18. Gloamin’

With a name that means twilight or dusk, Gloamin’ – our colour for today – is an intricately layered shade of purple.

To me, this purple is a very good match for the lovely colour layered through a so-called “red” onion…

…yet I don’t see much of a match when I place the ball beside some “purple” grapes.

I have a habit of over-dyeing clothes and fabric scraps in the washing machine. A caramel-coloured velvet off-cut that went into a washing machine dyebath of purple fortuitously turned out a good match for Gloamin’; and a little hand-knitted rose-brooch from my friend Caro that I’ve had for years plays well with this yarn shade, too.

Because of Cadburys chocolate and their corporate appropriation of a particular shade of purple for their marketing, I always associate a certain shade of purple (not this shade) with that brand of chocolate. But this nice bar of dark chocolate from ALDI is a better match for Gloamin’, to my eyes.

Remember what I was saying about wrapping paper? Well, long before we moved to the coast, I found a shop in Hastings that sells sheets of wrapping paper that look like the insides of an amethyst cave. I love this wrapping paper beyond all reason. Especially because anything you wrap in it (for example, a book for your tiny niece or nephew) looks like a giant crystal! To me, this feels magical. Happily Hastings still has this shop, and as a special treat to all of you HERE IS GLOAMIN’ IN A MATCHY AMETHYST WORLD OF PURPLE DREAMS!!!

So satisfying: the neps and glints of other colours in the yarn feel so similar to the multicoloured, glittery surfaces of the crystals printed on the paper…

…the yarn is a bit darker and reflects the light differently than the paper, but I think these are a lovely match.

Down by the shore, there are further nuggets of Gloamin’ to be found. As I turn a corner onto the beach, I see that outside one of the beach huts, there is a little stash of pretty painted stones. Someone has clearly had a lovely time transforming and decorating the shingle.

You have to look for it, but from time to time you’ll find a bramble with thick stems that are tinged a purple-colour close to Gloamin’. Can you see what I mean? Just the barest touch along those thorny stems…

…And I found one hut that has used this shade of purple as a wonderful accent colour on its shutters and on the edges of its roof gable.

I also see a bit of Gloamin’ in this sunset from Weston-super-Mare from February, 2022.

To what skies, plants, vegetables, fruits and rocks does Gloamin’ draw you?

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.