Field of Flowers

There is a certain point in every project where it feels like the finish line is almost in sight, but the amount of work remaining feels insurmountable. It’s that point in a knitting project when you only have a few inches of ribbing left on a sweater, but then remember how many ends you’ll have to weave in. A spinning project when all of your singles are done, but you still have to ply them and skein up the yarn for finishing. A sewing project that is practically done, minus the button holes, hems, trimming loose threads and attaching buttons. And it is a weaving project when the fabric is off the loom, but still needs to be washed, trimmed, pressed, hemmed, labeled…

That’s where I was this past week. Feeling like I was so close to being done with my most recent batch of towels and ready to start the next, but overwhelmed by how much work was left. But then you start to tackle it, one step at a time, and before you know it you’ve made it over that hump and it’s smooth sailing to the end.

It is such a nice feeling when these towels start becoming finished products, one after another. Giving them a final press after hemming, and folding them for the last time before they get prepared for their next destination is so satisfying. I admit I always take a step back to admire my work, because I’m always a little astonished that little old me was able to take something from just a concept to a finished product and make it look pretty dang good if I say so myself!

These towels are now available in my Etsy shop if you weren’t able to snatch one up the last time I wove this pattern. I don’t repeat patterns often, so it will be quite a while before I return to this design if I do ever come back to it.

It was also nice to take these towels back to the creek and photograph them as we watch our little part of Western North Carolina heal from last year’s hurricane. The bare dirt is filling in with green, plants are returning, the birds are singing, and flowers are blooming left and right. It’s such a privilege to watch nature heal itself in my own back yard. The flowers in these towels, for me, will always be intrinsically tied to that feeling. A feeling of repair and rebirth.

Just like the water in this creek, we move ever onward and will always find a path around every obstacle. Even if it feels insurmountable at first.