Fleurs

My sister and I visited animoto.com last night and put together a little video in praise of the blooming side of nature.

Detail of Applique Quilt

Detail of Applique Quilt, originally uploaded by confections.

The 2008 San Diego Quilt Show has been happening over the last few days. Here are some of my favorites from the exhibition.

Eye Candy from the Quilt Show

Eye Candy from the Quilt Show, originally uploaded by confections.

My preliminary haul from the vendors at the San Diego Quilt Show....

A Short Video Tribute to the Joys of Tea

A little animoto.com video extolling the joys of tea is my entry today. I am off to the San Diego Quilt Show and I'm sure tea will be part of the celebration over the next few days....

Handblended Fiber & Handspun Yarn

Handblended Fiber & Handspun Yarn, originally uploaded by confections.

I've been custom blending wool on my hackle for spinning this week. The original seller of the hackle I purchased on Etsy has none available at this time, but CatskillMtnFibers has a beautiful hackle in stock now in her shop.

Pictured here is some yarn I handspun from the handblended roving in the background. The twist has not been set on this skein, so it's still a bit wiry, but it will relax once it has been washed and allowed to air dry.

I used hand-dyed Targhee and Romney wools, a bit of mohair, and quite a bit of Angelina fiber for flash. Once the fibers were loaded onto the hackle, they were pulled off using a diz to create a roving ready to spin.

Over the weekend, I visited one of my favorite fabric stores which has a good supply of crimped Angelina. I've added some new colors to my stash and look forward to blending additional rovings.

Tall Ship "Gloria" through the Viewfinder

Tall Ship "Gloria" through the Viewfinder, originally uploaded by confections.

The "Festival of Sail" is happening in San Diego this week, and I went to one of my favorite vantage points on Wednesday morning and watched the tall ships sail into San Diego Bay.

For some of the photos, I used the "through the viewfinder" technique, viewing the ships through my vintage Ricohflex Model VII camera and snapping the photo with my digital camera. The photos look as though I were viewing the tall ships through an old spyglass like Captain Hook!

Pay close attention to the more detailed pictures of the "Gloria". There are sailors standing above the sails on the mast!

Tall Ship--The Star of India--San Diego, California

Tall Ship--The Star of India--San Diego, California, originally uploaded by confections.

Today there will be a Festival of Sail in San Diego Harbor and at least twenty tall ships will be on parade, including San Diego's own "Star of India", seen here.

I hope to take my camera down to the bay and capture some of the majesty. Below is a collage that shows the San Diego skyline twenty-five years ago (in May 1983) and the way it looks today. San Diego Harbor used to have a free anchorage which lent a lot of character to the bay, but it was outlawed many years ago. I think the harbor view is less appealing now that it is gone.

My Maternal Grandfather's Parents & Sisters

My Maternal Grandfather's Parents & Sisters, originally uploaded by confections.

One of the most exciting gifts to me in the early days of my genealogical research was receiving this photo of my maternal grandfather's parents and sisters via email. I had located a long-lost cousin who had this photo along with at least one-hundred more from my mother's side of the family. She generously shared them with us and they have been disseminated to the rest of the cousins.

My great-grandfather, Thomas Galbraith, the only male in this photo, was a California Gold Rush '49er. He kept a journal of his cross-country adventures, but the journal ended as soon as his party found gold. He returned by boat to the East Coast, completed medical school, and practiced medicine in Pennsylvania for many years. Family legend says that he attended the birth of his future wife, my great-grandmother Martha Jane, who was twenty-two years his junior.

Collage of My Second Great-Grandmother, Anna

Collage of My Second Great-Grandmother, Anna, originally uploaded by confections.

I imagine that I am at an intimate tea party and she is next to me at the table.

She has the answers to many questions I have about my family tree and
lovingly shares those secrets.

Over tea and tidbits and across five generations, understanding and
clarity are gained, tears follow laughter, and joy reigns.

I long to have that conversation over tea.

Bean Pot Style Vintage American Cookie Jar

Bean Pot Style Vintage American Cookie Jar, originally uploaded by confections.

This thrift store find already has a place of honor in my kitchen. It has no identifying marks on it, but it is old and the shape is very pleasing to me. Plus it represents the blue/green theme that I love so well.

Sweet Eden

Sweet Eden, originally uploaded by confections.

I'm an aunt and now a great-aunt and I take the duties that go along with those titles seriously--just kidding! Pictured here in all of her innocent glory is the third of my four extraordinary nieces. I have five delightful nephews as well.

I was present at Eden's birth, as well as at the birth of one of her sisters and one of her brothers. It is a rare and special gift to be invited to witness a birth. I am bonded to her and her siblings and cousins, and since I have no children of my own, I claim them and am honored to do so.

Eden turned seventeen in June; she is a lovely young woman with many talents including photography and writing. The photo below shows her on a visit to us last September cleaning her newly found vintage Royal typewriter--a girl after my own heart♥

"Norwegian Wood", My Sister's New Antique Spinning Wheel (Collage 1)

"Norwegian Wood", My Sister's New Antique Spinning Wheel (Collage 1), originally uploaded by confections.

...a gift from a good friend to my sister. This antique Saxony-style spinning wheel is probably Norwegian; she needs a new flyer, bobbins, and a drive band, but then she's good to go.

Historic Old Greek Theater at Point Loma, San Diego, California (Through the Viewfinder--TtV)

Historic Old Greek Theater at Point Loma, San Diego, California (Through the Viewfinder--TtV), originally uploaded by confections.

This ethereal photo depicts the first Greek Theater built in America by Theosophists in the early 20th century. It is situated above the Pacific Ocean at Point Loma, San Diego, California.

This is my very first attempt at Through the Viewfinder (TtV) photography. I found a vintage Ricohflex Model VII camera at one of my favorite haunts; the image through its viewfinder of the Greek Theater was captured (without a contraption--I have to build one to help with light control) with my Pentax Optio M20 on a macro setting.

I'm already hooked and looking for additional old cameras to experiment with this technique.

Vintage Velvet Japanese Millinery Rosebuds

Vintage Velvet Japanese Millinery Rosebuds, originally uploaded by confections.

I found these at a vendor's booth at the Road to California quilt show in Ontario, California, close to a decade ago. They are a precious part of my stash of notions and trims. I was thinking of incorporating them into an art yarn, but haven't spun it up yet.

My Grandmother with Her Hand-Braided Rugs

My Grandmother with Her Hand-Braided Rugs, originally uploaded by confections.

I just scanned some 1940's vintage photos of my paternal grandparents and their home. This photo shows my grandmother with some freshly laundered braided rag rugs hanging on her clothesline.

This was probably taken during World War II; my grandparents had five children--five sons--and four of them served in and survived that war (my fourth uncle, too young for service World War II, served in the Korean War). I cannot even begin to imagine the fortitude they drew upon to endure that time in their lives. Both of my paternal grandparents lived into their eighties and were active and creative until the very end.

I remember my grandmother (Mollie) teaching me how to embroider on her front porch on lazy summer afternoons like we are having now. She was a quilter and a rag rug maker and baked a mean loaf of bread. I think she would enjoy knowing that I spin quilting fabrics into rag yarn (Ragamuffin) as part of my continuing fascination with the fiber arts.

Needlefelted Magnolias

Needlefelted Magnolias, originally uploaded by confections.

I just finished this custom order of needlefelted magnolia boutonnieres for an August wedding. The petals are made of Dorset down wool and yearling mohair from a local San Diego County shepherdess, the stamens of Rambouillet wool, and the leaves of domestic and merino wool that I blended with Bombyx morii silk.

Czechoslovakian Lady with Basket Figurine (Collage)

Czechoslovakian Lady with Basket Figurine (Collage), originally uploaded by confections.

This is another vintage find from my forays with my sister to our local antique mall. This figure (about six inches in height) was locked up in a corner of a glass fronted cabinet and was part of a 50% off sale.

Of course, as soon as I saw her, I was enthralled. Her little china basket is perfect to hold rings or other trinkets on my desktop. She is utterly charming. I think I will get some tiny posies at the farmer's market later on today and fill up her basket. Happy treasure hunting!