Handspun Blue Face Leicester Wool Yarn with Angelina Fiber and Cotton

Handspun Blue Face Leicester Wool Yarn with Angelina Fiber and Cotton Binding Thread, originally uploaded by confections.

I spun this yarn from roving handpainted by Lori Lawson a few years back and gave it to my mother-in-law who took a shine to it. She suffers from a form of senile dementia and is in a nursing home. Periodically, I would take my spinning wheel to the private home where she was living and spin some fiber. The tactile quality of the wool and the colors and sparkle of the angelina delighted my mother-in-law. I hope in some small way it brings her comfort.

My Mom (on the right) and Her Childhood Friend Dorothy

My Mom (on the right) and Her Childhood Friend Dorothy, originally uploaded by confections.

Today is my Mom's 83rd birthday. I'm popping the cork by sharing these photos of her and her childhood friend Dorothy. The first photo found its way to us through a contact on ancestry.com. Amazing serendipity. Thank you, Libby!

Her friend Dorothy is still alive and kickin' and a few years ago shared a photo of the two of them as high-schoolers ice-skating on Bull Creek in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. My Mom, on the left in the photo below, made her green corduroy skating skirt. It had a gold satin lining.

My Mom exudes the Venusian energy which is a hallmark of her Libra sun sign. She is a social creature and loves beauty in her surroundings. She is witty, loves a good joke, and has an infectious laugh. She'll beat you at any card game, but especially at pinochle.

She is an excellent cook and baker (oh, I'd love a home-cooked meal and a slice of her apple pie right now!) and reveled in the joys of marriage and raising a family of seven children. I developed my appreciation for the charms of tea and conversation over the kitchen table with my Mom.

Happy Birthday, Mutti!

Welcoming Pot of Tea

Welcoming Pot of Tea, originally uploaded by confections.

I've been sifting through my archive of photos lately and turning some of them into pencil sketches with an application available at dumpr.net. Not all of them convert well; a few do. It's all a matter of experimentation.

Some of the more successful conversions are the images of tea cups and tea pots. The better to entice me to the tea table....

Restored Tintype of One of My Husband's 2nd Great-Grandfathers (?)

Restored Tintype of One of My Husband's 2nd Great-Grandfathers (?), originally uploaded by confections.

This deteriorating tintype of one of my husband's second great-grandfathers was generously restored by ericdege of flickr.

We have to do further research to verify his identity, but I suspect, based on my current research, that he may be Simpson Frazier, born 1821, who served as a Union soldier during the American Civil War and survived the Battle of Shiloh.

My Maternal Grandmother

My Maternal Grandmother, originally uploaded by confections.

This photo of my maternal grandmother, Rose Lena [Vogel] Galbraith, is a still taken from a movie made by her stepson, Robert G. Galbraith, around 1938.

I never knew my maternal grandmother except through my Mother's stories about her. The loyal dog at her elbow is the family pet, an Airedale named Jack; my Mom says he was the smartest dog she ever knew.

I have traced her family line back to the Rhineland-Palatinate town of Thaleischweiler, Germany. Rose's parents and older siblings were born there, but she was born in Pennsylvania in 1888.

Floribunda Fabric Design (Graduated Tint Green)

Floribunda Fabric Design (Graduated Tint Green), originally uploaded by confections.

Featured today is a very rough first draft, sketched and cut and pasted into a tile, for use in a fabric design to be printed at Spoonflower. Lots of tweaking and revising ahead.... The low-tech method I used to create the repeat is described at Design Sponge.

Collage of Handpainted Silk Tussah Fiber

Collage of Handpainted Silk Tussah Fiber, originally uploaded by confections.

Just a quick post to showcase some of my recent handpainted fiber: here is a bit of silk tussah that I can't wait to spin up!