Home Again

Well, I'm back home from my winter in Florida and I've brought a whole pile of monk's cloth with me...only white and beige.  It's really sad that we can't get the colors any more but, hopefully, that will change in the future.  I still have lots of colors in my stash but none of the red I so dearly wanted to purchase.

I haven't had a good winter because I was sick or just a bit unwell the whole time.  I think it started with a sinus infection and then became complicated with bronchitis.  I didn't see a doctor in Florida because I don't like the ones my insurance company has sent me to in the past.  Also, my daughter in Tampa is a nurse/practitioner so I sort of left it to her to treat me.  I was terribly sick the week before I flew home and was on 2 antibiotics which helped start the healing process and I've felt better each day since I got home.

Normally I start my spring housecleaning first and then, when it's finished, I start some Swedish weaving but this year I've just rested.  Those things can wait until I'm feeling much better.  Life takes many twists and turns and this is just one of them but it will be a happy time for me when my apartment is cleaned and I've got a new Swedish weaving project in my hands!

Addiction

If you're going to be addicted to something, a craft like Swedish weaving is the way to go.  I just finished 2 table runners all but the hemming and I'll leave that until I get home in a couple of weeks.  The problem is that I've already stored a few raw pieces somewhere in the trunk of my car and I have nothing to keep my hands busy.  

There are a few reasons to take up Swedish weaving, the main one being how beautiful every single one of our projects turns out to be.  There is no such thing as an ugly Swedish weaving item no matter if it has a few flaws.  Remember how I've said that sometimes the mistakes can just become our new pattern.

I won't bother posting photos of the last two table runners until they're hemmed but one of them is my own pattern.  I have my own way of creating a pattern because I'm just not truly gifted in that way.  I start out with an existing pattern and adjust it completely, adding and embellishing until it doesn't resemble the way it was started.  That's the best I can do and I have to say they come out pretty nice.

I bought more fabric in Florida but only was able to get white and ecru.  This is such a shame and I really hope the manufacturers change their minds and keep on producing and selling colored monk's cloth.  I have a stash at home that includes a few different colors but what I'd really like to find is the red.  People do dye their fabric but I'm afraid to try that so I'll stick to what I have.

I'm in the process of trying to sell my trailer here in Florida but haven't had any success yet.  The lot rent has become way too expensive to carry it for 12 months when I only want to be here for 3 months.  I'm hoping to be able to come back to this park and rent next year but it all depends on selling the trailer I have.  Life can sometimes be unreasonably difficult because one situation determines another.  Wish me luck! 

Can't Stop Weaving

I finished my last table runner a short while ago and decided I wouldn't bother making any more until I got home.  Well, that didn't last long because I'm so used to having one on the go at most times.  I pulled out a short piece of ecru monk's cloth I'd brought down to Florida with me and decided on using a lovely green for the pattern.  I worked on it all day yesterday and actually finished it.  I pulled out another short piece of ecru monk's cloth and a skein of variegated oranges, etc. to weave into it.  I really think this will be the last until I get home in April.  If I change my mind I'll have to search among all the bags in the trunk of my car for fabric and yarn!

Swedish weaving is addictive.

2 New Table Runners..1 My Own Design

I just finished these two and love them both enough to want to keep them for myself...but I probably won't because I'v kept too many already.

The first one is my own design on turquoise monk's cloth and using Caron Simply Soft yarn in a variegated oceana.  I don't have the talent to create too intricate a pattern but I seem to have a knack for creating something geometric.

The second one is on ecru monk's cloth and using Christine Allen's "Fairy's Forest" from her spring pattern booklet.  The yarns are Caron Simply Soft in pistachio and bone.  Now this is a slightly intricate pattern but I love it and will use it many times.  This is why the cost of a pattern booklet or even a single pattern is not outrageous because you can use them often.  I sometimes start out with a registered pattern and then put my own spin on it which makes it truly unique.

My readers might have noticed that I'm only making table runners these days instead of full afghans and the reason for that is how buyers aren't aware how much time is spent making them and don't want to pay a fair price.  

When I sell my table runners at craft shows, lots of people admire them but only a few appreciate them enough to buy one.  I did have a repeat customer last fall so maybe Canadians are becoming more aware of the craft.  In my opinion, it's much easier to sell a Swedish weaving table runner than to sell the much more expensive and time consuming afghan.

I'm still in Florida until the first week in April but I've already bought a fair amount of monk's cloth to take home.  I bought the white and beige at Joann's Fabrics when it was on sale but haven't found any colored monk's cloth anywhere.  I tried ordering some hunter green (red has disappeared altogether) but got caught up in a problem with using a Canadian credit card...they wanted to mail the fabric to my Canadian address instead of to my address in Florida.  I may try again, though.

Anyway, I'll continue making these beautiful items whether they sell or not because I have so much fun making them. 

5 Finished Table Runners

These are 5 Swedish weaving table runners I just finished.  I did the weaving at home in Canada and then brought them down here to Florida to finish the edge and fringe.  I also list them on Ebay when I'm in the States and sell them at our park's craft sale.

Unfortunately, I neglected to make note of the patterns and yarn colors used.  I'll try to remember to do that for next year.

It's been very sad to not be able to buy some of the colored monk's cloth any more but I'm lucky to have a fairly large stash at home.  But working on white and beige fabric still produces some awfully pretty items, too.

Just a side note:  When did thread become so expensive?  I just bought a regular sized spool that cost me $6 U.S.  I didn't question it because I needed it for the turquoise runners. 

Finished Odd Run Table Runners

I also worked on these at home but just finished the hemming here in Florida.  The fabric is from Ikea's Odd Run afghan that I had cut into runner width strips.  The strips are extra long so I also cut them in half to make smaller table runners.  I haven't liked working on these Odd Run pieces as well as I do regular monk's cloth because it's kind of flimsy...not as much body as the monk's cloth.  They are a nice alternative to monk's cloth, though, because of price (the afghan costs $12-$15 and I think I got 3 long strips out of each one) and also the color.  It's called grey but looks quite black.

Again, I didn't make notes about the pattern or yarns used. 

Some Finished Items

These are table runners I worked on at home but just finished the hemming here in Florida.  None have been pressed yet.  Unfortunately, I didn't make a record of which pattern or yarns I used.