Tea-dyed and gone to heaven...

One of my summer projects is to make curtains for the large window in front of the house. Over the years I've played with various curtains for that window - black velvet, an old shower curtain in a floral pattern, and most recently, a heavy, white cotton job making use of binder clips to keep it from dragging on the floor. But finally, I hit on some great fabric at Ikea (of course).



Just one problem. It's so very white. I thought it would be too stark of a contrast with the more neutral and burgundy living room palette. I wasn't up for regular dying, but tea-dying seemed just the thing. I just wanted to take the edge off the white, and I just happened to have a ton of extra tea bags in the house.



Theorhetically you can use a pot on the stove filled with boiling water to do the job, but I wanted to do all of my fabric at once to keep the color even. So there was only one possible place - the bathtub.

In go the teabags!



When the tea was fully steeped, it was time for the fabric to take a bath. In it goes...



I made use of a random, wooden kitchen implement to submerge it.



I sat in the bathroom for over an hour swirling the stuff about so that it colored evenly with no mottled affect.



The color is getting close...



Out of the the dryer...



...and onto the ironing board!



Done!



Next, to turn long pieces of fabric into curtains...



Stay tuned for the next thrilling installment...

Reasons to celebrate...

The other day I received an email asking me how I felt about July 4th and whether it was a holiday I actually observed in any way other than getting a day off from work. To me, these days, July 4th is a session at dance camp - a wonderful weekend of dancing and music and hanging out with friends. It may or may not contain the date 7/4. It’s also a way to avoid crowds that swarm downtown Philadelphia and displays of fireworks. (Yes, fireworks are pretty and I love the visual part, but just go to the movies with me sometime and you’ll soon see how I feel about loud, sudden noises. I am regularly mocked for this.)

This exchange led to a discussion of what holidays or annual events we celebrate every year. Are they set or movable days? Are they mere observances noted on your calendar, or do they require certain activities?

My personal list of holidays is kind of short:

January: Twelfth Night, the Birthday of The King
February: the Day of Strange Luck, Valentine’s Day
March: March 4th (the only day of the year that is also a command to go forward), Purim/Lesser Moose Day, Passover (which might be in April)
April: Passover (see above)
May: May Day, Cinco de Mayo/Much Lesser Moose Day, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day (as the start of summer)
June: My birthday!!
September: Labor Day (as the end of summer), Rosh Hashannah (which could be in October), Yom Kippur (ditto)
October: Halloween (I will be home to give out candy one of these years!)
November: Thanksgiving, Greater Moose Day
December: Philadelphia Playford Ball (It’s an event, but it might as well be a holiday), Chanukah, New Year’s/Hogmanay

I could go on to list all of the events I go to every year, birthdays I celebrate, etc., but sticking to holidays, what am I missing? What days are on your personal list of holidays?