The Effect I'm Trying to Achieve with My Braided Rag Balls

I have a small collection of Flow Blue china, most of which I inherited from my mother.  Having three cats and a small but rambunctious grandson, I think that keeping it (relatively) safe within my china cabinet is the wisest course.

The only problem with that is the china is not as noticeable then as I would like it to be.  I put blue sheers on the dining room windows, which helped tie the china to the rest of the room, but it just wasn't enough.  So when I came to the conclusion that the decorative glass bowl that my parents received for a wedding gift in 1943 (and which I am risking by displaying on my dining room table!) needed a little something, I knew that I wanted to use something that would draw attention to the Flow Blue.  I thought about using the rather ubiquitous blue and white carpet balls that are so easy to find, but while they can be very pretty, I wanted something more unique.  That's when I hit upon the idea of making braided rag rug-style balls.  I have completed the second ball

now (the one on the right) and have a third, which is almost identical to the one on the left, braided, wrapped and pinned.  With these balls I'm trying to sort of "echo" the Flow Blue.  If you would like to learn more about Flow Blue china, there are many sources on the web today--though back in 1994, when my daughter posted the paper that she wrote for her Archeology class at MIT, it was THE web source for information about Flow Blue china!  Just as the intensity, saturation and blurring of the cobalt color varies from one pattern of the china to the next, I want these balls to vary in shades and patterns--from just a little to a lot--of blue and white.  So, I do not plan to use any

other colors other than maybe a little gold as embellishment, just as some of the china was so decorated.  While I may not vary the colors, I might use other techniques besides "rag rug" to create "faux flow-blue" decorative balls to further illustrate and draw attention to the range and variety of my little collection.

I will try to post a picture of the finished project in the (hopefully) near future!