I wasn't sure I'd enjoy working on this afghan because of the subdued colors but they look so good together that I ended up liking it a lot. It's for my grandson, Nick, and his fiance, Bev, and the colors in their home dictated that I couldn't use vibrant colors. The monks cloth is white and the yarns are charcoal, grey, and teal which look subdued but lovely together. I added teal fringe along the white fringe on each end, too, which I think looks very nice.
The border patterns I used were chosen at random as long as their main points lined up. This is how I like to create a completely unique design for all of my projects.
I guess it took me about two months to complete this afghan and I know it took one whole day to do the fringe alone. A lot of love was woven into it and I hope this precious couple can feel that when they cuddle up with it.
A lot of people ask me what pattern I used for a project and I have to tell them that I now prefer to mix and match patterns according to my whims. I simply make sure that the main points of any pattern match up with whatever I started out with.
There seems to be a progression of process in the craft of Swedish weaving where the novice starts out with a basic pattern to complete their project. This is the wisest way to begin. Even though everyone discovers that Swedish weaving is not nearly as difficult to do as we first thought, beginning with the basics is where we really learn how to do it. From learning the basics, we can very easily go on to "doing it our own way".
I like to think I'm pretty experienced but one thing I have not been able to master is how to weave letters, numbers, or pictures, and that is on my to-do list for the future. I tried once and failed miserably and have been unwilling to try again but that will change!
Novice Swedish weavers will already have discovered how expensive the pattern books are but you can get by with just a few of them if you do as I do and mix and match. Every project will be totally unique and never seen anywhere else. I like this!
We also learn from our mistakes. Last year I decided to make a large quantity of Christmas runners for a craft show I attend. I foolishly bought the cheapest red and green yarns I could find because I knew I probably wouldn't use them for anything but Christmas runners. Visually they looked fine but they weren't fun to work with. I enjoy working mainly with "Simply Soft" but there are other good ones, too. I guess my point is to use your time to your benefit and buy the yarns you enjoy working with.
I'm still working on the afghan for my grandson and his fiance. She was just the girlfriend when I started it a few months ago but they made the big commitment on New Years Eve. We are all thrilled with his excellent choice of a life partner!
Well, I hope we Swedish weavers make lots of beautiful creations in 2017 and I hope many more novices join us.
