More of Candy's Afghans

These are 2 more of Candy's afghans. She probably works a lot faster making them than any of the rest of us. The top one is done on peach fabric and much deeper than my picture shows. The bottom one, which is almost finished, is very interesting because she's used black, grey, and peachy yarn to produce a really dramatic effect.

Candy's Afghans

These are 2 of Candy's afghans, both done with variegated yarn. Candy is an excellent Swedish weaver but using variegated yarn for your project is also great for the novice weaver because you don't have to co-ordinate 3 or 4 colors.

Jo's Afghans

These 2 afghans were made by Jo and I wish my camera would have been able to pick up the beautiful colors better. The top one was done with variegated yarn on white fabric and Jo has finished it off with embroidery just above the fringed bottoms. The other afghan is really beautiful but I wasn't able to capture the exact colors used. Jo is also using the same colored yarns on her next project using a different color cloth so they'll have a totally different effect, too.

Candy's Lap Afghan

This is a rather unusual afghan, mainly because it's smaller but also because Candy ran the pattern from one side to the other of the fabric instead of up and down.

Most of our afghans start out as a 2 1/2 yard piece of fabric but I think Candy's is maybe 1 1/2 yards (I'll change this later if I find out I'm mistaken). Her granddaughter worked on it but Candy is finishing it. The fabric is ecru and she's used variegated yarn in pinks, purples, blues, and greens. It's almost finished and she is now adding the embroidery on the hems. This is a technique that Candy taught the rest of us and it's a beautiful finish for any project.

Note: We've learned by trial and error that, when purchasing variegated yarn, it's best to find one where each color on the strand is not too long. A 4" run of one color is just about right but it can be a bit longer if necessary. The problem with having too long a run of color is that it doesn't blend well in the pattern.

New Projects

We had a nice group of ladies at our Swedish weaving get-together this morning and I remembered to take my camera. The first 2 photos are of an afghan that Cassie is almost finished. She used a vibrant green fabric with yarns in beiges and browns. The pattern is called "Country Trails" and she was kind enough to bring a few copies of it for us. One of the nicest reasons for meeting with other weavers is the chance to learn new techniques from each other and also to gather new patterns.

The 3rd and 4th pictures are of Cathy's afghan and she didn't want me to mention how long she's been working at it. My attitude about this is that it doesn't matter how long it takes you to finish a project as long as you're having fun while you're working on it. If it takes a month or a year, who really cares?

Cathy's afghan is on white fabric with yarns in shades of blue. You just can't go wrong with these crisp colors....but, then, every single project I've seen has been beautiful, regardless of colors chosen.

More of Delores's Afghans

Here are two more afghans made by Delores. She certainly does beautiful work, doesn't she?

Picture #1 is the first afghan she ever made and she kept this one for herself. She used turquoise monk's cloth and Red heart yarns in purple, pink, and white. The pattern is "Christalline".

I remember seeing her choices of color before she started this afghan and, at the time, I thought they might look a little too garish but the finished project is absolutely beautiful. Dolores is a colorful lady!

Picture #2 appears to be a work in progress. Dolores is making it for her daughter-in-law, Katie, and has chosen the "Precious Gem" pattern. She's using Bernat Satin yarns in Wine Mist Heather, Rouge, and Banana on hot pink monk's cloth.

I just want to make a comment about the Rouge yarn. It is very deceiving because it can be used with other shades that you might think clash with it but it ends up looking beautiful anyway. I used it with a couple of shades of peach/salmon and was surprised how well it fit in and even enhanced them.

I hope our efforts encourage Swedish weaving wannabes to take up the craft. It's a beautiful craft and it's also open to allowing you to use your own imagination in creating one-of-a-kind projects.

Dolores's Afghans

It's so nice to be back in Florida so I can publish pictures of the other ladies' projects. Dolores brought me photos of what she had at home so I re-photographed them to put on the blog since I don't have a scanner down here.

Picture #1 is one she made for a friend (Ann) for Christmas. She did it in the "Marquis" pattern and used beige monk's cloth with Bernat Satin yarns in Forest Mist Heather, Fern, and Soft Fern.

Picture #2 is the same afghan but it shows the full pattern and also the embroidery just above the fringe.

Picture #3 is one she made for her step-daughter, Sarah, for last year's Christmas. It's also in the "Marquis" pattern on light green monk's cloth. She used Bernat Satin yarns in Forest Mist Heather, Beige Mist Heather, and Banana.

Picture #4 is the very first Swedish weaving table runner she made. I'm not sure from the photo but it looks like she used white monk's cloth. The Red Heart yarn is a variegated pink/purple/etc.

Picture #5 is another table runner done on peach monk's cloth with Red Heart variegated yarn in greens and sandy shades.