One more Christmas table runner ready for the craft show next month. The red fabric shows best in the first photo but I couldn't get a good photo of the yarn colors in the pattern so I've added a photo of the yarns I used. One is a soft gold (lost the wrapper but I'm sure it's Simply Soft) and the green is Simply Soft's chartreuse.
The pattern is part of the "Christmas Stars" from Monk's Cloth Afghans for Christmas. I did this one before and like it a lot. Of course, I twist it around somewhat such as adding the green into the loops. I used the soft gold to create the basic pattern.
Today I went out to buy some interesting Christmas yarn to use on the next Christmas afghan and will post all the info when it's done.
I had made an afghan with white fabric and white yarn and just loved it so I was anxious to see how red fabric and red yard would look. I love it!
I used up the last of my Simply Soft Party and found to my surprise that the red wasn't nearly as difficult to work with as the green had been. I still won't buy it again, though. The pattern started out to be "Christmas Joy" from Monk's Cloth Afghans for Christmas but ended with the first row.
As I was weaving in the first row (2 of them), I was thinking how you can't pull out mistakes when you're using this particular yarn because there's too much chance you'll break the glitter thread. It wasn't until I started the second row that I realized I'd made a mistake on the first row. I didn't hesitate long before deciding to carry on and make the pattern my own. I often do that instead of going back and correcting mistakes unless it really matters.
Because I wanted only the red yarn on this runner, I had to improvise again with the pattern because I didn't have enough yarn to complete enough rows.
I improvised with the pattern again at the ends because there wasn't enough room to make a large "V" so I created a small "V". One day I'd like to do a project and follow the pattern properly but with this runner I did what I could. And I like it!
I'm hoping one day to have a camera that will capture the correct color. This is a deep rich red monks cloth and yarn is also a deep rich red. I've been wanting to do a Christmas runner like this for a while so I started it today. I like it. I'll put photos and details in the blog when it's completed.
I really love this Christmas table runner and I wish the photo showed the true brilliant red of the monks cloth...it looks kind of maroon in the photo but it is a perfect red.
The pattern is part of the "Holiday Traditions" from "Monks Cloth Afghans for Christmas". As usual, I changed it just a wee bit by eliminating the final green row because I got fed up with dealing with the awful Simply Soft Party yarn I used. I'll never buy it again because it's almost impossible to keep it from unraveling.
I copied someone's idea to frame the runner (in white) because I love the effect. It's neat...and I found that, by weaving in the white frame before zigzag stitching above the fringe, it made it much easier to follow the line.
As unhappy as I am with the Simply Soft Party yarn, I'll use it on a few more Christmas runners because it is pretty and I don't like to waste yarn. LOL!
Some patterns call for a split float where you only pick up 2 threads of the 4 thread float on the way up and then pick up the 3rd and 4th threads of the float on the way down. I stopped doing this a long time ago because I didn't like the effect...purely a personal choice on my part.
Instead, I put the needle through all 4 threads of the float, go up to the next part of the pattern and reverse the needle to go back through the float (picture 3) and then down to complete that part of the pattern.
This is my preference only and both ways are fine to do.
By the way, this is my new project, a Christmas runner where I'll be working the pattern in white yarn and green yarn. I haven't decided how I'll do the side edges yet but will post photos when the runner is completed.
These photos don't come close to showing the lovely peach/coral color of the monks cloth but it's the best I can do on a cloudy day. This is the most recent lap afghan I've finished and I chose not to add lattice/diamonds inbetween the pattern. That's partly because the pattern is very intricate and time consuming. I also rather like it without lattice.
The pattern is "Waterfall" from Annie's Needlwork "Learn Swedish Weaving & Huck Embroidery. I also used only about half the pattern and, even though I think it's beautiful, I probably won't use it again unless it's for a table runner and I can make the edge trim smaller. The reason is how long it takes to complete.
I used Caron Simply Soft yarn in Sunshine, Persimmon, and Chartreuse. I happen to love this combination, have used it before and will use it again.
This is an extra wide table runner...not sure why I left it this wide! The monk's cloth is white and the yarns are red and green (Caron's Simply Soft Party) There is a metallic thread through the yarn and it tends to break or unravel so I'm not happy with using it. I won't buy it again.
The pattern is "Christmas Stars" from "Monk's Cloth Afghans for Christmas".
I love the center pattern but I don't like the way I finished the fringe. I tried something different and it's a bit of a failure...so I won't do it again. We live and learn, right?
In my experience with Swedish weaving the thing I usually wish I'd done differently is the fringe. I did alter the center pattern a bit but I think I improved on the pattern. Again, live and learn...it's fun to use our imagination when we're weaving because sometimes we do improve on the pattern and that's our own creativity coming out.
I found the pattern fairly easy to do and would use it again.
Update: I wasn't happy with the way the fringe turned out so I cut it back. Below are the photos of the runner folded in half and with the red yarn removed from the fringe. I like this much better.
I had decided to only make lap afghans from now on but saw that they are also a perfect size for a tablecloth. This one is the "Cascade" pattern from "Learn Swedish Weaving & Huck Embroidery" by Annie's Needlework. I did a bit of a variation on the diamond/lattice in the center to accommodate the space I had to work with.
The monk's cloth is a denim blue and the yarns are white and golden beige. This was a very easy pattern to work with, too.
