Wool Dryer Balls and Squash Vine Borers Round Two

Recently I discovered wool dryer balls, and while right now, I line dry as much as possible, we do use the dryer as well.  These dryer balls are supposed to lift and separate your clothes in the dryer to help them dry faster, and they act as dryer sheets as well.  It's recommended you use 4-5 balls in a normal load.   

I thought making dryer balls would be a great way to use up some of the junk wool I get off of Olivia and Blue Moon.  So, I took a sock and stuffed it with wool until I had a pretty good looking ball, and then I used a twist tie to close it up.  I threw it in with the laundry, and it felted.  I added more wool and washed it again.  Now it's about the size of a tennis ball.  I haven't tested it yet, but I'm anxious to see how it works.  I'll keep you posted.

Now I need to get some more junk wool together and make 3-4 more.  Do you have any experience with wool dryer balls?

Here's a pic:

The battle with the squash vine borers rages on.  I've seen her several times since my last post.  She is a diligent moth, and she has more time than I do to hang around the garden.  The only thing the neem oil seemed to do is burn the leaves, and the DE did nothing as well.  So, I have been faithfully checking each plant daily and manually removing the red sesame seed size eggs.  I find them on the leaves, in the nooks where the leaf grows from the stalk above and below, and at the base.  The eggs stick pretty well to the vine, and they have a hard crust, but I have been able to scrape them off with my fingernail.  Once I get them off the plant, I've been piercing them with my fingernail.  It sounds tedious, but it really only takes about 10-15 minutes a day.  This morning I didn't find any eggs, and I spotted my first zucchini developing.  Let's hope this year is better than last!

Happy homesteading,

Candace