Going through a purple patch

This beautiful hank of yarn has been in my precious yarns drawer for two years waiting for the right project and this week I found it.

The pattern is from Cherry Heart  - I love her colour but know that would not suit being next to my skin. I need stronger colours, like purple, turquoise or rust. I'll be winding the yarn tonight ready to start using this lovely silk yarn. 

Purple - what can I say? Is it a colour that comes to you later in life? I understand it is the most popular colour choice for over 50s.

Watching the film 'The Colour Purple' last week, prompted me to get the book from my shelf which I studied for my A Level English Lit. It is one of the most moving books I have read.  If you haven't read it, give yourself a treat, but remember the box of tissues. Or should I say handkerchief? I like hankies but do you choose to carry germs around or use less paper?  A whole new discussion.

There are two quotes from that book which stood out for me, a lover of all colours of course, but purple, oh purple! ('Scuse the language in the quote)

“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it. People think pleasing God is all God cares about. But any fool living in the world can see it always trying to please us back.”

How many times do we see something beautiful and don't feel it in our hearts or don't take the time to appreciate that beauty - just a few seconds from our busy lives to enrich our day.

The other quote is:
"He laugh. Who do you think you is? He say. You can't curse nobody. Look at you. You black, you pore (poor), you ugly, you a woman. Goddam, he say, you nothing at all."


Four insults, four insights into the lot of women. It makes me sad and determined all at the same time. The book is set between 1910 and 1930 but it still has relevance today, sadly. Take the time to read it or watch the film, it's worth it.

So.... purple....

The cotton blanket is building up. It looks much bluer in the photos than it actually is - perhaps it's the way the light is absorbed by the matt surface of the cotton. It is much more purple than it looks here. (The crochet hook is a Knit-Pro 3mm - a happy purpley coincidence)

Purple too, for the bag I made this week to house the squares. This is in response to the scattered nature of my fabrics and yarns and my determination to keep them safe whilst my butterfly brain flits from project to project, finishing them in a completely random order, depending on my whim.

A different purple, muted, grey-toned and lovely. Purple figures highly in my seasons of Mist and Fruitfulness too.

There have been some stunning skies this week with the low autumn sun highlighting the gorgeous colours of autumn against steel grey skies. The elderberry bushes on the sides of the roads are dripping with deep purple black fruits, shining bright in the crisp morning light.

This has influenced the choice of colours for the October Mini-Quilt.

So a happy little table of pumpkins waiting to be painted or sewn.

I am in my element. Interspersing this crafting with housework and other things keeps me grounded but I have a deep inner peace when I'm concentrating on the fine details of these projects. Lucky lucky me, I am filled with appreciation for these times and, when I feel like me head is going to explode as I juggle the pressures at work I just allow myself a little glimpse of these moments to keep me going.