Thursday, August 23, 2012

Kim's Swedish Weaving Afghan


I cheated a little by putting this photo in tonight because I still haven't done the line of stitching above the embroidery or the side seams but I'm looking after my greatgrandson tomorrow and won't have the time to do it then.  No-one can tell so don't say a word, okay?

This is the "Solitaire" pattern along with one of the border patterns from another magazine.  The fabric is white monks cloth with a variegated blue/turquoise and a solid turquoise yarn.  The embroidery was done with white floss because I couldn't find the right shade of turquoise.

I had intended to make this afghan (different pattern) for my grandson but Kim loved the colors so much that I gave in and made it for her.  She knows how to do Swedish weaving so I hadn't planned on making her one but, what the heck, she doesn't seem too interested in making one for herself.

I had intended the fringe to be longer but I made an error.  When I finished the embroidery on the one side, I counted down about 10 rows to cut the fabric.  Then I turned to the other end that didn't have the embroidery done yet and stupidly counted down 10 rows from the border pattern and began to cut the fabric before I realized my mistake.  It wasn't a big deal because I just shortened the other end but I would have preferred it with a longer fringe.

I already have my grandson's fabric (powder blue), same yarn plus a white (not sure yet if the color will work) but different pattern all ready to go.  It all looks great together right now but I'll have to put in a few rows before I know for sure.  I know it's a treasure waiting to be made, though.  


6 comments:

  1. This is stunning. I am going to learn how to do swedish weaving. I will have to do this on the internet. Do you have any suggestions for a beginners book?

    Thanks

    Sharon L

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    1. Hi Sharon:

      Forgive me for being so late answering but I've had a crazy busy summer so far...sold my house and moved. The best Swedish weaving booklet is one called "Diamond Afghans" by Marilyn T. Magly. All of our group uses this more than any other booklet. It's about $7.00 and, if you can't find it in a store, check Ebay because they usually have it.

      When I'm teaching this craft, I try to get my student to start with a table runner (1/2 yard of monk's cloth) because it's a small piece that's easier and faster to work on. They are always amazed at how beautiful it is when they're finished and ALWAYS go on to do an afghan afterwards.

      Let me know how you make out and please send me a photo of your project, okay?

      Pat

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  2. This afghan is just beautiful. Where do you get your patterns?

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  3. Where would I find the patterns that you used? Which magazine/book? I'd like to do this one! It's beautiful!

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    1. I have a few favorites...the "Diamond" booklet, Avery Hill's booklets, and recently began using a lot of Christine Allan's single patterns and pattern booklets. You can buy Christine's directly from her but the others are out of print and only available on Ebay or Amazon. Be very careful of the price, though, because too many people are asking outrageous prices for the books.

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