It's early days in the park so our Swedish weaving group is small. It will grow in January when most of the residents return for the winter.
Angie is working on a dark green fabric that we know will be hard on her eyes but it will look gorgeous when it's done. Sandy just started Swedish weaving last year and is doing a lovely job on her afghan. Betty is also new at it and also doing a great job. It's such a pleasure to see even new Swedish weavers created a thing of beauty.
Note: Betty coils the strands of yarn she's not working on (opposite side) and clips them together so they don't trail all over as she's doing the other side. I hadn't seen this done before and now will do that myself.
This is a table runner I'm working on. I still haven't finished the afghan but felt I needed a small project for a short while.
I'm using a dark navy monks cloth and a variegated plus a solid yarn. The solid color is close but not perfect match to one of the colors in the variegated but it doesn't really matter. I really like the subtle colors on the navy cloth, too.
I often switch from working on a large afghan to putting in a few days on a simple table runner.
This happens to be a little larger width of cloth than I usually choose for a table runner but, when I'm finished, I'll simply cut it back a bit.
I've completed the pattern and will continue with it all the way to the finish. I like it as I like every Swedish weaving piece but it's a little too pastel for me to really love. Already I'm planning my next afghan which will be for my grandson and it will be in stronger colors.
I'm not making this as a baby blanket but think the colors and pattern would be perfect for one.
Just a note: One section of the pattern is done with a variegate yarn that I originally thought held all of the solid colors I'm using but it's not exactly the same. Regardless, it's staying in the afghan and doesn't appear to be clashing with them.
So here I go with my new project. I have 2 other colors I might add to it but I often like to make my decisions as I go along, trying out and either keeping or discarding.
The pattern is called "Blue Ridge Mountains" from an Avery Hill book and you'll notice that I've printed out the pattern and put it into a clear plastic sleeve. I've found that this helps keep our pattern books from falling apart with use. The books are awfully expensive (overpriced, I think) but I reuse the patterns or parts of them over and over so I guess I get my money's worth out of them.
It will take me months to finish this because I don't work on it every day and sometimes only pick up my monk's cloth for a few hours or a few minutes at a time. That's one of the beauties of Swedish weaving. Unlike quilting, you can opt to work on your project for really short periods of time if you wish.
A while back I realized that I was ending up with too many odd colors of yarn because I would buy 1 or 2 at a time that looked interesting to me. Then I got smart and started to buy my yarn in groups of 3 or 4 that blended well together and I would keep them stored as a grouping. When I began this project I looked through my stash and found the yarns I'm using now...it was so easy!
Well, off I go and I'll post a photo of the finished project when I get it done!
This is a table runner that took me most of 2 days to finish. Only people who do Swedish weaving understand how long it takes to complete a project and, when we sell one, we can never be paid enough to make it profitable. I get my enjoyment from doing the work and seeing the completed project.
The fabric is a light sage monks cloth (my photos haven't captured the true color) and the yarn is Simply Soft deep salmon, light salmon, and medium yellow. I used part of the "Musical Melodies" pattern on page 89 of Avery Hill's "The How To Book of Swedish Weaving and Huck Embroidery. I use this book a lot and often alter the pattern to serve my purpose.
By the way, you can use huck embroidery patterns for your Swedish weaving.
I also prefer shorter fringe on a table runner as opposed to the longer fringe on an afghan but everyone should use their own judgement and do what appeals to them.
Every so often I pull out one of my remnants and just do a small project of Swedish weaving. I had this piece of turquoise monks cloth that I'd cut off another piece of prepared fabric, not quite square at 15 1/2" x 17 1/2", and decided to finish the ends...you'll notice one side of fringe is different from the other because it was originally washed and dried before I recut it.
I used a variegated purple yarn and did a very simple border, improvising at the corners because the piece wasn't square.
It will make a nice doily for under a plant or vase.
Since I just finished a full afghan today, I will take a few days to decide on the fabric and yarn colors for my next project.
I finally finished the afghan I've been working on since the winter. The fabric is white monks cloth and I used Simply Soft green, purple and golden beige for the yarns. I mixed and matched various borders, too.
I happen to love the effect of green and purple and one of my favorite filler yarns is the golden beige. I'll put this afghan in the craft sale in November but if it doesn't sell I'll keep it for myself.
This is another Christmas table runner but, again, my photo color is a little off. The yellow monks cloth is actually a soft shade and not intense as shown. I used only green and red for the design and adjusted the pattern to suit what I wanted.
I have to admit that I made a horrible mistake with this runner. I completed the whole pattern on one side before doing the other side and then, somehow, left out part of the pattern. I had to pull out about 2 hours worth of work but then decided to change the pattern instead of repeating it. I had lost interest and heart and just wanted to finish it and put it away. We all have moments like this where we make a stupid mistake because we aren't rechecking our work. Sometimes it's an easy fix and sometimes it just has to be removed and redone. If this had been an afghan that was half finished, I would have removed the mistake and redone it properly but it's not so important with a table runner.
Lesson learned and relearned...always check and recheck your work.
I sell jewelry at my local senior center in November and decided last year to take some of the Swedish weaving table runners I'd made. They were a big hit but many people asked if I had any that were in a Christmas theme. I didn't but promised to bring some this coming November.
The photos show 3 that I still have to sew the edges but the pattern is complete. I've used existing patterns but put my own twist on them...very simple to do. My photos don't show the monks cloth colors properly but the first runner is on a light green cloth, the second is on beige, and the third is on a soft yellow. My photography skills are certainly lacking, aren't they?
Anyway, I used only Red Heart yarn because it gives a nice full texture. I usually prefer Simply Soft but decided to go for the heavier yarn for these runners.
I'm also working on another afghan but like to stop once in a while and work on something smaller and easier to handle...like a runner. I have a lot of monks cloth remnants that I bought specifically for table runners and, because they were remnants, they were sale priced. Always check out the remnant bin at any fabric store because you might find some good savings.
Our little Thursday morning get-together doesn't mean that all the ladies are doing Swedish weaving. Some are doing other needle crafts, too, and I think that's wonderful because we weavers just might see something else we'd like to try.
Marge crocheted this drop dead gorgeous shawl and I'm still amazed at how even her stitches are. The darker spots in the photo are silvery threads in the yarn. I don't knit or crochet because I'm not good at it and couldn't make a square granny square if my life depended on it. Obviously all that talent went to Marge.
A gentleman's relative passed away and he donated tons of her quilting fabric to our sewing group. Lillian and Sandy are the two ladies who organized our sew-in yesterday and we made a total of 7 baby blankets to donate to the police department where they'll be used to comfort abuse or accident victims. I don't know when I've spent an afternoon feeling so good about accomplishing such a good deed.
Lillian came up with the idea and it made so much sense for us to get together and do this for charity. We're all retired ladies with lots of time and some darned valuable abilities, too. Some of us also attended the Swedish weaving get-together in the morning and then came back to the clubhouse to make blankets in the afternoon so it was a full day of creativity!
If any of my blog readers are interested, baby blankets are seriously needed by all police departments. When a child is removed from a home of abuse or one who is involved in an accident, it would be so comforting for them to be wrapped in one of these blankets at the scene. The blankets can be simply made with 2 pieces of fabric and the satisfaction you'll get knowing how useful they'll be will warm your heart!
