Who thinks up those names?

I think I have decided what I want to be in my next life.. a person who thinks up color names.... you know- those yummy sounding names that are given to the various shades on a paint colors strip - or the colors of hand-dyed threads.. I wonder what such a person is called? A color-ologist? Today I received my long-awaited order from Treenway Silks on Saltspring Island in B.C. I ordered their color sample cards, for their 100 hand-dyed solid colors. They are gorgeous! I admired each individual card which held 20 colors, stroked them, loved them... Then I started reading the color names.... Sun Dance, Salmonberry, Persimmon. Paprika. Pondicherry, Shelly Belly, Ballet Slippers.... thats just on the first card - the yellows, golds, oranges, rusts, etc. Listen to the Blue's names... Silk Pyjamas. Periwinkle, Love-in-a-mist, Persian Night, Winter Solstice, Mystery Harbour, Blueberry Haze, Ice Poppy, Dragonfly, Mermaid Tears....don't they all just sound yummy enough to eat?? Wouldn't that be a great job - thinking up these names? Wonder where I would apply?

Stitching with silk threads is often like sliding a hot knife through butter. My most favorite silk thread is Silk Buttonhole Twist - it is a fine, fairly tightly twisted thread and such a pleasure to stitch with. I love YLI silk buttonhole twist and am always on the look-out for it - it isn't easy to find around here. An alternative is the SBT from Treenway Silks - they dye their own 1oo solid colors and also a gorgeous range of hand-painted variegated threads - 74 in all, designed by Judith Baker Montano. What I like best about these threads is that the spacing between the color changes is short- when you are Crazy Quilting, and your seam is only 5" long, a thread that has 12" of one color before it changes, isn't going to give you much variation... Of course, all these colors are available in silk ribbon as well.

I have tried a few other silk threads - Silk Perle, Silk floss, Serica, and 8/2 Reeled Silk; of these the Buttonhole Twist wins hands down, for me... I guess I like the finer highly twisted thread. I find some of the heavier threads "wear" as you pull them through your fabrics over and over...

Anyway, what a pleasure to receive this package of vibrant color today! Just like a child getting that new box of 64 Crayolas - remember how exciting that used to be? For me, that was always the best present ever!

I also ordered 4 of their Web Specials- combos of Silk Ribbon for $3.00 each! The Web specials are always worth checking out! Find them at http://www.treenwaysilks.com/ under "What's New". These combos are made up of 3-5 colors., and you get 5-7 yds. in total. These ones are called, clockwise from top left, Squaring the Circle, Arcadia, Cataline and Lady Inger. The colors are luscious, as you can see, and the ribbon is of high quality.

There is a great deal of information on the Treenway website about silk in general, as well as info on their products. Check it out!!

I have always had a fascination with anything from the Orient -silk, kimonos, Geishas...this probably stems from the fact I had a Japanese penpal when I was young. She wrote such interesting letters and the envelopes were always covered with the most beautiful stamps. I still have every one of them! I've often wondered if I could ever track her down again- I still remember her name- Shizue Kakinuma. We wrote back and forth for about 4 years, and then sadly it petered out.. Is it any wonder that I love the movie Memoirs of a Geisha, and books such as Gail Tsukiyama's "Women of the Silk" and "The Language of Threads". These two novels tell the story of Pei, a young Chinese girl whose impoversihed family sells her to work in the silk mills of rural China. The author paints a moving, unforgettable portrait of strong women fighting to survive and make a life for themselves in difficult times. Both worthwhile reads..

Well, enough rambling for tonight...

Piece,

Linda

"Whatever you are, be a good one." Abraham Lincoln