taking the plunge

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Well after being totally in awe of her for nearly a week now... much to humourous delight all...... I read the pamphlet oiled her up.... and paced around...

Today I took the plunge...... she is fast!!!!!! The spool was wound in seconds! The threading is a little different from what I am used to but the real fun was trying to use the automatic needle threader.... well I couldn't get it! and because I just wanted to see what she could do shelved that for another day.

It is very earlier days as at the moment I have just tried the straight stitch taking her up to the 6mm..... beautiful stitch put the pedal to the floor and she flew in my hands....... and reveresed her back up...all on painters canvas and a fairly thick cotton .....

I will continue gently now next using a thicker thread on the bottom and reversing my fabric so I shall be working from the back. and using the quilting foot as well as no foot to see how we go.... alot to try out before I start ....... this will take quite a few hours before I feel as comfortable as I do with my brother but there is no doubt she is a thoroughbred, perfect for me.

Peony the Imperial Flower

' surely there has never been such a flower among mortals' (9th century chinese writer)

A sweet and heavenly perfume, inspired by Artists and poets.

Peony
Originally uploaded by bernadettemacphersonmorris.

I have collected and specialised, delighting in old and highly perfumed roses for many years. While browsing through some old master botanical paintings a couple of years ago I realised that it was the peony that had captured my heart. This spectacularly beautiful, fragrant plant, thornless and healthy, ruffled, soft and gentle. There are so many beautiful photos of this glorious flower I could not make up my mind.... it is now late and I will write more tomorrow.... I may even change this whole piece and photo but this will suffice for now....gifts of peonies are an exchange of friendship and prosperity.

Buddha revisited with Sandalwood

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The photo here is a Sandalwood buddha from Mysore India-


I am sitting here swathed in the aroma of Sandalwood. This beautiful meditative wood completely assails my senses as I write this.

A few weeks ago Salaam from Profumo.it kindly sent me some samples of raw materials .This first one is Sandalwood Mysore. I have a few other samples of Sandalwood oil and I have decided to compare this one with the agmarked (Indian government stamp of approval) Sandalwood from Nishan oils, a gift from Bernie and Sandie, Butterbur & Sage and have now had for some years.

Of course today this particular Sandalwood is endangered so thus for ecology it may be prudent to look for alternatives in managed woodlands and alternative type for this most special of oils.... I am writing about this, as this particular type has been used in rites incense religious festivals for centuries and I love its aroma. It is a great benchmark for other more ecological sandalwoods that are now offered.

Both penetrate and surround the air with its woody meditative ambience. Salaams has a greener note than the fuller and rounded ag-marked sample. Poucher describes the true oil as pale yellow and viscose which indeed profumo.it sample is.. I am amazed at how the aroma penetrates deeply into my senses and through to the third eye. The agmarked sample is also pale yellow and viscose. So it looks as if these are both true for which I am delighted as adulteration can occur by using castor oil and cedarwood oil. The agmarked seems sweeter and fuller as if one has put a minor third in it than Profumo.it's greener higher note which may have something to do with the age. I would have no hesitation in recommending Salaam's beautiful calming Sandalwood. You can find Salaams site on my places to visit link. I have also some very fine sandalwood chips given by Dorian Schneidman which also pervays its calm aroma when warmed.

Genet

The Perfumery Group was enquiring after broom. It is honey scented (spartium junceum) or spanish broom and is also called Weaver's Broom and Genista. In France it is known as Genet and was used in perfumes as early as the 16th century by maceration. The odour has been described as sweet, floral, and hay-like. In commercial perfumes it has been used in Madame Rochas , Boucheron and Safari. So, haylike/honey....other similar oils would be flouve, beeswax abs, Linden Blossom abs, honey absolute. It would be wonderful in combination of a summer kissed perfume... warm sunny days......picnics, canoes down the river watching the swans, kingfishers, otters, herons......or lying on a beach near dried grasses and the smell of the ocean salty exalting watching the clouds scudding by.......... a tiny touch of ambergris.and seaweed diluted....perhaps for the sea one....perhaps some orange blossom water absolute for the river..... then tweaks with some others...... that will come....

Hibiscus Flower

Seeing as I have used this flower recently...... I thought I would look at it in more detail.

In some hotels in Bali this exotic and tropical flower is used instead of the Frangipani (another favourite) I had no idea that there are many species and colours (all.georgeous)Some like the chinese split petal hibiscus has beautiful design like petals and quite extraordinary to look at.

The perfume certainly when used as a tisane is fruity and for dyeing produces old faded rose colours...... when I tried to tincture I didn't get much scent..... I may try again and just leave and forget about it. Maybe then I will get a fruity surprise...If one plucks a hibiscus petal and blows it from the plucked end, the lobed capsules of the petal can blow up like a balloon. :-)

The plant belongs to the Malva family (mallow) for which the wild flower species in the UK was used by the Physicians of Myddfai.

May 14 2007 tincture update...

The tincture is now a beautiful red colour with a delicious fruity aroma. I may add some more to create a strong mother tincture..

cropwatch vote re-opened IS IT FAIR GAME

Dear Friends..... I really can't believe what I am reading!!!! Is this acceptable behaviour......is this ethically correct? Does anyone have a grip on the official and correct procedure about re-oponing a poll that had already closed......??? What is the legislative procedure..... does this allow for re-voting????
THIS ARRIVED THIS MORNING.............

14.2.07 After consultation with various people seeing as this is an not technically an official poll..... they can do what they like......fair enough.... the vote has been carried over but it is not adviseable to revote.... but pass the word that it is still going and get others to vote for this important issue.... thanks so much janita

Cropwatch vs. IFRA: A Note from the Editor[February 12, 2007]

Our mission at P&F magazine, the P&Fnow newsletter and http://www.perfumerflavorist.com/ is to provide a venue for the latest news, research and ideas in the flavor and fragrance industry. We seek neither to inflate the position of nor act as an advocate for any particular industry interests. Few topics have more keenly required our forum or been more controversial than the recent Cropwatch boycott of IFRA’s 40th Amendment to its Code of Practice. We’ve reported each step of the story as it has it has unfolded and recently posted an unscientific online poll. While the results of that poll have skewed heavily toward the Cropwatch point of view, we’ve received many passionate e-mails in support of both positions. We do not intend to misrepresent the attitude of the industry as a whole, but rather seek to take the temperature of our readers. With that in mind, we will keep the poll voting open until March 5, after which we will report the new results in P&Fnow (subscribe here). Vote now on our homepage! And we will continue to cover this story as it unfolds, reporting the various facts and divergent positions as accurately as is possible. We thank all of our readers for making P&F a dynamic, if sometimes contentious, industry platform. As always, we welcome your feedback at http://uk.f267.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=jallured@allured.com. Best regards, Jeb Gleason-Allured Editor

Muhuhu

"Muhuhu is a hard to find essential oil that is used as a base note, similar to Sandalwood, Amyris and Tolu Balsam. It has an interesting Oud-like aroma on dry-out" This is Eden Botanicals description of the oil. I have sent some to the group as a sample. Mine was a gift from a supplier here in the UK and is now 12 years old and it is deep, deep, deep.

I have been smelling both. Muhuhu is black and dark ......sandalwood lighter and sweet spicy almost in comparison.... I combined muhuhu and hyraceum and they got on very well together, cavernous and dark...............it will be interesting to see how they dry down together.

The gardens contacted me today and I will travel in latish spring and visit Kristina in the Apothecary gardens. I should by then have a few trial sampled pieces of the needle to show. I put a downpayment on a new sewing machine that will be coping with all the layering of threads I intend to do. I need speed as well as precision.. I spent months last year researching which would be right for how I work..... I think I have chosen wisely.... I will travel accross at some point and have a trial run with it.... see how she runs....

Back to read White Lotus aromatics 'fragrant harvest' newsletter 1st installment on Grasse and continue enjoying and familiarising with the samples and new notes to play with .......