(no subject)

LJ is still being cranky at me, so I'm not sure if this will even post, or post 32 times.

Mail-love from firinel today, a lovely, meaty letter full of things to think about. We were just talking about you yesterday, Fin - remembering that Picasso quote you told us about, and musing about the varied value judgements placed on art and artists, and the need for art integrated into day to day life.

I keep thinking about William Morris, and his failed experiment. Frightened by the Industrial Revolution, and seemingly seeing quite clearly where it would lead (when we used to watch the Food Network, I could never understand why so many commercials were for pre-prepared foods) he began employing artisans and craftspeople to create household objects by hand, integrating the ideas of beauty and usability, while maintaining a respect for the skills needed to make such things. The problem was that if he was to pay his employees a living wage, it drove the prices of his goods up so much that only the rich - the new captains of industry - could afford them. One of the last talks he gave bemoans this as the great failure of his life.

I remember a day at the Sterling renfaire, looking over some beautiful jewlery, natural motifs done in copper and brass. Sir was buying me a dragonfly bracelet, and I overheard a husband and wife - she was admiring a necklace in a stylized grapevine, and his was muttering about the prices, and said "We could get something at Wal-Mart for half of that." I was stunned. That sort of thinking is just Linear A to me.

In other news, one of Sir's birthday gifts to me was a collection of bath stuff from Medieval, Inc.. It's quite lovely, with beautiful scents and wonderful packaging. I've seen those products in some pretty popular fashion magazines, too, so it's fairly sucessful. What really struck me, is that there's not a damn thing in her line I don't know how to make myself. (However, I'm perfectly happy getting such things as gifts. I'm a great baker, too, but that doesn't stop me from going into every pastry shop I see. How else will I get ideas?) It's going to take some time, since things are still pretty unstable for us financially, but when things finally do settle out, I'm going to move full speed ahead with the bath-shop. First I'll need to buy my bases in bulk - hazelnut oil and such things are pretty expensive, but make for the best products. (Hazelnut oil is good for oily skin, in facial washes and body lotions) Once I have a good supply of bases, I'll make up 'dummy stock', the basic washes, lotions, and creams, all just waiting for scenting, that way when an order comes in I can just add the scent and send it on its way, without leaving the entire formulation till the last moment. If Medieval can do it, why can't I?

Since my birthday just passed, I'm swimming in yarn. I'm finishing up the tank top from the cover of the latest Vogue Knitting, and then I'll be starting Elizabeth I, in a gorgeous sienna-colored silk/wool. However Hush-hush is just screaming "You know you want me!", and the yarn for that is quite cheap. It's perfect for me - I have a very flapper-girl body type, otherwise known as "flat as a board". :) There's also a lace camisole in the works, and a new dice-bag for Sir, knit in a pattern called 'dragon skin', and, and, and....My hands are still giving me trouble, but Bob says it sound degenerative, so I'm just doing what I can, and dealing with the pain.

I'm chattering. I'll stop now.:)

Colors....

Many people are leery of using vivid colors in their homes as anything other than accents. I'm very much one of them, but now, thanks to the lovely firinel I have a chance to get over that, which I've been wanting to do for ages.

Right now the living room, dining room, and halls (all open-plan) and subtly varying shades of cream, ranging in undertones from peach to rose. The library is a deeper rose, but that room's no big deal, because you can't see the walls much, and won't at all when we get the proper bookcases in. The kitchen is a horrifying industrial grey (I had wanted something silvery, but botched it) the bathroom is a somewhat messily sponged carribean blue, and the bedroom is a veryvery pale blue.

I'm most confident about the bedroom - I'm thinking about a 'lapis' color, since Fin is excellent with faux finishes, it can really llok like the stone, deep blue with hints of gold. Or possible more of a fabric look, but in the same deep blue with the barest highlights of gold. Something rich, and sensual. It'll be dark, of course, but the room has two windows, and hell, it's a bedroom, how much light do we need?:)

It's a galley kitchen, tiny as hell. I think I just want to redo it in white, with accents of blue, like Delftware. Around the stove is tiled in a hideous yellow, but I've seen vinyl contact paper patterned like delft tiles, so I'd been thinking about slapping that up over it. *Anything* to make it brighter in there, it's like being aboard an aircraft carrier now.

The main areas are a conundrum, though. I had gone for very neutral colors because we have a lot of vividly colored art objects and accessories, and I change them around a lot, so didn't want to worry about clashing. However, I'm sure there's a way to get the best of both worlds here - a strong and soothing color that doesn't war too much with the fact that we have a lot of stuff.....I favor warm palettes, but there's also the change of seasons to look at, too. However, no matter what the season, many of my quests compliment me on the warm and welcoming feeling/look of my home, so that's something I want to keep in mind.

I'm usually the one people go to for advice on such things, but this is a tangle! The floor is open for suggestions!