Latest Project

I finally finished the afghan I've been working on since the winter.  The fabric is white monks cloth and I used Simply Soft green, purple and golden beige for the yarns.  I mixed and matched various borders, too.

I happen to love the effect of green and purple and one of my favorite filler yarns is the golden beige.  I'll put this afghan in the craft sale in November but if it doesn't sell I'll keep it for myself.

Another Christmas Table Runner

This is another Christmas table runner but, again, my photo color is a little off.  The yellow monks cloth is actually a soft shade and not intense as shown.  I used only green and red for the design and adjusted the pattern to suit what I wanted.  

I have to admit that I made a horrible mistake with this runner.  I completed the whole pattern on one side before doing the other side and then, somehow, left out part of the pattern.  I had to pull out about 2 hours worth of work but then decided to change the pattern instead of repeating it.  I had lost interest and heart and just wanted to finish it and put it away.  We all have moments like this where we make a stupid mistake because we aren't rechecking our work.  Sometimes it's an easy fix and sometimes it just has to be removed and redone.  If this had been an afghan that was half finished, I would have removed the mistake and redone it properly but it's not so important with a table runner.

Lesson learned and relearned...always check and recheck your work.

Christmas Table Runners

I sell jewelry at my local senior center in November and decided last year to take some of the Swedish weaving table runners I'd made.  They were a big hit but many people asked if I had any that were in a Christmas theme.  I didn't but promised to bring some this coming November.

The photos show 3 that I still have to sew the edges but the pattern is complete.  I've used existing patterns but put my own twist on them...very simple to do.  My photos don't show the monks cloth colors properly but the first runner is on a light green cloth, the second is on beige, and the third is on a soft yellow.  My photography skills are certainly lacking, aren't they?

Anyway, I used only Red Heart yarn because it gives a nice full texture.  I usually prefer Simply Soft but decided to go for the heavier yarn for these runners.

I'm also working on another afghan but like to stop once in a while and work on something smaller and easier to handle...like a runner.  I have a lot of monks cloth remnants that I bought specifically for table runners and, because they were remnants, they were sale priced.  Always check out the remnant bin at any fabric store because you might find some good savings.

Marge's Crocheted Shawl

Our little Thursday morning get-together doesn't mean that all the ladies are doing Swedish weaving.  Some are doing other needle crafts, too, and I think that's wonderful because we weavers just might see something else we'd like to try.

Marge crocheted this drop dead gorgeous shawl and I'm still amazed at how even her stitches are.  The darker spots in the photo are silvery threads in the yarn.  I don't knit or crochet because I'm not good at it and couldn't make a square granny square if my life depended on it.  Obviously all that talent went to Marge.

Donated Baby Blankets

A gentleman's relative passed away and he donated tons of her quilting fabric to our sewing group.  Lillian and Sandy are the two ladies who organized our sew-in yesterday and we made a total of 7 baby blankets to donate to the police department where they'll be used to comfort abuse or accident victims.  I don't know when I've spent an afternoon feeling so good about accomplishing such a good deed.  

Lillian came up with the idea and it made so much sense for us to get together and do this for charity.  We're all retired ladies with lots of time and some darned valuable abilities, too.  Some of us also attended the Swedish weaving get-together in the morning and then came back to the clubhouse to make blankets in the afternoon so it was a full day of creativity!

If any of my blog readers are interested, baby blankets are seriously needed by all police departments.  When a child is removed from a home of abuse or one who is involved in an accident, it would be so comforting for them to be wrapped in one of these blankets at the scene.  The blankets can be simply made with 2 pieces of fabric and the satisfaction you'll get knowing how useful they'll be will warm your heart!

  

Just a Note

I was held up getting to Florida this year because I needed a spot of skin cancer removed.  Once removed and cleared for travel, my daughter ,Cindy, and I drove down to Florida where I promptly got a bad cold that turned into bronchitis.  That makes me housebound until I'm not contagious anymore.  Our little Swedish weaving group here at the park will continue without me so I'm sure to have some lovely photos of their projects in a few weeks.

Being housebound doesn't mean I'm going to be too bored because I have my own Swedish weaving project to work on and also getting back to selling on Ebay.  As with any illness, the stamina won't be there to keep me weaving for hours at a time but that's one of many beauties of Swedish weaving...we can work on it for only 5 minutes if that's all the time we have.

At this moment, in our little park, there are many crafty ladies working on their projects.  I can't wait to show their work to you! 

Lisa's Afghan

The first two photos are of the afghan I made for my friend, Lisa.  She just bought her first house and her favorite colors (requested) are grey and pink so I used 2 shades of grey, a medium pink and a burgundy to kind of spice it up.  The monks cloth is white.

The last two photos are of a table runner I added to the stock I took to the craft show on Saturday and it was one that was sold.  It's ecru with the pattern done in 2 shades of green.  I had a lot of people request more Christmas colors than I took with me so I'll have to make some runners with reds or greens for next years sale.

When it comes to table runners, I realize I'll have to forget about my penchant for bright, mixed colors because people seem to want a more subdued runner to blend in with their own room colors.  I just might settle for using only white or ecru cloth, too.