Wild Violets

I'm basking in the glow of sunset among the cherry blossoms, but it's violets that I really want to talk about today because my yard and the woods surrounding are positively packed with these gorgeous vibrant purple wild flowers.

You can see why I chose this dress to go along with this post.  It is probably the most vivid color in my entire wardrobe, and while I do like it very much, this is not the color I was expecting at all. I did a little experimenting with Aliexpress imposter dresses just to see if they measured up and....well, this is what this particular dress was supposed to look like:

The Sara dress from Teuta Matoshi is on my wish list, but I was curious what an imposter might be like, so I decided to try one while I scrimp and save to afford the original.

As you can see the big difference is the color--the original is lavender, this one is violet--and the gaudy satin trim on the corset piece.  It's also worth noting that this dress arrived with a big pink stain on the fabric.  I contacted the seller and they refunded part of the cost of the dress.  You can watch the full review for this dress and the others here.

The bottom line is that with the stain, I can't sell it.  With the shipping costs, I can't return it.  And, I'm not enthralled with this dress.  It's ok and I think I'm learning that when it comes to these gorgeous gowns, you get what you pay for.  From now on, I'm fully committed to buying on from Teuta.  The knock-offs just aren't worth it.

Since I have the dress though, I may as well use it as much as possible, starting with a stroll among the cherry blossoms.  Since they're so high above the ground, I don't have to worry about snags like I do when I go violet picking.

A few years ago I met a woman at a craft festival with similar interests to mine.  She also had a blog and I read it with interest.  In the blog she mentioned making wild violet jam.  Since my yard is filled with violets each spring, and since last spring I was at home for the shutdown, I determined to make some wild violet jam.

Two things prevented my jam session from becoming a reality.  First, toilet paper wasn't the only thing to be in short supply last year.  Canning supplies, especially lids, were no where to be found and those who did have some available were price gouging like you wouldn't believe.  And, second, when I finally did find a few tiny jam jars, a frost came along and killed all the violets.  Undeterred, I immediately began planning for this spring.

All these beautiful violets dotting the woods, were calling my name.  I enlisted the help of my entire family to go on a violet picking romp through the woods and we came home with a large bag of blossoms- about 2C.

I picked off the stems and washed the blossoms to remove the bugs and soil.  Then placed them in a bowl and covered them in 2-1/4C. boiling water.  I covered the bowl and let it sit for 24 hours.  The water turned the most brilliant electric blue!  You can see it instantly turned a blue in this photos taken seconds after covering it in the hot water.

After 24hours, I lined a strainer with a cheesecloth and strained off the liquid from the flowers squeezing the bundle of lowers to extract as much liquid as possible.  I put it in a pot with 1/4C lemon juice, now the blue liquid turned to violet purple.  Next I added one packet of fruit pectin which turned the liquid red-violet as you see here.

Stirring occasionally, as soon as my mixture reached a boil I added 2C. of sugar, and let it reach a hard boil for one minute.  I skimmed off the foam and discarded it, then poured my jelly into my already prepared jars.  I opted to make jelly instead of my blogger acquaintance's jam.  I also opted not to can this jelly.  It will stay in the fridge until it's gone.  The taste is so delightful, I can't wait to put it on hot buttered biscuits and use it in thumbprint cookies!

You see now why this dress was the perfect choice for this post!  It's not perfect, but there are a few things I like about it.  Also I'm stuck with it, so might was well learn to love it and wear the hell out of it.

Shopping Info:  Verngo Elegant Lavender Dotted Tulle Dress, Bettie Page Heels, Slightly altered version of Violet Jelly Recipe from Tasty Kitchen