Lizards in the Leaves

Rustlings in the green....imagination, art, whimsy

Feb 15, 2006

My Secret Pal's Valentine Extravaganza

And here it is, in all its glory (well, except for a fair number of edible goodies...) I unwrapped things every day for four days! And if it was candy, I ate it: Aplets & Cotlets, jelly babies, Japanese gummies...
Pictured are Jan Brett's Beauty and the Beast; Mary Engelbreit note cards; a heart punch; embossing templates; note pads; little ceramic magnets of a heart, question mark, and four letters: Z-A-N-N; beautiful handmade items (detailed below); 3 balls Debbie Bliss Cashmerino (oooooh, so soft)....closeup of the goodies I didn't consume by picture time:

a heart mug filled with Stash (one of my faves!) herbal tea and a scrumptious-looking raspberry hot chocolate; jellies attached to a sweet 'n squishy little bear, a purple tube of M&M minis attached to the cutest little tin suitcase (certainly to become a holder of something in my knitting basket), and of course, a little traditional heart-shaped box of chocolates.
Wow.
I love everything, but will play favorites to the things my SP created with her own loving and talented hands.
A pink-and-white washcloth with heart and embossed heart-shaped soap that smells terrific, but I can't seem to identify the scent! I think perhaps it must be a combination of a couple.

This is a little beaded bag, white cotton and pink beads. Tucked inside was another matreshka doll (hmmmm...the first tiny doll in my first SP package just fits inside...) and in that was tucked wee bits of nature: shells, seeds...

And here is a pink crocheted teeny bag with a heart button - tucked inside that a glass heart on a pale pink ribbon - just sweet and lovely!


Ahhh...I actually can pick a favorite from all the abundance of gifties...this purple crocheted pouch. I love love love it. Not only did my SP crochet it in my favorite color, but she dyed the cotton herself - with blackberries!
I have a Blackberry Thing - I love to eat them, but I also have precious memories of picking them wild in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina on family camping trips. And one summer, I was staying near Penland School of Crafts with the family of sculptor Al Vrana (my first husband was his assistant ) and we had an amazing day of picking blackberries and making jam (and of course eating at breakfasts thereafter.) While we were out picking by railroad tracks, a train roared by - I've never been so close to a train... my goodness, this pouch seems to be my Proust's madeleine...
You can't see it in the picture, but the cord is purple and green (a very, very, very favorite combination of color to me ) and my SP also dyed the green, with Queen Anne's Lace...how cool is that?
She says that I should not be surprised if the color changes as it ages...and that is okay. That means it's alive.
A 3-language thanks to my dear SP- Danke, Merci, Gracias!!!
xo
'Zann

3 Comments:

At 2/15/06, 2:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Very cool! I love the hand made and hand dyed crochet items. You have a very special secret pal.

 
At 2/15/06, 7:49 PM, Blogger Luscious Gracious said...

What a fantastic secret pal, and a talented one as well. You are so fortunate, but these goodies are well-deserved! I LOVE dying with natural wonders....and can't wait to try Queen Anne's Lace. Also can't wait to see that turtle...
kiki

 
At 2/16/06, 3:11 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The trick to getting the green range from Queen Anne's Lace is to use just a wee bit of Iron. It can be introduced in powdered form (very very tiny ammount. .. I soaked the yarn in Alum to pre-mordant it, then Queen Anne's Lace to bring it into a bright yellow range, then after-soaked it in about a cup of the Queen Anne's Lace liquor with less than 1/8 teaspoon of iron dissolved in it to bring it into the green range.)

Or it could probably be introduced by using a cast-iron skillet. I didn't experiment with that approach this time around, so I'm not sure how long it would require or what heat it would want.

I got a very clear green on the cotton, and a rather greyish green on the wool. It was the first time I'd tried working with Queen Anne's Lace.

I've heard that a brilliant chartreuse can be achieved on wool with Queen Anne's Lace. I didn't get it last year. I'll have to try again this year.

Zann's SP7

 

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