The End of Diversified Plain Weave

 I’ve started my third and final Fleur de Lis  runner and I must admit that I’m more than happy to see the end of this project.  I find that I can only weave for a very short time and then the fatigue of lifting 13 shafts on a treadle gets to me.   I can’t see myself choosing to weave such an unbalanced weave again, but I guess, never say never!

For this runner I am using a lot of what I learned in the previous two runners.  I am using the improved motif and the thinly woven hemline.  

My yarns are 2/8 orlec in dark teal and 2/16 cotton in blue teal.  When I went to take the photo and sat them on the shelf beside the fireplace I instantly know where the colour inspiration came from.

The plan for this runner is to weave 2 inches of hem in fine cotton only, to ensure it sits within the hem neatly.  Then to weave  2 inches for the underside covering hem and 4 inches of plan pattern before beginning the motif; hopefully this will allow the motif to begin away from where the runners drape over the table.  I am spacing my motif a full 2 inches apart on this runner.

I’m pretty happy with it so far and the colour is better than I had hoped, now only 50 more inches!

Yesterday I embraced autumn with my first seasonal pie.  I can’t call it Pumpkin Pie because I don’t actually use pumpkin and Butternut Pie doesn’t have the same ring to it; but, that’s exactly what it is....baked butternut squash makes a wonderful pie and I think has a much better texture and less bitterness than pumpkin.  My spider web was a bit messy, but oh so tasty!

The garden shot for today is  Leycesteria formosa commonly called Himilayan Honeysuckle or Fowering Nutmeg.  This is an amazing plant that is in flower for most of the summer and keeps the pollinaters very, very happy.  Then in the fall it produces these beautiful berries in hanging clusters.  Surprisingly the fruit is edible and tastes a bit like chocolate and kind of like molasses.