Wednesday, November 4, 2020

A Few Thoughts

I've been Swedish weaving for around 20 years but would never consider myself an expert.  For one thing, I don't know how to do lettering and will have to watch it done before I can do it myself.

Swedish weaving is one of those crafts that looks difficult until you try it...best have someone there to teach you on your first project.  I've always told my students that they will know all they need to know after they've completed about 3 rows.  From then on, you pick up new abilities every time you do Swedish weaving, either by figuring it out yourself, carefully reading direction, or joining a group of other weavers always happy to help you out.

My habit is to complete 3 projects (no more afghans for me anymore, though) and then do the final machine stitching before placing them for sale, giving them away, or keeping them for myself.  This got me into a bit of trouble a while back when I accidently attributed the pattern to the wrong designer but I've since developed a better way of keeping track.

I stick to making table runners and doilies now because I've outfitted my whole family and friends with Swedish weaving afghans and they're almost impossible to sell because of the price.  Unfortunately, hand crafts are often not treasured because buyers have no idea how much time and work goes into making them.

You don't see much Swedish weaving in Canada because it is horribly expensive to buy supplies.  I was lucky enough to buy all my fabric in the States when I wintered in Florida.  The fabric, especially is still pretty expensive but much less so in the States even with the devalued Canadian dollar.

Because of Covid, I can't sell my goods at the Senior Center bazaar this year so I've started listing them on "Marketplace" so that people in my area can come to my home and purchase directly.  It doesn't give me much exposure like the bazaar did but that's okay.  I truly enjoy my craft whether it sells or not.

Well, I've almost completed the recent 2 items now and will start my 3rd in a day or so.  I surely do love Swedish weaving.

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