Bird's Eye View of Tea Table

Bird's Eye View of Tea Table, originally uploaded by confections.

It's been a while since I took you all along on a tea date. And high time I scheduled another one! Here are some recent photos of a holiday high tea at my favorite tea shop (and San Diego's favorite one, too), Tea-upon-Chatsworth.

The three-level server that Joy or Carol brings to the table is a delight to the eye and the taste buds. The bottom tier typically contains warm savories and tea sandwiches of the most delectable sort; the middle tier has scones and fruit; the top tier has more sumptuous sweets.

The pots of tea just flow! My current favorite is Apricot, complete with pieces of fruit mixed in with the flavored black tea, and a close second is Paris, with a hint of vanilla.


"Each cup of tea represents an imaginary voyage."

♥ Catherine Douzel

Fingerless Mitt (almost done)

Fingerless Mitt (almost done), originally uploaded by confections.

I've been knitting fingerless mitts for the last month or so. My Mother and my next youngest sister received them for Christmas. This pair is being made for my youngest sister who selected the yarn from my stash when she was visiting before the holidays.

The yarn is Soy Wool Stripes by Patons. The pattern is by fellow Etsy artist Sand and Sky Creations and is very user-friendly and makes up quickly. If you've made a pair of socks and are comfortable wielding double-pointed needles, this project is a cinch!

Molly Ragamuffin (tm) Style Handspun Primitive Cotton Rag Yarn

Molly Ragamuffin (tm) Style Handspun Primitive Cotton Rag Yarn, originally uploaded by confections. Created with dumpr.net--fun with your photos

We fiberartists can dream, can't we?

Featured here is one of my latest Ragamuffin handspun primitive cotton rag yarns, named after my Dad's Mom, Molly. She was one of my original fiberarts mentors. I remember her patience as she taught me how to embroider on her front porch on lazy summer afternoons when I was a very little girl.

Somewhere in my archives I have a portrait of her that I wrote a dozen years ago in a memoir class. I'll have to excavate it from my files and share bits of it here.

And, as I discovered in my genealogical pursuits this past year, Molly comes from French/Mosellan stock, making me feel "Oh, so very French!" these days.

Happy Russian Christmas!

Vintage Czechoslovakian Handcrafted Doll, originally uploaded by confections.

Today, January 7th, is Russian Christmas. I don't officially celebrate it, but my tree is still up and I definitely kick up my heels on Twelfth Night (January 5th) and Epiphany. I love honoring all twelve days of Christmas.

This vintage Czechoslovakian doll is the unofficial Goddess of my sister's kitchen. This year my sister handmade pierogi for our New Year's festivities, and the doll cast an approving eye over the meal. So here's to celebrating into the New Year!

Musical interlude:

One of my favorite carols is "In the Bleak Mid-Winter".

Another is "To Drive the Cold Winter Away", which you can hear at Cantaria.

Loreena McKennitt has a spellbinding CD by the same name which includes many traditional Christmas carols.

"May you have sweetness and many good things in life and in the new year!" (from the Russian Christmas Eve Blessing)