09 February 2006

C is for...

This was a hard one. There are so many things that are a part of my life that begin with the letter "C".

Counted cross stitch. I used to do counted cross stitch. I now knit. Since knitting is more of an addiction for me, I will probably always knit. Plus, it's more portable than cross stitch. But with both crafts, it's exciting to see an object emerge from (a blank piece of fabric, from yarn).

Crafts. I love all kinds of crafts. In addition to knitting & counted cross stitch, I also like to scrapbook, rubber stamp, make cards, draw, do things with beads, sometimes work with polymer clays. Craft stores are very dangerous places for me! You see, I get "new" ideas there and find yet another craft I want to try.

Cats. I have a cat. He's 15lb. He was a stray. I think he's part Maine Coon. His name is Smokey. He was too young to be away from his mother when we got him, but his mother hadn't returned to the kittens in a few days. So the people (who had the house where the kittens were born) found homes for the kittens, fearing that something had happened to the Mom. We fed him baby animal formula in a tiny bottle. I don't have any digital pictures of him to add to the blog. He's about 8 years old. Before him I had a blue point Himalayan. She was my cat for 13-14 years. Her name was Tabitha. She had to be put to sleep because her kidneys were failing.

Cookies. There aren't too many cookies that I don't like. I love when people bake cookies for Christmas. I don't love to bake cookies. I love to eat cookies other people bake.

Cheesecake. I love cheesecake. I make an awesome one. But I only make it if I'm going to a party or something. There aren't enough cheesecake lovers in my house to justify making one just for us - well, me.

But what I picked for "C" to stand for is....COLOR. I love colors. I like to color in coloring books. I like to paint and draw with color. The make-up line in my business is referred to as "Color". I like make-up, too (although my make-up routine has become much simpler as I've gotten older and also since I now use awesome skin care products & have less need to hide my skin).

One of the hardest questions for me to answer is, "What's your favorite color?". When I was a child, my favorite color was blue. I still love blue. I'm just hard-pressed to pick ONE favorite color. I pretty much like them all! My favorite colors are bold colors. Pastels, to me, seem washed out. Wimpy colors. Colors that don't want to stand out. Don't want to be noticed. And don't want to offend anyone. But pastel colors do have their place. They can be very soothing.

Oddly enough, I usually wear neutral colors. Some day, I want to buy a winter coat that is a bold color (like red or bright blue). Something that's not practical, that doesn't "go" with every outfit. Something that maybe only goes with one outfit.

I was born in Key West, Florida. My parents & I moved from there when I was a year old. My Dad was in the Navy, so we moved alot in my childhood. I didn't get to "see" Key West until I was 17 or 18. My Mom & I drove there (from PA). It is so beautiful to drive through the Keys. You never knew the ocean had so many shades of blue! And the sunsets! They are so beautiful. I took so many pictures of Key West sunsets, trying to capture the amazing colors. It didn't work out too well.

In Southern California (where I also lived) there were also wonderful colors. The ocean. And the ocean was different colors, depending on where you were. The mountains. The desert. The sunsets.

I now live in Pennsylvania. Flying over my section of PA looks like a quilt. You have the farmland that looks like fabric blocks. In the Spring, there are all kinds of colors...grass, trees, flowers. In the Fall and Winter the colors are different. The tree trunks start to look darker than in the Summer or Spring. In the Fall, you have the bold colors of the leaves. In the Winter, sometimes snow. I love the look of snow on trees.


And then there's yarn. It's so wonderful to be a part of knitting now. At this time in history. Right now, we have so many options...fiber options, color options, needle options. I'm a person who gets bored knitting the same color, same yarn, same pattern all the time. With knitting, I don't ever have to be bored. I can find a yarn in pretty much any color I want. Or, I can dye my own yarn! I can knit with wool, cotton, silk, bamboo, soy, cashmere, alpaca, angora, human-made fibers. "Fur", ribbon, and other novelty things I don't even know the name of. Yes, I know the whole "natural" vs. synthetic fiber debate. What I'm saying is that I'm a creative person and at this point in time, I never have to be bored with yarn!

I have to admit, though, it is hard for me to pick out yarn. Since there are so many choices. I followed a pattern for the first felted bag that I made. The pattern called for Noro Kureyon yarn. So I went to my LYS. They have a huge shelf full of Kureyon. All the colors! It took me a good hour to decide which colors I wanted to buy. Even then, I got 2 different colors (for 2 bags).

Oh yeah. I also like to use colors in e-mails, on the blog, and in printed items. I am not a person to have everything in my house the same color. The dining room is blue. Pretty close to that shade of blue. The living room is green (a little darker than this green) with a red paisley kind os border. The bathroom is pink and maroon (the tiles and tub & sink and toilet were already there). I compensate for all this pinkness with rugs that are a forest kind of green. And a shower curtain that has greens, maroon, pink, and tan. The bedroom walls are all white. But the bedspreads and curtains are different colors.

When I look at colors, I don't think "blue". I think "blue, with a little grey added" - or whatever. I like to think of what colors I'd put together to make that particular shade.

So that's it. "C" is for colors.

MAKE it a great day!

8 comments:

Nancy Wetmore-Mathews said...

I haven't figured out my "C" yet. I need to get with it!

I'll make you cookies if you make me cheesecake;)

Anonymous said...

My c is for color, too. I've been gathering pictures and should be posting them soon. :) Great minds think alike.

Anonymous said...

Hi Angelia!

Okay you have won! I should be working on my very own blog this weekend at Nancy's house.

Carole Knits said...

Color is a great choice for the letter C. And I used to do counted cross stitch, too. But, you're right, it's just not that portable. And the finished product isn't as versatile, either.

Anonymous said...

Hello Angelia!
Just a quick note from your SP~ I hope you're having a GREAT week. And to let you know, you have a couple things headed your way..
Enjoy the weekend!
SP7
PS: Glad to learn you like Noro.. that was a great tip for future ideas!

f. pea said...

I am so down with your cat and your cookies. I have a big fat possibly-Maine-Coon cat too (though it doesn't seem like he could have ever been small enough to be a kitten).

Sarah said...

I've gotten so much knitting done this weekend, too! Take a hot bath, maybe then your joints will feel better :)

Maribel said...

Hey.. the Giants .. I don't think so..

One of my C's stands for Cowboys as in Dallas Cowboys...lol