As I stated in my recent post-requests for a catalog have been presented.  So, I am doing posts with walks through colors of linen.  I will start doing the same for my trim products and other items dyed and created by me.  Meanwhile-the website is still being worked on.  You can always contact your local shop or contact me directly for a color or an item.  

I hope you enjoy this small sampling of more colors.  Ebeth

Barnacle - This is part of the newish colors I developed this Spring.  That grouping was so big that I named it as a collection.  It is the Classic Shabby Chic Collection.  A couple of the linens from the previous post are from this collection - To be honest almost all of the linens from the previous post are from this collection.  Sorry, I missed marking them-I will put the names here Stained Grey, Rice Powder, Polar Bear, Dried Virginia Baccy, Colonial Blue and Aged Linen.  

As for Barnacle-the name just popped into my head when the linen came out of the dye bath.  I used to crew on my dad's sail boats and of course cleaning the barnacles off the hull is part of maintence of any marine vehicle.  Up in Virginia in the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic ocean the barnacles are smaller-ususally-and a cream white.  Barnacle just looks like the ones we would scrape off the hull before repainting the hull.

Dirty Ewe-what can I say about this one.  This and Peep's Lost Sheep were one of my first linen colors that I dyed.  When I first started I was overdyeing on Permin's Lambswool.  That was before it was woven by new weavers.  I based the name off Lambswool.  I miss dyeing on the old Lambswool, it was a flat thread and took the color amazingly.  Like I have said before Zweigart is a spun thread and it is harder for the color to grab the thread than a flat thread.  This is a wonderful neutral color and great for samplers and all other kinds of designs.  It for the most part is a flat dye.  Meaning there is usual very little molding in the color.  I can always see Miss Peep watching her sheep when I dye Dirty Ewe and Peep's Lost Sheep. (Peep's Lost Sheep will be posted in another blog posting.)

Mater Samich-OMG this is a Heirloom Tomato without the mayo.  I had a client looking for a linen to stitch Brenda Gervais's 'One Starry Christmas'.  The client found the called for linen a bit too dark for her.  She wanted a brighter color-So off to the dye room I went and I came up with Mater Samich and Hot Santa (Hot Santa will be on another post).  She ended up picking Hot Santa-it is a more cool bluish color that Mater Samich.  Mater Samich has that hot orange/red color.  I always imagine being with my family at the beach eating a Heirloom Tomato samich-white bread of course with salt and mayo on it and drinking a Grape Nehi out of the bottle sitting under the awning of my parent's RV by the beach.  We always kept the tomatos outside-so they were alway juicy and the first bite you could not stop the juice from running down your arms and the seeds just popped in your mouth.  What can I say-Virginia and the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina are the perfect places to eat that Mater Samich.

Mermaid's Firewood  This color came out of a grouping of Truffle Pig, Southern Pecan and a couple more.  I was in an experiment on how I could vary the same dyes and change up the amounts and the base color of the linen to see how they would vary in color when dyed.  When I pulled Mermaid's Firewood out of the bath it reminded me of old driftwood.  So who would use driftwood????  Why a Mermaid of course.  Hence Mermaid's Firewood.  This color always has a spark of surprise and uniqueness with every piece.  The way the dye mixes and sets on the linen can go from a dark hit to a lighter hit.  The modling is always different.  I just love imagining a Mermaid by a fire at night warming up before hitting the ocean and diving into the cold ocean to frolic with all the other creatures that she lives with.  

Virginia Mud Pie - Growing up on the coast of Virginia in peanut, soy bean, and tobacco country you have unique dirt.  It has a light black/grey coloring with sand mixed in.  I did not realize till I moved away from my beloved state to go further south that this type of dirt is unique to the more northern southern states.  Here in Georgia we have this dirt that is quite orangeish like clay.  The only time the dirt is another color is when dirt from other areas has been mixed in.  Here in Atlanta we are at the bottom of the Appalachian Mountain range.  Atlanta is almost as far north and west of the state as it can be.  It always surprises me that people think Atlanta is more toward the coast and closer to the bottom of the state.  We are a mountain area-not flat like the area I grew up in.  Trust me, take a bike ride you you will find out fast how hilly this area is.  And the dirt here is hard and clay like.  It is nothing like the coastal dirt that I grew up with.  When I dyed this linen Virginia Mud Pie just popped into my head.  Now as a good southern child growing up yes you always made mud pies.  Of course I had to bling mine out.  I broke into my piggy bank and my brother's and I took all the silver half dollars out and put them on top of my pies as decoration.  It would be an understatment to say I got into a lot of trouble when my mother found out what I had done.  Luckily all the half dollars were found and put back in their rightful piggies and I do not think I did that misadventure more than one or two more times.  Can we say hard headed.  

Well, thank you for reading about my colors and their names.  I am busy with organizing the pictures and taking more of all the linens as I have them on hand and will post more.  

As always, if you have questions please contact me and I will do my best to handle your request or answer your questions.

Off to the world of color, shipping and what ever mischief I can get into today.

Hugs Ebeth