painting with words

recently read Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry. meant for younger readers but a very good quick read.  a story woven with mending. in every sense of the word. mending fabric. mending relationships. mending society. and a search for blue. the color of peace.

the main character is a "threader". an artist. gifted.
"Kira had always had a clever way with her hands. When she was still a tyke, her mother had taught her to use a needle, to pull it through woven fabric and create a pattern with colored threads. But suddenly, recently, the skill had become more than simple cleverness. In one astounding burst of creativity, her ability had gone far beyond her mother's teaching. Now, without instruction or practice, without hestitancy, her fingers felt the way to twist and weave and stitch the sprecial threads together to create designs rich and explosive with color. She did not understand how the knowledge had come to her. But it was ther, in her fingertips, and now they trembled slightly with egerness to start."

also contained withing this small treasure

 are numerous references to dye plants and the color they yield.

 some were new to me.