Project Spectrum: Gray & White : Mrs. Belli's Edging Update

Mrs. Belli's lace edging is coming along, if at a snail's pace. I hope to finish this before the end of the month, and the end of Project Spectrum's Blue-Gray-White months. Since it's hard to show progress on this sort of a project, I put in a blue stitchmarker so you have some idea of how many inches I've added since the last photo (sorry for the dark image):

In this post, I looked at the color blue in verbal form. Although gray and white aren't true colors, I thought I'd try to do the same for them. I enjoy learning about color and how it appears in our everyday lives, sometimes in ways I've never noticed before. I hope you do too.

My favorite color word for white is cloud. Others are: crystal, quartz, ghost, porcelain, milk, salt. My least favorite: snow. Some favorite color words for gray (and popular names for cats): Smoky, Charcoal, Misty. Pewter. Steel. Slate.

Here is an interesting article from Wikipedia on white. Here is one for gray.

Some white and gray items from the natural world: White Mountains (many states), White River (many states and countries around the world!), and a Grey River in New Zealand. Russia has a White Sea, and Egypt has a White Desert. There are many white flowers, which are said to be the most fragrant of all blossoms: jasmine, lily, tuberose, lily of the valley. There are also white varieties of roses, lilacs, hyacinths, tulips and others. You can order many of these from White Flower Farm. One of my favorite white bushes is called Bridal Veil, and is a delicate shrub that blossoms like a waterfall in spring. Some gray and white animals are: polar bears, snow leopards, grey wolves, African grey parrots, mice, various species of fish and birds. But the best are right at home: our cats and dogs and ferrets!

In astronomy, we have white dwarfs, a type of star, and in architecture, the White House. Margaret Bourke-White was a noted photographer. We have the White Sox baseball team, TV's Betty White and Gray's Anatomy. Singer Barry White. Snow White. White Christmas, the legendary holiday film, along with White Nights, The Woman in White, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, and Charlotte Gray (all books turned into films). There is a white ribbon campaign to end domestic violence.

One of my favorite daily "grays" is Earl Grey tea (and there is white tea too!).I am sure there are many more instances of white and gray all around us -- what are your favorite grays and whites?

Tomorrow is the official first day of spring for the northern hemisphere, and official first day of autumn for the southern hemisphere. Not a moment too soon, no matter what side (the hot, needs-more-rain south side, or the cold, we've-had-enough-snow-already north side) of the equator you live on. :)

Comments

[Chris]

What an interesting post! Alas, it doesn't feel like the first day of spring here...

[Nancy]

My High School (Evergreen Park Community H.S. home of the Fighting Mustangs) colors were Forest Green and Gray which I always thought was classy. And there was Lady Jane Grey who met a very tragic end. Gray is the 3rd most popular color for vehicles in North America.

[Yvonne]

I like to think of being surrounded by undyed yarn as being surrounded by white. Even if it is an off-white.

Really cool post, thank you!

[Sonya]

I love how knit stitches look in white or cream yarn.

[debsnm]

White Sands National Monument - the sands are blindingly white, like snow, but with heat. It's a really great place to spend a day exploring.

[Kara]

ooh, how i love synonyms...I think that milk is my favorite for white, and pewter for grey.

Mrs. Belli is looking good.

[--Deb]

And when it's gray and stormy, the waves have white caps!

[Martha]

I've become a big fan of Lady Grey tea, myself.

Ah, the ocean, in a good East coast Nor'easter is about as gray and white contrast as you can get, I think. It's my favorite time to be on the beach. Me, the elements, the magnitude of it all, and very few, if any, other people.

[tiennie]

I find grey to be lovely and one of my favorite colors to knit with.

[Sydney]

Nice post! I enjoyed it.

[Erin]

I like eggshell. Although, is that really white? I don't know. Gray is by far the color I gravitate to the most. It is just so wearable and classy.

[Kim]

Nice review and play on the colors and words white and grey. There's also the White House, which is a building, but also stands for so many things.

[Sharon]

I think grey is nice even if it looks dreadful on me!

Yay spring for you boohoo autumn for me :(

[Ina]

Lovely whites and grays!

[Rachel]

I have recently discovered the pleasures of white tea. Well, I probably should say that I've been brainwashed by the newest fad and enjoy the novelty of white tea, but still, that can be a pleasure, right?

Good luck finishing the endless edging!