing

My husband wears the same clothes day in and day out. I'm not kidding - he's famous for his green wool clothing. To be honest he has a couple pairs of green wool pants, and a couple pairs of green wool sweaters, and a couple undershirts to go along with them, but you can definitely see a lack of variety.

I really do appreciate his simplicity and deep sense of responsibility to to earth and the peoples on it.

But sometimes I ask, "Can I please buy you a new sweater?"

By new, I mean, new to him. I am an avid thrift store shopper. In the small town where I live we have an incredible thrift store called the rummage room. On certain days they have $1 bag days, where, you guessed it, you can stuff anything you want in a bag for a buck.

His response is always the same. He has more than enough clothes. If I press the issue (especially during his birthday or the holidays) he responds that instead I can buy him a little child from China, that way we can give direct specifications to the one making our clothes. That usually ends the conversation. As I said, my husband feels very strongly on this matter.

This spring he has been busy braintanning deer hides that were gleaned from various places. This summer he is participating in a three week long primitive living project with Lynx Sheperd and will need a complete set of clothes for the project. I am excited about this form of clothing. I've already put in my requests: A dress, a hoodie, a tank top, skirt, pants, long sleeve shirt... that should do it. :) In this way we will have 100% local clothing.

I love making my own clothes. I've done so ever since high school. I tend to make really simple clothes, sometimes from a pattern, sometimes not. I recently made two pairs of pants that I just absolutely love.

Last summer was our wedding, and so a year ago the search for the dress began. I knew I wanted something custom made so I scoured the web looking for someone who's style I liked. I thankfully found Lizzie Moon and Namaste Patchwork Creations. She created two beautiful dresses for me that I wear constantly. I really respect and admire the work that Lizzie does. She creates one of a kind pieces of wearable art and has recently made the switch to ethical fabrics. I check her site every week whether I am in the market for clothing or not, just to see her designs. Lizzie's clothes don't come cheap, but they are of the highest quality with exquisite attention to detail. They are definitely made to last. And in our family, it's much more doable than buying a child from China to work in the basement.