4 Placemats Done

It didn't take long to finish all 4 placemats and I'm happy with the way they turned out.  I ended up removing some of the stitching from the first placemat because I wasn't happy with spacing but we should always do this if we're not pleased with the way our project is turning out.  It took me just a short while to redo it and make it even nicer so it was well worth the trouble.

Now on to the next project!

One Place Mat Done

It always feels good to be started on a new project even if it's a small one like these place mats.  I prepared them over a month ago and even took them to Florida to work on but brought them back home untouched.

Yesterday Faye, Donna, and I started back to our Tuesday afternoon Swedish weaving get-together and I got back in the game.  I'm only doing an easy design on these place mats because they'll be for sale at a craft show so I don't want to put too much time into them.

The fabric was cut to size from some of my ecru remnants (always save your remnants!) and I used a pretty variegated yarn in soft pinks, blues, greens, and creams.  I finished one yesterday and now have 3 more to go.  No rush, though!

When we were in Florida, I cleaned my trailer out of a few more things and one of them was a stash of monks cloth.  There were 2 large pieces of red so I think that will be my next project...Christmas runners.  I'm not ready to get back into doing a full afghan yet but probably will do a few smaller lap afghans once I've had my fill of Christmas runners.

Speaking of Florida, I was sad to learn that no-one carried on with our Thursday morning Swedish weaving get-togethers because I wasn't there.  I guess I was the catalyst that drew the weavers together and that's too bad.  I never thought of myself as the leader, just showed up at the clubhouse at 9 A.M. and did some weaving until the rest of the group arrived.  Maybe it just takes one person to start but not necessarily to lead...everyone in the group was just as good or better than me at the craft.  I'm hoping my health issues will allow me to spend next winter in Florida and it will be interesting to see if we can form our group again.

Now I'm just happy to have a project on the go, one I can pick up at will and work on for as long as I wish.

Getting Ready

I haven't started a new project since I finished Nick and Bev's afghan but I do have something prepared and ready to go.  I'd noticed that a few people at the craft shows asked if I had any place mats but that isn't something I normally do.  And so I pulled out some of my smaller remnants and prepared 4 of them to complete as placemats.  They sit in the bag along with half a dozen different colors of yarn until I can decide which colors to use.

I was away in Florida for a month, along with the supplies for the placemats, but got busy with so many other things that I never started.  Since I got home, I've been doing spring housecleaning and taking care of other business so I've really got to get moving on those place mats.

Swedish weaving is so forgiving of time and space because it's something that sits unobtrusively until you're ready to work on it.  When I compare that to the quilting I used to do (and still hope to do), Swedish weaving is the perfect craft for someone who just wants to pick it up occasionally to work on it.

That all said, I have been sorely missing the feeling of satisfaction as my project is being created so it's time for me to get back at it!