I had a terrible problem trying to photograph the true color of these two table runners so I'll describe them the best I can. I had to fold each of them in quarters, also.
The first one is a sage green monks cloth with red and gold yarns and is approximately 56" long x 12" wide. The second one is ecru monks cloth with red yarn and is approximately 56" long x 11" wide. My runners usually vary in width because I often use remnants of different widths.
These will be taken to a craft sale at the end of the month. I don't especially like doing Christmas table runners because I prefer weaving with prettier shades of yarn so I've only made the two.
I don't know if I mentioned that I've hurt my right arm and now find it a bit painful to do Swedish weaving for long periods of time. Because of this, my plans are to make one more afghan this winter for my grandson and his girlfriend but, from then on, settle for making runners and place mats at least until this arm mends. I've torn a bicep muscle slightly and have had one steroid shot to help heal it. I'll have another shot next month and one more in the spring. Whether or not this heals the damaged muscle or not will determine if I can carry on making the afghans. The weight of 2 1/2 yds. of fabric is a little much for me right now but we have large tables at the Florida clubhouse to lay the fabric on while I'm weaving so that should make it easier for me. Life goes on and we do the best we can, right?
This is the new table runner I made to replace the turquoise cloth one with variegated turquoise yarns. Since I'm having a wall in the room painted turquoise, I decided to cut down on the amount of that color used there. The sofa is light cream with solid turquoise cushions so I thought the table runners would look better in white with turquoise yarn.
I used the same variegated turquoise yarn that has yards of one shade before changing. I felt I achieved the variegated look by making sure each row of the pattern held a slightly different shade. I won't ever again make the mistake of not checking a skein of variegated yarn to make sure each shade is no longer than 6".
It's very easy to put too much of one color in a room but I think mine is okay now. The wall gets painted on Thursday and I'm hoping I'll like it. I've never had an accent wall before so this will be a new experience for me.
My plan was to weave a lovely turquoise variegated yarn on white monks cloth...it's done but I'm not thrilled with the pattern. The third photo shows how the yarn can get lost in part of the pattern and that's why I'm disappointed.
Also, I always tell my students to be careful when using variegated yarn because too long a strand of one color shows up too distinctly on your project. I didn't follow my own advice and bought this gorgeous variegated yarn that had maybe a yard of one color. I ended up cutting the worst string of it off but that is a terrible waste of yarn.
I have another runner to make but I'll use a different pattern. The two pieces are far enough away from each other that no-one but me (and you) will ever know.
By the way, the pattern is Avery Hill's "Blue Ridge Mountains".
This is the first of two table runners I'm making. My plan was to use white monks cloth and a variegated turquoise yarn...looks like what you see, right? Well, not all is well!
One of the things I tell my students is to be very careful when buying variegated yarn. Always check how long each color is on the strand and try to keep it around 4-6" so that you won't have long stretches of one color in your pattern. Apparently I didn't follow my own advice when I purchased the above yarn.
I've actually never seen a variegated yarn like this one. There is approximately a stretch of one color that measures 3-4 FEET before changing to different shades each measuring 6-8" (too long but I'm stuck with it). The variegated section also measures about 3-4 feet before once again returning to a solid color measuring 3-4'.
Because I don't need a lot of yarn to complete my project, I'm disposing of the solid sections and using only the variegated sections. The waste is immense and bugs the life out of me.
I can only blame myself for not checking properly but, if what could be checked was the variegated, no-one would be able to tell that further along was that awful 3-4 feet of solid color.
Live and learn, I guess.
I'm done...and now it's a lap afghan. I never intended for it to look like a baby afghan but that's what happened because of the pastel yarns I used. It's pretty but not my favorite!
The ends I cut off are more than wide enough for table runners so there is no waste here. It was a difficult decision to make because I'd been working on it for so long but I'd long ago stopped enjoying it. That's unusual with Swedish weaving because it's usually a joy to watch it grow.
My friend, Donna, is experiencing the same lack of interest in the afghan she's been working on forever so it's a good thing we can at least make lap afghans out of our project.
There is only one other project that I stopped enjoying and that was the green tablecloth I made for my friend, Mary. It was for Christmas and I only wanted to weave a border around it but I decided to use green yarn on the green cloth. I don't think I'll ever do that again but it did turn out beautifully.
Anyway, now I'm on to my next project and you can bet it will be with vividly colored yarns.
Yup! Faye is still working on this one and the colors are much richer than this photo shows. She's also tired of working on it, just like Donna and me, but she's pretty close to finishing so I've warned her not to stop until it's done. I really wish the colors show better but I'll take it outside to photograph when it's done.
I guess the only drawback to Swedish weaving is the time it takes to complete an afghan. Most of us have lots going on in our lives and don't have the time or inclination to work on them every day. That's why I say it doesn't matter how long it takes you to complete a project.
Anyway, this is going to be a beauty when it's done and I'll do my best to get an accurate photo of the colors.
I never really noticed before that the Swedish weaving I much prefer to do is full of deeper colors of yarn. I've been working on an afghan for the last year that is pretty but the pattern has pastel colors and I've realized it's become rather boring for me to work on....if it's taken a year, I guess that explains it.
My sister-in-law, Faye, and cousin-in-law, Donna, come to my home on Tuesday afternoons and Donna seems to have reached the same conclusion I have. We don't really want to keep working on our present projects...so what do we do? Both of them are about half done which means we've put a lot of work, not to mention expense, into these projects so we can't just toss them aside. Yesterday I reached the decision that I would cut off both unfinished ends of the afghan, making it a lap afghan. The cut-off pieces would make 2 nice table runners later on. I know this is drastic but a lap afghan is still a nice present for someone and I can begin another project that will make me a lot happier.
I've never heard of a Swedish weaver doing this before but I'll bet I'm not the first. I've never seen an ugly Swedish weaving project and the one I'm tired of is very pretty but I'm getting bored with it.
I'll post a photo of my new "lap afghan" when it's complete...and then I know exactly what my next project will be. I bought 2 skeins of the prettiest variegated turquoise yarn and I want to make a couple of table runners with them.
Sometimes we have to call it a day for whatever reason.
