Cooking up a batch of color, AND some yellow beets (beets being food AND color, of course).  We were careful, D. and I, to keep all food/dye implements separate, lest you blanch at the thought of my taking a sip of purple Ritz No. such-and-such.  And please rest assured that I will NOT be stirring Easter soup with a chop stick saturated with dye.

Yesterday I read about wrapping eggs in silk and boiling them in water and 1/4 cup of vinegar.  I had to try it.  The big surprise was that the loveliest of the bunch came from a dark, dun-colored necktie fabric (four of the five orange eggs pictured below).

The former blue silk blouse was basically a bust (ha!), but the checked taffeta came out cool.

The easiest tool at-hand for securing the silks turned out to be bread tabs.

The last step will be to rub them with a little canola oil, for some shine.  I used whole eggs, but next year (I say this now), perhaps I will blow some eggs in order to create some that will hold year-to-year (then I understand that you have to get a little clever about weighting them down in the pot so that they don’t float).

Those beets will be peeled tomorrow and dressed with a tangy vinaigrette… have I mentioned that I am a Salad Goddess?  There are so many things that I am not very good at, that I hope you don’t mind, dear reader, the occasional reminder of my Goddess status in this area!

I will also be making Potato Leek soup.  The leeks at Russo’s (local readers, I hear you swoon at the thought of Russo’s – and yes, I braved the crowded lots and aisles to go yesterday) were so unbelievable.  I swear they are nearly as long as I am tall!  I also will have watercress on the table for folks who want their soup with a little more peppery flavor.  It is turning out to be an Irish dinner – two legs of lamb will be the centerpiece.  Blanched asparagus, garlic parsley new potatoes and a salad with bitter greens, radicchio and endive will complete the fare.

Once I started dyeing, it got D. thinking.  He wanted to tie dye two shirts, so we hauled up some tubs, rubber bands, gloves, squirter tubes, and soda ash.

I tie dyed three little layette pieces that have been sitting in the basement, washed and ready to go.  They will be washed at least twice before being tagged for sale.

I have made some tiny cotton pants to go with.  They are aqua.