It’s summer here in the Rio Grande Valley, and that means the world is in full bloom. As I putter around my garden, I can’t help but smile at the neat rows of zinnias, calendulas, and mammoth sunflowers. When I look at the colorful blooms, it’s hard not to feel inspired. As I began to plan my summer weaving in my head, I realized something: The summer colors that inspired me so much would make a perfect autumnal palette as well.
Upon realizing this, I took a walk outside. Alongside my driveway, a yet-unknown-to-us flowering shrub is covered in milkweed vines, also in bloom. This confluence of flowers has made my hedge a veritable mecca of pollinators. Fuzzy honeybees, fluttery monarchs, and the strangely beautiful tarantula hawks all happily buzz along it. They are also in all various shades of orange and yellow.
It's impossible to look at a sunflower and not think of summertime, even though the yellow and brown might look equally at home on a Thanksgiving table.
I’ve decided to embrace my summer-inspired palette even though it feels equally autumnal. While I do love the bright pink and purples blooms in my garden, the flowers that come with summer, yellows, oranges, and reds are the colors of my summer. It’s the palette of the fresh peaches, apricots, and cherries at the farmers market; and of the monarch, Mexican yellow, and painted lady butterflies that flitter around my yard. It’s a palette of Popsicle-stained lips and cold glasses of lemonade. A palette that reflects the warmth and joy of the season.
Kathleen Farling's Towels in M's and O's are in the autumn weaving pattern pack, but they are beautiful no matter the time of year.
So now, as I plot and plan my weaving that’s inspired by my favorite parts of summer, I find myself looking at the projects in our Autumn Weaving pattern pack. Originally, when this pattern pack came out, I could only see autumn when I looked at the projects; now, I can only see summer. Of course, once October hits and the leaves slowly change color as my zinnias fade, I’m sure my summery cloth will seem seasonable once again.
(As a bonus, it means I'll have my Thanksgiving weaving done in record time.)
Happy Weaving! Christina