Tiered Apron

Tiered Apron, originally uploaded by confections.

My sister gave me this handmade-by-her three-tiered apron for my birthday last year. The bottom tier is made of the same material as the ties. It's my favorite apron to sport over one of my percale dresses this summer.

My Mother says she never wore an apron outside of her home, but my sister and I have done that on several occasions. I bought two vintage ones in June from a fellow Etsy seller, snazzykc, and we wore them on our Saturday rounds. Aprons are not just for household chores anymore--aprons are a fashion statement!

Be Happy

Be Happy, originally uploaded by confections.

On an evening walk to the beach with my sister, we came upon this uplifting message on the deck of a little bungalow. It was the close of a busy weekend we had spent with a good friend, and happiness surrounded us.

The Buddha statue below graces the dining room of one of our favorite vegetarian restaurants, Cilantro Live!. I'm re-reading the Tao Te Ching and making a conscious effort to incorporate its principles into my life. The serenity of Buddha inspires me to keep on the path.

Bowl o' Ragamuffin Mini-Skeins

Bowl o' Ragamuffin Mini-Skeins, originally uploaded by confections.

I have been having lots of fun making handspun rag yarn over the last few months. I like the larger skeins, but I wanted to create and play with miniature Ragamuffin skeins, too. I spun up six of them last night and they are just too cute! Each one is about 10 yards/9 meters of handspun goodness for any primitive project you might have in mind. I'll be developing simple patterns to use with these yarns, but frankly, I like 'em just as skeins, like little vintage rag balls in this bowl.

The Germans have a phrase, "ein Ding in sich" (a thing unto itself), which I believe describes these little skeins. You are not required to do anything with them, simply enjoy!

Colorful Custom-Carded Rolags and Needlefelted Flower

Custom Carded Rolags and Needlefelted Flower, originally uploaded by confections.

This week's Etsybloggers' Blog Carnival theme is "Carnival of Colors". Color was on my mind the other day as I was busy filling a custom order for a needlefelted rose that I had made on my 25th anniversary last December. My task was to reproduce the colors for the new flower.

The process begins with the selection of the basic pink wool for the rose petals. Neutral-colored wools are then blended with the original pink using handcards to make slight variations in the pink color: alternately, white, gray, brown, and black wool is custom-carded with the pink to make fluffy rolags. I learned this rewarding essential technique with spinner extraordinaire Celia Quinn at a workshop I took last fall.

I think the new flower's colors are spot-on like the original. It's good to know that I have retained the knowledge of color-blending that I learned from Celia, even though I hadn't used this particular method in a number of months.

Handpainted Bobbins and Spools with Silk Ribbons (2)

Handpainted Bobbins and Spools with Silk Ribbons (2), originally uploaded by confections.

The colors of these handpainted bobbins and spools remind me of Paris. They were inspired by ones made by Heather Bailey. I love all sorts of tools associated with the fiberarts and collect them with relish. In my studio I have a stash of old wooden spools I've gathered over the years. Sadly, they are a disappearing commodity in the marketplace.

This week the Etsybloggers' blog carnival topic is the latest item purchased from an Etsy shop. Mine is a lovely collage of images of the City of Light--Paris--compiled by the incomparable Lunagirl. What fun I will have with these!