SLeep Tight Santa!

Sleep Tight Until Next Year Dear Santa! As we wind down the old year I imagine Santa is getting ready for a well deserved winter's sleep. As this is my final post for this year I have a couple of give-a-ways!

Enter your comments on the following: What was your favorite Christmas as a child? Did you believe in Santa Claus?

I did definately believe in Santa. I remember one Christmas at my Grandparent's house in Buhl, ID. I was about 6. I was sent to bed so Santa could come. I was so excited I couldn't get to sleep. I was in a bedroom that was under the eves of the house. It was snowing and the wind was blowing. The branches of the ivy that clung to the window were shifting in the wind and lightly brushing the window. The moonlight streamed through the window above the bed. All at once I was sure I heard Santa's sleigh bells! I was thrilled beyond belief! Was it my Uncle with the sleigh bells? My vivid imagination? I never really knew, but it was a magical moment that I have never forgotten. Guess what I still believe in Santa. . . or the spirit of the giving of Santa. I think my favorite Christmas has to be the one I received my favorite doll, Nancy. I will post after Christmas about her. She rests in my cedar chest after all these years. I was 3.

What do you win? I have 3 packages of hand dyed silk threads (6-7 colors of about 2 yards each, with a coordinating ribbon and a Santa Beeswaxer). If you bend a piece of copper wire and heat it in a candle flame you can turn the Santa Beeswaxer into an ornament. One of the 3 winners will also receive the Un Natale Da Ricamare 2009 Booklet on Ornaments and recipes which I was a part of for several years. I will choose 3 winners and then draw one from those to also receive the book. I look forward to your stories of Santa and your favorite Christmas as a Child.

Blessings at this season -

Cece

White Sage & Angels

White Sage & Angels

White Sage has been used for years in ceremonial purposes by Native American Indians for clearing negativity inside and outside ones self and dwelling places by the use of smudge sticks. Herbally speaking it has been used in steam to treat colds and respiratory ailments in sweat lodges. Bees love White Sage and native birds eat the seeds. It is made into herbal teas. Often quite pungent in smell, it can also be very soothing when not overpowering. In soap it is said to be a natural deodorizer so I think it makes a great kitchen and garden soap! I recently made two batches of new soap using White Sage Butter as well as our Shea Butter. White Sage Soap has a lovely, light herbal scent. Sage, Sweetgrass and Cedar Soap is 'pure heaven in the forest' type scent. Other soap scents are available on our www.soaponawhim.etsy site. We only have a few of our available scents listed even there at this time.

 

The Angel is a freebie design I made by importing a black and white ink angel photo I found into my cross stitch design program. Now for the deals:

If you'd like the free angel pattern you can send me a stamped, self addressed envelope. I'll mail you the free pattern for the angel.

The other 'deal' involves our soap and our threads. If you purchase any of our soap on our Etsy site or phone us to place a soap order you can add on to your soap order any of our threads or ribbons and we will discount them 50% off our suggested retail price. This deal is only available from today until January 3rd, 2011. You can go to our website www.threadgatherer.com to find our phone number or contact information. Remember that we usually have over 30 different scents available at any given time so you can ask us for scent families of citrus, spicy, floral, fresh, sweet etc. and we can tell you what is available at this time. So, try a great soap, (stitchers do like clean hands to stitch) and save on threads all just for followers of my blog! In addition, we will include your free Angel Pattern with any soap and thread orders.

All the best for the New Year!

I'm off to the dye pots!

Cece

More About Green

Sorry for the long delay. . .it has been a hectic month. I loved all the recipes, and we are gradually trying each of them. Although we did have our open house it was without homemade cookies except for my springerle that I had made early Dec. We had a flooded kitchen. . . .if you do not know how to turn off your water at the main turnoff at the street I recommend it!! I did not, and the turnoff valve for the hot water under my kitchen sink was corroded till it would not move and after 10 minutes of steaming water you can imagine what my kitchen looked like. A ruined hard wood floor, etc. Luckily my neighbor was home and knew how to turn off the water. It turned my December upside down in one afternoon. Anyway, now for some good news. Carol you won the cookie contest blog give-a-way! Please email me your address so I can send you $50 in greens (silk 'n colors!!). Carol submitted a Chocolate Candy Cane Cookie Recipe and she was the chosen comment #.

I forgot that I started spotlighting green earlier in the year. I guess I'm just now finishing 'green' up! Now for some information on green:

The symbolic meaning is renewal of life and nature.

Green has a Biblical meaning and is the Christian color for the season of Ephiphany.

There are many cheap dyes and plants that produce a variety of green colors.

Green is closely associated with the medieva legend of Robin Hood.

Green is said to be the most restful color for the human eye. Some say that green can soothe pain and has great healing power.

I hope you had a lovely and restful Christmas.

Dyeing - threads that is - until later. . .

Cece

December Greens

Welcome December! I couldn't decide on a color for this month - between red and green so I will feature both. . . .and most likely white since we are having beautiful winter weather here in Idaho.

I love feather trees! One of my favorite ones is our minty green feather tree which we always decorate with our bird ornaments.

What colors come to mind with green? Mint, forest, olive, fern, pine, chartreuse, spruce, grass, holiday green, leaf green, and moss. Do you decorate with greens for Christmas, have a fresh tree, or bake green cookies?

The winner of our NOVEMBER CONTEST was comment #3 by MARGARET!! Please email me your address so I can send out your fall stitching packet!   My email is thethreadgatherer@msn.com

Now, for a December contest: Leave me a comment with your favorite cookie recipe. Can you tell I'm looking for a new recipe to try? This is worth $50 in Silk 'n Colors for the winner - all in some of my favorite 'greens'. We'll pick this winner on December 5th!! So don't delay as I need a new recipe before Dec 8th as we are having a soap and body butter open house on the 12th!

More later as I'm now dyeing - green that is.

Cece

Simple Joys

Simple Joys, the evening sun glimmers through yellow leaves against a steel blue-gray sky. Such is an autumn evening in November. Other moments of simple abundance I found this week included a short stop in an antique store. Browsing the past, looking for old block type and looking at faces in old pictures. Wondering what life was like for them as n'er a smile ever crosses the faces of the pictures of that era. What simple joys do you savor in life? You can win the Dyed on a Whim pack featured in the picture if your comment is chosen. I won't judge the comment itself, simply choosing a number from the comments left. Please list a minimum of 5 things you find as 'simple joys' or 'life savors'. I can't wait to hear from you.

You can join our monthly Dyed On A Whim Club and receive packs such as the one we are giving away. (this was our last pack for November). ALways color coordinated, always filled with wonderful threads for stitching and embellishment. Sometimes includes limited edition colors such as the hand-dyed lace this month. You can email me from the website or at: thethreadgatherer@msn.com if you'd like more information on our club.

Until Later,

Cecelia

Freedom is Not Free

 

I copied this picture from my inbox today as it tells a poignant story. I also wanted to share a recent article from our local newspaper. It brought me to tears.

Stephanie Cook wrote the following: "I had the priviledge of going to a football game a few weekends ago, a professonal game where all the fans are sitting and cheering their heroes on the field. Little did I know that I was sitting three seats down from a real hero. His name is Aaron and he was at the game with his parents. The seats they were in were donated by season ticket holders so Aaron could go with his parents to see a professional game. Aaron sat very quietly down from his mom and dad and didn't say much, but as his father talked to the people in front of him I learned a lot about Aaron. He was shot while in Afghanistan and had been in San Francisco for two months rehabbing at the VA. His folks were hoping to take him home to Utah in the next couple of weeks. At one point Aaron needed to get up and walk, and his father had to help him. As he passed in front of my husband and me, I was able to see the immense scar that ran down from his neck along his spine. I helped to steady him as he stumbled as his legs didn't work all that well. The young man looked no more than 22, and as he passed by me, I was so humbled by all that he had given for his country and for our freedom. I marveled at all that he sacrificed so that I can live in comfort and security. So to Aaron, my hero in Seat 5 in Section 35 in Candlestick Park, thank you for braving the horror of war, for defending what you believe in, and for coming home. But most of all thank you for making me realize just how much I really do have in my life. Freedom isn't free. It is bought and paid for on the backs of young men and women."

So today, I too am thinking about Aaron and the countless others who lost their lives preserving the freedoms that I enjoy. There aren't words to express my gratitude and may I never forget. . .

Until Later,

Cece

A November give-a-way is coming up in the next couple of days!

Happy Halloween & Blog Winner!

This is another example of using our hand-dyed velvet ribbon with cross stitch. You can stitch your selected word or words and then hang silver soldered charms/silver charms or whatever you wish off the ribbon. I can see a skelton key and other found objects used this way as well.

Happy Halloween! This year I didn't do too much with our porch decor as we are putting the carved pumpkins on our balcony. I love winding colored wire and using it for a quick pumpkin decorating idea.

Thanks to all who entered the blog contest. I was going to draw tomorrow morning but last night my daughter was in an auto accident involving my car (no one hurt and the other people's fault) so best outcome for the situation in my opinion! I will be busy with work and getting the car fixed/dealing with insurance etc. so I will be busy tomorrow morning. Number 6 comment is the winner. So if Natasha will email me at thethreadgatherer@msn.com with your address I will send out your package!!

I enjoyed reading your Halloween quotes which you shared!

I'll be posting another blog contest early in November. Be thinking about those moments, food, etc that you find are 'Life Savors'. I will be asking you to comment with at least five to be entered in the contest. I will probably include them in an upcoming newsletter. I do a Life Savors Section each time I release a newsletter. Here are a few of ones that I am thinking of this time of year:

1. Hot Apple Cider & Homemade donuts. . .

2. Harvest Moons. . .

3. Skeleton Keys & Old Doors. . .

4. A fresh bouquet of flowers. . .

5. Finding a deserted bird's nest

6. Making homemade jerky

7. A new candle. . .

8. A written note from a friend. . .

Start thinking of some of your life savors so you can share them with us and possibly win the November drawing.

Dreaming in Color Until Later,

Cece

All About Orange

Brittany Spaniels are referred to as Orange And White and this is our beloved, Copper, now an avid bird dog and hunting companion.

 

Never, ever tell a beautiful strawberry blond haired gal that they have orange hair - never!! I have to admit that I covet the beautiful hair of my daugher, Maritta on the right and my granddaughter, Sophie on the left in the funky orange hat.
Maritta is Sophie's Aunt even though they look like they could be mother and daughter.

Pumpkin, Copper, Brass, Apricot, Tangerine, Blood Orange, Carnelian, Terra Cotta, Peach, Rust . . .
All names we give to the many shades and hues of that elusive color orange. This color perhaps sparks more controversy in color than any other hue. It is a 'love', 'hate' type of color response. You must agree, however, that it radiates energy. When you add a little white or black to orange we get colors that have broad appeal such as terra cotta or peach. Physically orange stimulates creativity, appetite and encourages socialization. Some interesting facts I found on orange:
Orange is the color of the sacral Chakra, also know as Svadhisthana. This charka is located beneath the naval, close to the genitals. This sacral chakra is linked to the sexual organs and reporductive system. Opening this Charka will free fertility and inherent creativity.
Gemstones that aid this Charka include carnelian and orange agate.

American Indians associate the color orange with kinship.
In Ireland, the use of orange dates from the reign of William of Orange, the protestant English King and a Dutch Standholder.
In China and Japan orange is used to symbolize happiness and love.
Orange is the national color of the Netherlands because its royal family owns the principality of Orange.
"Orange Blossom Special" was a song by Johnny Cash

 

Orange can grow on you I believe. I used to think I didn't like orange too much and now it is one of my favorite colors!

 

 

 

 

Velvet Ribbon for Finishing

Here is the hanging pumpkin I stitched on 19-ct linen using my Silk 'n Colors. I used two piece of foam core (1/4"). I laced the cross stitch to one piece and glued a piece of hand dyed wool fabric (felt like) to the other piece. I then glued them wrong sides together, covered with a clean cloth and weighted them until glue dried. I rusched our hand dyed 1" velvet ribbon. I used several left over pieces in various colors. You need about a total of 4 x the length you are trying to cover with rusched ribbon. Thus, if I needed 40" around the entire piece I would have used about 160" of ribbon. I use either beading thread or sewing thread to do the rusching. Knot the end of your thread and begin at either side at the bottom of your ribbon. You will be sewing in your gathering stitches along the length of the ribbon. Begin taking small running stitches with the thread working in a zig-zag fashion from left-to-right or right-to-left depending upon which side you begin at. After you have stitched about 6" of zig zag lines in running stitches, gather this up. It is beautiful isn't it and oh so easy. Continue your zig zag running stitches until you have rusched enough ribbon to cover the area you are covering. The length of your stitches as well as space between stitches determines the end result of your rusching. The important thing is to keep your stitches the same spacing, and the zig zags the same size. Since I used different colors I did them each as separate pieces. You will need to securely knot your thread at the end (I like to do a tacking stitch) to hold all of your gathers together! I used a good tacky fabric glue to glue the ribbon around my cross stitch piece.

To hang the piece I formed a hanger out of copper wire and added ribbons tied onto the wire. I coiled the wire around a pencil to give the handle a couple of interesting designs.

If you'd like a free copy of this pattern just send me a stamped/self addressed envelope. I also stitched it as a white pumpkin and it was cute that way also. I'll post a picture of this as a white pumpkin in a day or two.

Ribbon for rusching is aavailable to purchase directly from us retail mailorder. Call me at our number on our website: www.threadgatherer.com or email me from our website. I usually have many colors available. The velvet ribbon is $3.00 a yard for the 1". You can also rusch our 7mm ribbon and this is a beautiful sachet or pinkeep finish.

Until Later,

Cece

A conversation with a Black Bird -

Tell Me Dear Bird Friend -

How can I use Velvet Ribbon in finishing my needlework?

Our next blog will be a show-and-tell.

In the meanwhile, don't forget to enter out contest to win the handmade soap and Silk 'n Colors. You need to leave a comment on the previous post. I'm drawing next Monday morning. . . .

Until later -

Cece

Anise Blood Orange Soap & Thread Give-A-Way

Since it is Orange and Black this month, I am having a give-a-way!

You will receive the last bar of handmade soap I have left of my Halloween Soap of the Month. This one is scented with our own mix of Blood Orange, White Pepper and Anise. It is a nice scent and the glycerin soap contains Hemp seeds for exfolliation and give you a nice lather. In addition, you will receive a few Silk 'n Colors in Ink Black and the orange family. How to win? Leave a comment with your favorite Halloween poem or quote. I'll do a random drawing. I'll announce the winner on Monday morning. Good luck!

October Orange

It is the month of Orange and Black. Popcorn balls were always a favorite treat at my Grandmother's House on Halloween Night. My recipe uses Jello so you can change the flavor and color as you wish.

Jello Popcorn Balls

1 1/4 C Popcorn, popped

1 Cup white Karo Syrup

1 Cup white sugar

1 C miniature Marshmallows

1/2 C butter

1 3-oz pkg. jello

Pop corn and set aside in large bowl. In sauce pan combine sugar, karo syrup and butter. Heat over medium heat until butter melts. Stir in dry jello and continue stirring until all sugar is melted. Add Marshmallows and stir to melt. Pour over popcorn and combine. Form popcorn balls if desired, or allow to set up and break into pieces.

Limeade Ice Cream

Limeade Ice Cream - Tart and refreshing. A science teacher made Ice Cream with his High School students and this was his recipe. I made it neon green. My first taste was 'tart' but 'interesting' and I thought, "Not overly sweet!" and then I had one of those "Oh No" moments, as I'd forgotten the sugar!! There wasn't time to make it again before Mariah and her friends arrived so I did the only thing I could - stirred in the sugar - after the churning! Three hours later when the Kids arrived for ice cream it was smooth and creamy - no grains of sugar!

Limeade Ice Cream

2 3-oz pkgs. of instant lemon pudding

1 Cup Sugar

1 Quart Half 'n Half

1 12-oz can frozen limeade

1 12-oz can Evaporated Milk

Green Food Coloring

1 2-liter bottle of Lemon-Lime Soda

Combine the pudding mix, sugar, half and half, evaporated milk and limeade in your ice cream freezer bowl. Stir until limeade has dissolved. Add lemon lime soda to the fill mark on your ice cream freezer. You won't use all of the soda. Freeze according to your ice cream maker's directions using rock salt and ice. Makes 4 quarts.

Popular Phrases that Include Green

First an image from our Idaho Mountain adventure in panning for Gold. We had a few days of vacation with Giulia Manfredini of Punti Antichi Designs and her husband and daughter who were visiting us from Italy! (L to R) is my daugher, Mariah, her boyfriend, Jordan, Mario and Giulia. It was a great day even though we didn't find any gold!

If you are not familiar with Giulia's designs you must visit her website at: www.puntiantichi.com She designs exquisite 3-dimensional pieces.

Now for a few popular phrases that include the word 'green':


Get the Green light. . .
Green Corn. . .
Green Thumb. . .
Green Room. . .
Greenback. . .
Greener Pastures. . .
Green with Envy. . .
Greenhorn. . .
Green around the gills. . .
Turn Green. . .
Going Green. . .

How green affects us physically:
Soothes
Relaxes mentally as well as physically
Helps alleviate depression, nervousness and anxiety
Offers a sense of renewal, self-control and harmony.

Green was a sacred color to the Egyptians representing the hope and joy of Spring.

More on Green later. . . .
Cecelia

Going Green

It is not hard to guess from the pictures that this month my blogs for the most part will be about the color green. Top picture is from my garden, and I love the chartreuse plant with the purple flowers. The bottom picture was taken while up in the Idaho Mountains this past week. I'll post pictures of this in the next day or two and tell you who was with me in the mountains!! For now, back to green. Cool Mint, Ivy, Seaweed, Olive, Camouflage, Leaf Green, Grass Green, Spearmint, Pond Scum, Moss, Chartreuse - just a few names of green that come to mind for me.

Did you know that there are 5 towns named Bowling Green, 10 named Greenfield, 2 named Greenleaf (one is in Idaho), 12 Greenville and one Green Acres in Florida. I remember another Green Acres from TV. More on Green Later.

The winner of the Red Violin Movie is Missy aka Birdy. You must be an amazing stitcher at age 109!! I loved that. Anyway, please email me your address so I can send you your prize. Missy also gets another gift included of my recent limited edition thread pack! In addition, there were 4 others who left comments. I've decided to send each of you other four the limited edition thread pack also! I am feeling generous today I guess. My email address is: thethreadgatherer@msn.com

You all are correct that the blood of his wife/lover was used to color the violin Red. It was a little shocking the first time I saw the movie! I missed the part where he used her hair to make the brush to apply the blood so I must watch it again soon! Thanks for all your comments.

Until Later,

Cecelia

Red Tails & Red Violins

I was going to post a picture of my African Grey's Red Tail, but time is running short since I had a stressful day - not one of those Red Letter Days you enjoy having. It began with my Brittany Puppy of 11 months eating some of my husband's blood pressure medicine. A mad dash to the veterinarian to get Paisley to throw up took up most of my morning. I'm happy to report that she is fine tonight.

I was going to post a poem on Red from my favorite children's book - which I cannot find now that I am looking for it! I'll locate it later and share some of the poetry. I'm seeing 'red' as I can't find it!

Izzy, the African Grey would love me to hold her so I'm going to do that instead of making her pose for a picture.

I am, however, going to write about one of my favorite movies: The Red Violin. Since I play the violin it makes it even more interesting. Maybe I'll hold Izzy and watch the movie! Have you seen it? It is an epic adventure of mystery and obsession around a one-of-a-kind, red violin and the lives of all who touched it.

Now for the fun. Guess what was used to make the violin 'red' in color and I will draw from those who leave a comment with the correct answer. You have to accept my version of what they used to color it since I control the contest! The winner wins a copy of this wonderful movie. Good luck and post your guess in the comment section.

We are off tomorrow to another color.

Until Later,
Cecelia

Gift of Threads

This Lovely heart graces the blog of a recent follower! Since it is Red (and White) and is a heart, and checkerboard as well, I think the owner of this blog deserves to win the gift of threads (Red Threads of course) I am giving away this month. So, If Colorado Blogger will contact me via email to give me her address I will package up a nice red package, filled with red threads and other red goodies in celebration of our Month of Red in June!

Pass the word about the blog as I am going to give a huge thread give-a-way when we reach 100 followers! In the meanwhile, we will continue to explore color, and I will find some interesting items to give away on my blog!

By the way, wish you were here to taste the salmon - it is delicious. . .

Until Another Day, Cecelia

Smoked Salmon Recipes

I remembered that I have two recipes that are equally wonderful for smoked salmon. The first one is more of a Teriyaki Salmon and the second one is from my Son, Gage, who is a terrific cook and this is his personal recipe. Enjoy!

Teriyaki Smoked Salmon

2 C Soy Sauce
1/4 C salt
1/2 C brown sugar
1 C water
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper (fine grind)
1 C white wine (dry to medium)
1/2 - 1 tsp. poultry seasoning

Combine and stir until salt and sugar dissolve. Cover salmon with brine and refrigerate for 8-12 hours. Wash brine off and put salmon on racks to air dry for 1-2 hours or until a shiny skin look (dried brine) forms. Spray racks with pam or use foil. Smoke 5-8 hours at 130 degrees using soaked wood chips with your smoker 3-4 times. You will have to adjust cooking time to the degree of moistness or dryness you like in your smoked salmon.


Gage's Smoked Salmon

32-oz apple juice
2/3 C kosher salt
1/3 C brown sugar
1 teaspoon allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 whole cloves
1/4 tsp paprika
2 teaspoon dried onions
1 clove garlic, minced
1 sprig each of fresh lavender, sage, rosemary and a couple of bay leaves
Use fresh herbs if possible and dry bay leaves unless you are lucky enough to have a Bay Tree!

Brine fish in brine for 24 hours. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Smoke fish at 140 degrees for 2-3 hours or unil done. Fill smoker pan with wood chips a couple of times. This is based on using salmon fillets. Thicker pieces will require longer cooking time.

Enjoy!

Until Later,
Cecelia

Strawberry Jam

It's that time of year - Strawberry Season. I made Strawberry Jam yesterday, the same way my Mother made it before me. Strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, fruit pectin and White Karo Syrup to keep the crystals from forming in the freezer. As I crushed the fruit I thought of all the times I helped My Mom make this same jam. . . .and I am thankful I learned to make homemade jams and jellies. For freezer jam we simply used the recipe on the MCP packet. Perhaps some of you have a favorite recipe for Jam. I have one I love for Apricot Jam that I will share during July even though we won't be blogging about Orange that month! Naturally I had to taste my Jam before I froze it!

Tomorrow I'll post a recipe for another 'red' food we are smoking today - fresh Salmon just in from Alaska. It is a wonderful recipe so check back tomorrow.

Until Later,

Cecelia

Red-Letter Days

Red-Letter Days

The origin of Red-Letter days was written about in The Boke of Eneydos from 1490: "We wryte yet in oure kalenders the hyghe festes wyth rede lettres of coloure of purpre."

This transcribes to writing church festivals in red on calenders and more recently, any special day.

We are having a Red Letter Day in our family this weekend with the Wedding of a Grandson.

Another interesting quote from Aesop's Fables:

"A truthful Man, finding a musial instrument in the road, asked the name of it, and was told that it was a fish-horn. The nex time he went fishing he set his nets and blew the fish-horn all day to charm the fish into them; but at nightfall there were not only no fish in his nets, but none along that part of the coast. Meeting a friend while on his way home he was asked luck he had had. "Well," said the Trughtul Man, "the weather is not right for fishing, but it's a red-letter day for music".

What Red-Letter days do you carry in your heart of memories? I carry those days where my children were born or came into my life, saying good-byes to old friends and family at the gravesite, saying goodbye to my childhood home when it was sold. Some happy, some sad, but all moments in time that have made my life. Marriage, grandchildren, first days of school, Christmas' of past, a memory of a day at church. . . . moments that make a life.

Spend a few moments writing about your Red-Letter Days.

Until Later,
Cecelia

The Perfect Red

Did you know that we can distinguish a single shade of color from the millions of colors in our world? Red, it seems is a very important color. "We roll out the red carpet, catch crooks red-handed, and dread getting caught in red tape. We stop at red lights, ignore red herrings, and celebrate red-letter days. Depending on our political persuasions, we wave the red flag or fear the red in the bed. When hot rage overpowers us, we say we see red." This quote is from a favorite book:



The color red is an ancient one and the quest for the 'perfect red' is a story that fascinates. Did you know that the bug Cochineal was the answer to this quest for the perfect red? "The History of this mad race for cochineal is a window onto another world - a world in which red was rare and precious, a source of wealth and power for those who knew its secrets. To obtain it, men sacked ships, turned spy, and courted death." This is their story.

You will not be sorry if you purchase the book by Amy Butler Greenfield.

More on Red Later. . .
Cecelia

The Color Red

A portion of each month's blogs will be about what my life is immersed in. . . color. In June, I will share some of my thoughts and creative endeavors using red. You probably think it is my favorite color. . . when in actuality it is my least favorite color, (at least to wear).

A friend's posting of color names we give to red included: Burgandy, Carmine, Chinese Red, Crimson, Faded Rose, Flame Red, Maroon, Ruby, Scarlet, Naples Red, Cherry, Blood Red, Vermillion, Cardinal, Poppy and Lobster. I've already had some memories come to mind just from the mention of the name. For instance, the first time I tasted Lobster, the episode when my Aunt and her boyfriend faked a car accident with ketchup for blood, and scared my Mom, Grandmother and Aunts, making Strawberry Jam, and my first Red Rose. What memories of Red come to your mind? Here are some reds (among other colors) that I've been dyeing. The silk throwsters waste and cocoons are wonderful for creative embellishment. Our Elegance Velvet Ribbons is 'to dye for'.

Hope For Spring

Hope is such a powerful word. I am dreaming of spring's tender green shoots, no glimpses as yet in the dark brown earth, but I know they are waiting. . . .


This yearning for green was evident in a recent dye day:




I follow a couple of blogs. One of my favorite being Tongue in Cheek. She recently wrote about medals and how we all deserve one. I loved her words: "For waking up in the morning and putting our best foot forward. For stopping and listening to a child when we are in a hurry. For loving one another even when we would rather turn our backs. For believing that darkness never conquers."

Simply wonderful words for a bleak day in Midwinter as I dream of green.

Until later.
Cecelia