New Yarn for the Stash

New Yarn for the Stash, originally uploaded by stelladanza's confections.

A visit to The Black Sheep in Encinitas, California, yielded this group of new yarns for my stash. Clockwise from upper left: two skeins of worsted cotton/nylon yarn (Cotton Twirl in "Lake Trail" colorway from Crystal Palace Yarns), bulky weight blue-green cotton skein hand-dyed in Chile (Patagonia Nature Cotton by Araucania Yarns), and a skein of sport weight aqua linen (Euroflax by Louet). Now to plan a few fall knitting projects....

Sweet Niece in Smocked Pink Linen Dress

Sweet Niece in Smocked Pink Linen Dress, originally uploaded by stelladanza's confections.

This is a recent scan of a picture I took in August of 1990. My sisters and I and my 13-month-old niece went to afternoon tea at the Horton Grand Hotel in San Diego.

My sister made the hand-smocked pale pink linen dress that my niece is wearing. Her floral pilot cap is by Hanna Andersson. It's hard to believe that my niece just turned 21 in July....

Collage of Linen Yo-Yos

Collage of Linen Yo-Yos, originally uploaded by confections.

I was inspired by the yo-yos in a vintage quilt at the recent San Diego Quilt Show, so I have been making a bunch of them lately with my Clover yo-yo making tools.

These jumbo-sized ones (3.5 inches in diameter) are made of scrumptious Belgian linen fabric hand-printed by Michelle Engel Bencsko of cicadastudio. She has a new line of lovely quilting fabrics that just came out, too. Lots to look forward to as fall heads our way.

She's a little like the Velveteen Rabbit

She's a little like the Velveteen Rabbit, originally uploaded by confections.

You may remember the tale of my thrift store find of an Effanbee doll from a few months back. I posted about her in a thread on the Etsy forums, where fellow Etsian Mosey had started a contest for the best thrift store treasure. I named my doll Helene Elyse after my Mother and one of her favorite models and actresses, Elyse Knox, from the late 1930's and early 1940's. I was thrilled to win the contest; Mosey was so sweet to send me the lovely handmade linen clutch pictured below as a contest prize. Thanks, Mosey!