More of Delores's Afghans

Here are two more afghans made by Delores. She certainly does beautiful work, doesn't she?

Picture #1 is the first afghan she ever made and she kept this one for herself. She used turquoise monk's cloth and Red heart yarns in purple, pink, and white. The pattern is "Christalline".

I remember seeing her choices of color before she started this afghan and, at the time, I thought they might look a little too garish but the finished project is absolutely beautiful. Dolores is a colorful lady!

Picture #2 appears to be a work in progress. Dolores is making it for her daughter-in-law, Katie, and has chosen the "Precious Gem" pattern. She's using Bernat Satin yarns in Wine Mist Heather, Rouge, and Banana on hot pink monk's cloth.

I just want to make a comment about the Rouge yarn. It is very deceiving because it can be used with other shades that you might think clash with it but it ends up looking beautiful anyway. I used it with a couple of shades of peach/salmon and was surprised how well it fit in and even enhanced them.

I hope our efforts encourage Swedish weaving wannabes to take up the craft. It's a beautiful craft and it's also open to allowing you to use your own imagination in creating one-of-a-kind projects.

Dolores's Afghans

It's so nice to be back in Florida so I can publish pictures of the other ladies' projects. Dolores brought me photos of what she had at home so I re-photographed them to put on the blog since I don't have a scanner down here.

Picture #1 is one she made for a friend (Ann) for Christmas. She did it in the "Marquis" pattern and used beige monk's cloth with Bernat Satin yarns in Forest Mist Heather, Fern, and Soft Fern.

Picture #2 is the same afghan but it shows the full pattern and also the embroidery just above the fringe.

Picture #3 is one she made for her step-daughter, Sarah, for last year's Christmas. It's also in the "Marquis" pattern on light green monk's cloth. She used Bernat Satin yarns in Forest Mist Heather, Beige Mist Heather, and Banana.

Picture #4 is the very first Swedish weaving table runner she made. I'm not sure from the photo but it looks like she used white monk's cloth. The Red Heart yarn is a variegated pink/purple/etc.

Picture #5 is another table runner done on peach monk's cloth with Red Heart variegated yarn in greens and sandy shades.

Faye's New Swedish Weaving Afghan

Faye just finished this one for her grandson and it's beautiful. The colors are very similar to one I did a while back but Faye used a different shade of brown which gives it a whole new effect. I especially like the very last row where she made half sized diamonds and I'll use that on one of my own. It's fun learning from each other.

Her fabric was ecru and she used 2 blues (?) and a variegated blue with browns, and then a solid brown for yarns.

Donna hadn't quite finished the afghan she's working on but I'll take pictures of it in the spring. It's a gorgeous lilac fabric done completely with a variegated lilacs/blues/purples/pinks yarn.

Marilee's Swedish Weaving Afghan

I finally finished Marilee's afghan and it was done in record time. It usually takes me a couple of months to finish one but I did this in about a month because I've been stuck in the house. Better to Swedish weave than to vegetate in front of the T.V.

The pattern is Jewel from the Diamond book and I used 3 shades of green plus a lovely rouge on ecru fabric.

Swedish Weaving..Scotty Dogs

This is a small afghan that Faye made a while back. It is a really sweet pattern with a plaid look in pink and purple yarn with Scotty dogs. The fabric is white but I got too many shadows when I took the picture.

Pat's Swedish Weaving Afghan

This is an afghan I made for myself and it's on the ecru fabric with light dusty rose/dark heather purple/dark green yarns. The dusty rose is much lighter than it appears in these pictures, though. It's in the "Crystalline" pattern from the Diamond book.

This was done when most of my group were doing more of the lattice pattern than we do now. I much prefer less lattice and more of the full pattern.

Nicole's Swedish Weaving Afghan

This is the afghan I made for my granddaughter, Nicole. It's on a white fabric with medium blue, darker blue, and pink yarn. I also used a medium blue floss for the embroidery on the bottom. The pattern is "Jewel" from the Diamond book. It also has the longer fringe which I really like but I'm hoping it doesn't get tangled when the afghan is washed. One more reason to use a gentle wash!

Mary's Swedish Weaving Xmas Tablecloth

I started this tablecloth for Mary last winter but set it aside for a while and just finished it today. I started out with 3 yards of monk's cloth but only wove in pattern all around the border. Working with any color of fabric and using the same color of yarn is tedious so I doubt I'll ever do it again. It does have a lovely effect, though.

Matt's Matching Table Runner

Matt asked me if I could make him and Sandra a table runner with the same colors as the afghan so here it is. I had very little of the variegated aqua left and was only able to put one row (on either side of the center) in with it. When I'd finished 6 rows total, I discovered I'd made a mistake in the pattern so from there on in I had to improvise. This is very easy to do with a table runner but I have done it with afghans, too, rather than pull out a lot of work.

In the case of the runner, I had no variegated left so it was easier to adjust the pattern and it looks good anyway. I like the effect I was able to make with the longest point and will design my own full pattern around it one day.

The edge border is accurate with varied widths in the dips and dives but I think I prefer it to be consistent rather than this way.

More Swedish Weaving Items

These are a few runners that I already have in my house and that were made within the last few years.

Picture #1 is on my coffee table and I used an ecru fabric with purple heather and pink yarns.

Picture #2 is a very small one. The fabric is ecru and the yarn is a burgundy and green variegated.

Picture #3 is a runner that is on the diningroom table but the color hasn't shown up very well. I used a sage fabric with lilac, ivory, and golden beige yarn. I really love this combination of colors.

Picture #4 is one of my first runners and it's on the diningroom buffet (notice the sunshine streaking through the window). It is done with white fabric and what looks to be the same burgundy and green variegate yarn I used in picture #2.

When I first started doing Swedish weaving, I loved using the variegated yarn. I don't use too much of it anymore but it still makes a beautiful project so I'm thinking of doing a complete afghan with it sometime soon.

Faye's Swedish Weaving Afghans

What a time I had trying to figure out how to scan these photos that Faye gave me and then get them on the blog. I am terribly computer illiterate but I do try.

Picture #1 is "Dazzling" (from the Diamonds booklet) and she's done the weaving in a few different greens with a medium yellow that makes it look, well, dazzling, doesn't it?

Picture #2 is our all-time favorite "Marquise" from the same Diamonds booklet. It was done in various shades of pinks and rose.

These pictures are not good enough to show the true beauty of the afghans but they've already been gifted to 2 of Faye's grandchildren so I, a better photographer (LOL!), can't take any to show them to better advantage.

The afghan done in pinks drew a great deal of attention when Faye was working on it in Florida. We all love the "Marquise" pattern and I've seen so many done in that pattern but they all look just a bit different because of different choices of color for our yarn. Each afghan is unique because of that.

Matt's Afghan Finished

Finally finished, but it really only took me about a month because I worked on it a lot due to being inside the house for most of the summer. I'm very happy with the finished product even though I'm not too enthusiastic about the short fringe but, if that's what Matt wants, then it's just fine.

I started a Swedish weaving tablecloth for my friend, Mary, last winter but got bored to death with it and set it aside. It's dark green fabric with dark green yarn as a border. It's too boring for me when I use the same color fabric and yarn but it does look beautiful when it's finished. I doubt I'll ever do another this way, though.

I have one more long, long, long row all around the tablecloth to do and it's not going to be fun for me but I know Mary will love it when it's done. Then I can start on my sister-in-law, Marilee's afghan which will be ecru fabric with different greens for the yarn. I'm looking forward to doing that one.

Matt's Swedish Weaving Afghan

This is an afghan for my grandson, Matt, and it's almost finished. The pattern is called "Crystalline" which can be found in Marilyn Magly's "Diamond Monk's Cloth Afghans". The booklet costs about $8 on Ebay and even though I have many others, I use this almost exclusively. The patterns are all beautiful, of course.

As I said, this afghan is very close to being finished but I still have a bit of filler to put in near the end. My grandson decided he wanted the narrow fringe instead of the longer fringe I like to do now so it left me kind of struggling to fill in the gap. I make a short fringe when I prepare the fabric with the intentions of finishing off with an enbroidered row and then a longer fringe, cutting off the short fringe. In this case, I'm just taking bits and pieces of patterns from different places, sorting them to suit myself and then filling in a border.

The fabric is ecru and the yarn is aqua, aqua/brown variegated, and dark brown. These were his choices and they've turned out nicely. I've used 2 1/2 yards of monk's cloth, zigzag stitched each end to keep it from ravelling and washed it in a gentle, but hot wash, and then dried it in the dryer. There would have been minimal shrinkage but it can safely be machine washed and dried from now on, preferably with a load of towels just in case there is some lint.

Swedish Weaving Club

I've been doing Swedish weaving for quite a few years...maybe 7 or 8...and have loved the artistry of the craft so much that I actually gave up quilting. I was taught by a lady at the Florida park where I spend the winters and have continued on to teach anyone who is interested.

I have a few blogs of different interests and I thought it would be fun to start one just for us Swedish weavers or Swedish weaver wannabes. I'll post pictures of my own projects and those of my friends. If anyone is nice enough to send me a picture of their own project, I'll post that, too.

We weavers have a good time teaching each other with new ideas and different ways of practicing our craft of choice. I've never met one yet who wasn't interested in learning or trying a new procedure that would make their work nicer or easier.

Swedish weaving is a time consuming craft, one that I as a retiree have plenty of time for but I'm always stressing that it doesn't matter how long it takes you to finish a project. I have found Swedish weaving to be the most comforting craft I've ever involved myself in. You can pick up and work on it for a minute , an hour, or a day and then lay it aside until you want to work on it again.

I'm hoping that many people will fall across this blog and help me add to it. Swedish weaving is almost a hidden art form with too few people who even know it exists. I've given lessons to complete strangers at Walmart while shopping for fabric and yarn so you never know when you can welcome someone to the fold.

If you Swedish weave or are just interested in the craft, welcome to the club!