Finished table runners

Last week I was able to finish my second table runner and take the warp off the loom.  I'm especially pleased with this project since it is really the first weaving that was totally my style.  The first two projects were made with materials provided by the Visual Arts Center, so I was choosing from a limited pool of colours and materials.  My third project, a baby blanket, had appropriate colours for a baby.  But this time, I was doing exactly what I wanted so I chose a wonderful linen, Louet 20/2 variegated linen in lichen, and a couple of huck lace patterns from Anne Dixon's book, the Handweaver's Pattern Directory.

Here are the two table runners, hemmed and wet finished and ironed.
Here is the close-up of the two patterns.  It is so hard to get a photo to show how really nice these look.  The depth of colour just doesn't show up.
Despite the selvage flaws and the odd mis-treadle here and there, I'm pleased with my work and I loved doing it, which in the end, is how it is supposed to be.

We had a laugh over that in the class I helped teach over the weekend.  We all just do embroidery for fun, and yet sometimes it can be very frustrating.  One woman mentioned how her husband reminds her she is doing it for fun when she gets upset with a piece.  Of course some people are able to recognize when it is no longer fun and give up.  I have a wonderful Tanya Berlin needle painted field mouse to work on because somebody in the group decided it wasn't for her and put the whole kit in our silent auction.  Little did she know that I have been dying to work on a Tanya Berlin embroidery.  And yet there is such a fine line between giving up too soon, and recognizing that you can't really do something.  When DD the younger was doing the metalwork jewelry she wanted to quit after the first day. I encouraged her to give it another chance and she tried again and really enjoyed it, although she loved beading from the moment she started it.  Of course if your embroidery/weaving/painting, etc. is your work, that is another story.