skip to main |
skip to sidebar
White as Snow. . .
White light. . . .
Winter White. . .
Snow on snow on snow. .
Walking on eggshells. . .
White fever. . . White Creme de Menthe. . . White Lie. . .
Phrases and words of white. But is white a color? Read an interesting discussion of this and yes white is a color. If you google "Is White A Color" maybe you'll get the same site I did on www.colormatters.com where there is an interesting article on this. I was unable to get the link to work. Sorry. Mary O'neill says this about white in her book: HAILSTONES & HALIBUT BONES
" White is a Dove
And lily of the valley
And a puddle of milk
Spilled in an alley -
A Ship's sail
A Kite's tail'A wedding veil
Hailstones and Halibut bones
And some people's
telephones. White is marshmallow
And vanilla ice cream
And the part you can't remember In a dream.
White is a pair of
Whispers talking.
White is the beautiful
Broken lace
Of Snowflakes falling
On your face."
I love white work, white lace edgings and all the 'shades' of white if you believe that there are 'shades of white'!!
I'm starting to plan my stitching projects for the coming weeks. Some are in getting ready for market that is in February. Others are for my pure enjoyment.
Do you think white is a color? Our 3 winners for the Dec drawing are: Elizabeth Ann, Wendy, and Sudukc! The first one to email me also wins the extra item! Please email me your addresses so I can send out your items!
Not dyeing white today -
Cece
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 -
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!
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. . .
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.
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.
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. . . A November give-a-way is coming up in the next couple of days!
