Toni and Friends

I'm such a computer nerd but I'm very proud of myself for figuring out how to resize this photo and then find out where the heck it was on my computer and then put it in this blog.  Wow!  I'm worn out from the stress...and I'm not totally sure how I did it.  Oh well, it was all worth it.

Above is a photo of Toni with her Swedish weaving friends and their projects.  It's really nice to have contact with other Swedish weavers because we all know how much time and talent goes into the craft and we appreciate the beauty of the finished product.

I hope to have lots more photos to put on the blog this winter and I do hope that more Swedish weavers will join us and add to our knowledge. 

 

Toni's Swedish Weaving Afghans

These are 3 of Toni's afghans and it just goes to show that this blog can attract other Swedish weavers and we can all learn something new from each other.  Toni said that she dyed the yellow afghan herself so that's a new idea for us.  I'm very interested in how she's woven the sailboats so, if she's reading this, I'd love to have the pattern for that.

Welcome, Toni, and I hope to hear from you again!

New Followers

I was so happy to receive e-mails from two ladies who had fallen across the blog and who also do Swedish weaving.  Toni asked if I would publish photos of the projects that her group creates and I told her that I would love to do that.  My own group in Florida has been great about sharing and teaching us new techniques so having Toni's group adding their knowledge will be good for all of us.

I would hope that anyone interested in this blog would be kind enough to share with us, too.  I'd be more than happy to answer any e-mails so please feel free to contact me.

pathammond128@gmail.com    

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.  

Tyson's Afghan

This is the Swedish weaving afghan I just finished for my grandson, Tyson.  My daughter suggested he'd like one with the colors of his favorite football team, the Minnesota Vikings, so that's why I chose the purple and gold on white fabric.


I followed the pattern until I got to the border but had to make some changes for the hem because there was a flaw in the fabric.  I'd planned to do the small gold diamonds and then do a row of lettering (MV) but couldn't quite figure out how to do it so I made up a small border that fit in with the rest of the pattern.  I really do want to learn how to weave in lettering but it will have to wait till another day.  

Donna's Mexican Swedish Weaving Afghan

This is Donna's latest afghan, still far from done but so darned beautiful that I had to put a photo in this blog.  Donna is a relative newbie to Swedish weaving...just a couple of years...but she took to it with gusto.


Donna is another "Christie", doesn't necessarily follow advice but ends up doing her own thing and it turns out just gorgeous. This is the mark of a true artist!  This pattern is from a booklet that I don't have but did make a copy so I can use myself.


Donna loves brilliant colors and isn't afraid to combine them in the yarns she uses.  One thing she plans to do on this afghan that had me and Faye screaming, "NO!!!" is that she wants to put in a black and white border on either side of the above pattern.  She's stubborn, though (like Christie), and intends to try it, anyway.  I feel she can always pull it out if she doesn't like it but, if she does, then it's her afghan and she can do anything she wants if it pleases her.  I'll take more photos when she's finished.


Faye, Donna, and I meet for an afternoon of Swedish weaving every Tuesday while I'm home in Canada.  It really helps to have get-togethers like this because it's the best way to learn new ideas about our craft.  We chat non-stop, too, so it's a nice social event.

Some of the Group

We all live in a senior park in Florida for the winter and use a section of the clubhouse every Thursday morning to get together and weave, educate each other, and just have a good time. We start at 9 A.M., the same time as the exercise class, so we try to keep it quiet while they're doing their exercises. Almost always, once exercise is over, some of the people come to see what we're accomplishing.

Bonnie and Carol, shown in the first picture, always get teased for coming in late. It matters not one bit what time we show up or how much work we've done on our projects over the week...it's just nice to come and join in with this group of fascinating ladies.

More of Candy's Afghans

These are 2 more of Candy's afghans. She probably works a lot faster making them than any of the rest of us. The top one is done on peach fabric and much deeper than my picture shows. The bottom one, which is almost finished, is very interesting because she's used black, grey, and peachy yarn to produce a really dramatic effect.

Candy's Afghans

These are 2 of Candy's afghans, both done with variegated yarn. Candy is an excellent Swedish weaver but using variegated yarn for your project is also great for the novice weaver because you don't have to co-ordinate 3 or 4 colors.

Jo's Afghans

These 2 afghans were made by Jo and I wish my camera would have been able to pick up the beautiful colors better. The top one was done with variegated yarn on white fabric and Jo has finished it off with embroidery just above the fringed bottoms. The other afghan is really beautiful but I wasn't able to capture the exact colors used. Jo is also using the same colored yarns on her next project using a different color cloth so they'll have a totally different effect, too.

Candy's Lap Afghan

This is a rather unusual afghan, mainly because it's smaller but also because Candy ran the pattern from one side to the other of the fabric instead of up and down.

Most of our afghans start out as a 2 1/2 yard piece of fabric but I think Candy's is maybe 1 1/2 yards (I'll change this later if I find out I'm mistaken). Her granddaughter worked on it but Candy is finishing it. The fabric is ecru and she's used variegated yarn in pinks, purples, blues, and greens. It's almost finished and she is now adding the embroidery on the hems. This is a technique that Candy taught the rest of us and it's a beautiful finish for any project.

Note: We've learned by trial and error that, when purchasing variegated yarn, it's best to find one where each color on the strand is not too long. A 4" run of one color is just about right but it can be a bit longer if necessary. The problem with having too long a run of color is that it doesn't blend well in the pattern.

New Projects

We had a nice group of ladies at our Swedish weaving get-together this morning and I remembered to take my camera. The first 2 photos are of an afghan that Cassie is almost finished. She used a vibrant green fabric with yarns in beiges and browns. The pattern is called "Country Trails" and she was kind enough to bring a few copies of it for us. One of the nicest reasons for meeting with other weavers is the chance to learn new techniques from each other and also to gather new patterns.

The 3rd and 4th pictures are of Cathy's afghan and she didn't want me to mention how long she's been working at it. My attitude about this is that it doesn't matter how long it takes you to finish a project as long as you're having fun while you're working on it. If it takes a month or a year, who really cares?

Cathy's afghan is on white fabric with yarns in shades of blue. You just can't go wrong with these crisp colors....but, then, every single project I've seen has been beautiful, regardless of colors chosen.