I am a Purple Person. I have always loved Purple,
Plum, Violet, Amethyst, Berry, Eggplant, Mauve, Heather, Lilac and Lavender.
This time of year I am really happy to drag out my plummy lipstick, purple
corduroy pants, and heather sweaters. It's like comfort food. But no calories.
My best friend in junior high was a purple person. Back then nobody wore
purple, at least not in my town. Only people who were a little hippyish wore
purple. I admired my friend for her bravery.
But then movie 'The Color Purple' came out. We became aware of Jenny Joseph's
poem "When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple…" which was
written in 1961, but became popular in the 1980's. The Red Hat Society
followed, and then it seemed like we were
all wearing purple.
In color psychology, the color purple is associated with creativity. It was
long associated with royalty, and also represents spirituality.
Tyrian Purple, mentioned in texts dating back to 1600 B.C., was produced from
marine mollusks. It took 12,000 shellfish to extract 1.5 grams of the pure dye.
Rome, Egypt, and Persia all used purple as the royal standard. Purple dyes were
rare and expensive; only the wealthy had access to them. Emperor Aurelian
forbid his wife buy a purpura-dyed silk garment, because it cost its weight in
gold.
In an election year, purple represents a state that is evenly balanced between
both political parties. It is a mix of cool blue and hot red, and the blending
of the two represents peace.
My childhood friend who wore purple in junior high is now a law professor and
medical ethics consultant, but she is the most stylish and humorous academic I
know. She is not a quilter but she
loves cats so much, she could be a honorary quilter. We
traveled to Spain together a few years ago, and she was amazed when groups
of quilters came to meet us in the different cities we visited. What did we
wear on our trip? Purple of course!
What is *your* comfort color?
eQuilter has just received a shipment of Oliver
Twist hand-dyed threads, including lots of luscious purple, plum and
lavender spools, and hanks of yummy green, teal, charcoal and sunset orange
silks. We are expanding our line of Oliver Twist threads, thanks to the
enthusiasm of quilt artists like Marianne
Williamson.
We are accepting comfort quilts for Colorado Flood victims. You can drop them
off or ship them to us at:
eQuilter.com
5455 Spine Rd, Suite E
Boulder CO 80301
Namaste….
Luana
p.s. the photo above was the sunrise over the sacred River Ganges, on our last
day in India.
