Each herb, seed, bark, root or flower has a certain temperature where the plant begins to release its essential oil. Knowing what that temperature is and the best method of distillation for the plant material you are trying to distill is essential. This takes a bit of research on your part.
When bringing a still up to temperature, it is best to go slowly. It is hard to cool a still so by carefully watching the temperature and beginning to turn the heat setting back as you go, you will have more control over the end result.
It is best to use fresh cut herbs that have been harvested early in the morning as soon as the dew dries after a several day dry spell has occurred. This insures the maximum amount of oil. If their has been a drought that year you may find some plants such as lavender have more oil than on a year where there has been an abundance of water.
This chart will give you an idea at what point some herbs begin to release their oils or volatilize. Never heat your herbs past this point and try to maintain this temperature throughout the distillation process.
Marjoram and Oregano – 163 F (72 C)
Mints – 200 F (93 C)
Sage – 150 F (65 C)
Savory – 176 F (80 C)
Cinnamon Bark – 170 F to 212 F (76 C to 100 C)
Wintergreen – 218 F (103 C)
Filed under Distillation, Essential Oils by on Feb 1st, 2010. 3 Comments. 
Here is a basic recipe for creating a natural perfume.
Natural Perfume Recipes
2 cups distilled water
3 tablespoons vodka – or a tincture that you made with vodka
5 drops of an essential oil or fragrant tincture of your choice
10 drops of an essential oil or fragrant tincture of your choice
10 drops of an essential oil or fragrant tincture of your choice
Before you begin mixing the scents together, try them out on a scent stick to see if you like them. If the fragrance is enjoyable to you, add the distilled water to a dark glass bottle with a lid, then add the fragrances, one at a time, making sure to shake the bottle well after each addition. Be sure to write down the amounts of each fragrance so you can begin compiling your own natural perfume recipes collection.
When all of the fragrances have been added, shake again to mix the ingredients well. Sit the capped bottle in a cool, dark place. Shake it daily. You can check the smell after two weeks. If it suits you, go ahead and use it as you would any perfume. If you are not happy with the way the perfume smells, set it aside for up to a month.
Feel free to add other scents after that if you are still not happy, but do try the new combinations on scent sticks first.
Filed under Herbal Preparations, Natural Perfumes by on Feb 2nd, 2010. 1 Comment.
The yarn I am spinning in this video is 50% mohair from Leonardo, the angora buck and 50% wool from Johnny, the Leicester Longwool ram.
Leonardo is an angora goat and Johnny is a Leicester Longwool sheep. Both animals reside here at Exotic Gardening Farms & Wildlife Habitat.
The yarn making process requires shearing the animal, washing the fiber and removing all the vegetable matter. Vegetable matter may include hay, animal feces around their rear ends, mud and other natural materials that have embedded themselves in the animals fur.
Once the fiber is clean, it must be carded. Carding fiber involves using either a drum carder or a set of hand carders. The fiber is brushed several times until all the hairs are going in the same direction.
I use hand carders right now, so once the fiber is brushed or carded as it is called, I roll the fiber into a rolag which looks somewhat like an empty toilet paper roll minus the hollow center.
The rolag is then drafted, or gently pulled into thin pieces of fiber. The length of the fiber and the elasticity of the fiber will determine how thin the un-spun yarn can be pulled.
This un-spun yarn that has now been drafted can be spun into yarn. The thinner the draft, the thinner the yarn. The thicker the draft, the thicker the spun yarn will be. Do not worry about spinning the yarn so it is perfectly even. There are no imperfections in hand-spun yarn.
Every thick and thin spot, every area that is not as perfect as store bought yarn will prove to you and others that what you are spinning is a perfect artisan yarn that machines are un-able to duplicate!
Filed under Spinning by on Feb 4th, 2010. Comment.
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