Collage of Hydrangea & Salvia

Collage of Hydrangea & Salvia, originally uploaded by confections.

This grouping of hydrangea and salvia graces my front porch these days. I must admit that I don't have a green thumb (my sisters got that gene), but I do my best to honor the seasons and am a great aficionado of gardens of all kinds.

My sister went to the local farmer's market yesterday for fresh blooms to bless her home. Our youngest sister and her middle daughter are coming for a week-long visit on Friday and we are rolling out the red carpet.

Seascape Roving Hand-Blended with My New Hackle

Seascape Roving (Four), originally uploaded by confections.

Here is my first roving hand-blended with my new hackle from fiberwish/punkie doodle do of Etsy.com.

I used some of the fiber and flash included in my order and added in the hand-dyed turquoise Blue Face Leicester from my stash.

This was a great exercise in instant gratification. I still do plan to own a drumcarder one day, but in the meantime, my hackle and handcards will keep me busy creating new blends of fiber and color.

Needlefelted Daisy Collage

Needlefelted Daisy Collage, originally uploaded by confections.

I needlefelted this daisy using a Clover applique mold. The fiber is hand-dyed Targhee wool by Susan's Spinning Bunny--the green leaves from her Clematis colorway, the flower from her Fruit Salad colorway. I hand-blended the colors using my new Indigo Hound Round-II-It hackle.

Pink Polka Dot Latte Ragamuffin Handspun Yarn

Pink Polka Dot Latte Ragamuffin Handspun Yarn, originally uploaded by confections.

I have had a little "away time" from my blog, but I've been busy in my fiberarts studio, organizing and spinning and dreaming.

Ten pounds of wool and mohair fiber arrived on my doorstep earlier this week and I have been gearing up to dye and spin much of it this month.

My new Indigo Hound Round-II-It hackle is here, too, and I can't wait to color blend some roving with it. I was inspired by Deb Menz's book Color in Spinning to purchase the hackle and experiment with this new tool.

I will have family visiting this month and next, so there will be lots of excursions to out-of-the-way places that we only seem to explore when visitors come to town. More on those adventures as they occur!

Needlefelted Rose Collage

Needlefelted Rose Collage, originally uploaded by confections.

I needlefelted this one cookie-cutter style with a new mold from Clover. I love to do my floral sculptures totally freehand, but I can't resist a new tool. The fiber is a hand-dyed wool and mohair "Forever Random Carded Batt" from La Lana Wools in Taos, New Mexico. The color is "Concha". Bought it on a train/road trip with my sisters and nieces and nephews two years ago. I have lots of fiber in my stash :)

Vermont Farm, Sunday Dinner 1909

Vermont Farm, Sunday Dinner 1909, originally uploaded by confections.

This amazing early photo was sent to me by a long-lost cousin along with some genealogical research done by her son. What a gift! My mother's family comes from Vermont, and this photo was taken in Caledonia County.

I know quite a lot about my Great-Aunt Jean Elizabeth, who is pictured on the far right at the table (click the photo for the full image). She had been a school teacher for many years, then married a distant cousin and returned to the family homestead from Pennsylvania, where she was born.

In May of 1910 she gave birth to a daughter, but tragically my great-aunt died in September of 1910 of an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy. She was just 36 years of age. Her daughter was raised on the homestead in Vermont, married and moved to Ohio, and lived a long life (she died at 88 years of age).

I love working with the puzzle pieces of genealogy and am overjoyed when bits like this fall into my lap. I will leave you with an image of Jean's infant daughter, being bathed by her mother, and one of her being held naked in the summer garden in a rare candid for the time. Women hold up half the sky!

Red Rose in the Marston House Gardens, San Diego, California

Red Rose in the Marston House Gardens, San Diego, California, originally uploaded by confections.

On an excursion to the Balboa Park area in San Diego yesterday afternoon, my sister and I encountered this perfect fragrant red rose along one of the garden paths at the historic Marston House.

It was such a lovely harbinger of spring (along with two cotton-tail rabbits), I had to share it with you.

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may!