Tablecloth, Promenade Impériale

Six people, maybe eight, and the cloth goes down first. A garden in blue and white spreads across it, peonies and cherry blossom running along arabesques, carp somewhere in the ponds. The tablecloth sets the evening before a single plate lands.

From Le Jacquard Français, woven at Gérardmer in the Vosges. Jacquard damask, so the pattern reads on both faces, matte on one, lit on the other. 100% cotton, 69 x 69 in, mitered corners, in a deep blue called Lapis.

For the sister who has just bought the long table. For the two of them, married in June. For the friend who cooks for ten and owns nothing to put under it.