11. Cowslip

I’ve not been able to find a photo of the namesake of today’s yarn shade, but here is a primrose – cousin of Cowslip.

Such a lovely springtime colour; such a great match to the yarn. Also close to daffodils…

…this delectable macaron…

…and the colour of mahonia wood, which can be used to make a dye not far from the buttery, spring-like, vivid joy of Cowslip.

Yet where can we turn for spring-like yellows, when it’s not spring and when no new spring blossoms may be found? If you are anywhere near Weston-super-Mare, this magnificent and slightly alarming chicken mural comes with a good dose of Cowslip yellow.

On a bright and wintry day where the light hangs low and golden in the sky, one of the fishing boats of St. Leonards-on-sea rests on vivid plastic rollers to enable her to get into the water down the steep, shingle beach. The rollers are the colour of Cowslip.

The site of the old bathing pool has been decorated in shades of Cowslip graffiti…

…while nature has embroidered her own yellow designs on the wooden steps down to the beach.

There is always life growing, even in winter.

At home, I’m pleased to notice that a birthday card drawn for me by a cherished friend’s child has a touch of cowslip in its decadent depiction of ice-cream.

In the kitchen a tube of American mustard and a box of tea purporting to taste like biscuits (it does not) speak to this cheerful shade.

My books have some Cowslip in them, too; Jacqueline Crooks’ Firerush is a more citrusy colour, and The Caribbean Arts Movement by Anne Walmsley is more golden, but where the sun has lightened the spine, it’s an exact match.

Contemplating this lovely springlike colour has warmed a wintry day; if it’s winter where you are, too, can you use Cowslip like a magnet, to draw you towards some buttery yellow cheer?

These posts coincide with the KDD & Co. Colour Compass advent calendars. Each day, throughout December I’ll be opening my calendar beside you, and exploring the yarn shade that is revealed for that day. Read more about these posts here, and prepare for a few weeks of polychromatic fun as we discover the shades together and revel in their suggestive associations and creative possibilities together! Even if you don’t have a calendar, I hope you’ll love exploring colours with me, and thinking about each shade as it appears, and how it is connected with the everyday colours of your life.