I'm never bored because I keep myself busy but I sometimes wonder what I'd do with my time if I didn't do Swedish weaving. It's so relaxing and satisfying that I sometimes put in many more hours than I plan.
The top photo is a full length table runner in white monk's cloth and using Christine Allan's "Serenity" pattern. I used Caron's Simply Soft Party yarns in spring sparkle and red sparkle and also a Red Heart yarn that is a variegate green.
The first placemat was done simply in rows of Red Heart Soft yarns in plummy on Ikea blanket cloth. Working on such a dark color is very hard on my eyes so I opted to do straight rows around the border.
The second placemat was done using Red Heart Soft yarn in waterscape on the grey/black Ikea cloth. It is a great buy for doing Swedish weaving...very inexpensive and just a tiny bit flimsier than the monk's cloth. It only comes in the grey/black and a very light beige, though.
I only do one craft show a year to sell my items and I'm pretty happy with what I've accomplished over the summer and fall. The craft show I do is at the senior center and we really get a lot of customers passing through. I enjoy talking to people and I always have a little freebee yarn necklace to give to the little girls who come by.
I'm going to make one more comment about Christine Allan's patterns. She is very talented at designing them and the diagrams are almost always super simple to follow. Anything that gives me a bit of trouble just becomes a unique pattern with my own spin on it.
I think all (or almost all) of anything done with Swedish weaving is gorgeous. It doesn't seem to matter what pattern or yarn choices are made, the end product is simply beautiful...in my eyes anyway.
I prefer to work with colors but I gave in to the fact that so many people are decorating their homes in shades of grey and have started making a few table runners in greys. They turn out just as gorgeous as their brightly colored cousins.
My daughter confiscated the last table runner I'd made in grey so I quickly made another one and I think this is even prettier than the last one...hope she doesn't grab this one up, too! It's on white monk's cloth and I used Caron's Simply Soft Party in black sparkle, Caron's Simply Soft grey heather, and Paton's pale grey mix (this isn't a variegated so I don't know why the name). The pattern is Christine Allan's "Cobblestone Way" which I reduced to fit the runner.
I think it's beautiful but, then, aren't they all? LOL!
I've decided to stop trying to get decent photos of full length table runners because my camera doesn't show enough detail so now the photos will be of the runner folded in half.
The first runner is Christine Allan's "Flickering Flakes" but I had to eliminate the full pattern due to the width of the runner. It is on white monk's cloth and I used Red Heart yarn in "lavender" and Caron's Simply Soft Party in grey. The grey is quite subtle but does look pretty with the lavender.
The second one is Avery Hill's "diamonds are a girl's best friend" and one I was surprised I'd never done before. I like it a lot! It's on white monk's cloth using Caron's Simply Soft yarns in grey heather and charcoal heather which go beautifully together.
I only make table runners any more because making afghans just takes too long. I've made many and given them away to family but I've found that they don't sell well at craft shows because of the high price. Most of the patterns I use can be extended to make afghans...many are actually for afghans but I alter them for use in the table runners. The possibilities are endless with these patterns. All you need is a bit of imagination.
These are 2 of my latest table runners.
The first one is one of my very favorite patterns, "Paper Dolls" by Christine Allan. It looks far more difficult that it really is. I used ecru monk's cloth and a variety of yarns for this one...Red Heart "painted desert", Phentex "tawny", and Caron's Simply Soft "bone" for my own little design in the center. I try to add something of just my own imagination to every piece I do so that it is truly unique.
The second one is my own design of different diamonds (I can't design whole patterns very well but I do have fun mixing up the diamonds). It's also on ecru monk's cloth and I used a variegated green of some no-name yarn I had in my stash.
Just a note: I started out trying to do just a border with "Paper Dolls" but couldn't get it to look right so I took it all apart and started over. I like to be completely happy with my finished work and it's better to take it apart when it isn't working out.
This has never happened before but the last batch of monk's cloth that I attempted to shrink in a hot water wash failed to shrink a couple of the pieces. I use a washer at my apartment building and am only able to set it for hot wash/regular cycle until the tub is almost full. Then I have to reset it for gentle cycle which only works with cold water so the top part of the tub ends up with a few inches of cold water. I'm assuming this is why a couple of pieces (out of 12) didn't shrink properly. I can't reset it after the wash has started in the original setting.
What I plan to do is soak them in hot water in my sink while I'm doing a regular wash in the washing machine and then put them in a hot dryer with the rest of my laundry. I'm hoping this will shrink the fabric properly.
These are 2 Christmas table runners I just finished, one I love and one I don't like because I misread the pattern.
The first one (I don't like) is Terrice Beasley's "Let's be Merry" using Caron's Simply Soft yarns in Spring Sparkle and Red Sparkle. I stupidly misread the pattern and doubled it in size so it looks awkward to me. I don't know why I didn't just stop as soon as I noticed and correct it but it was a big mistake.
The second one is Avery Hill's "Stained Glass" using Caron's Simply Soft yarn in Red Sparkle and Red Heart variegated yarn in green tones. I really like this one and will do the pattern again.
I had to do some adjustments to the patterns on both runners in order to fit them into the required size.
Something all of us weavers know and should abide by is to do our corrections as soon as possible or we might end up with something we can't live with...like table runner #1.
It drives me crazy how I can't get my photos to show the right colors. While I have all the patience in the world weaving the pattern into the fabric, I have no patience when taking photos. Anyway, the fabric is not purple but a lovely deep burgundy. The yarns used are Caron's Simply Soft Party in Spring Sparkle and Black Sparkle. The pattern used is Christine Allan's "Cotton Candy" but altered to suit my purpose.
I happen to love this particular table runner, maybe because it took forever to finish but also because of the colors...they really do look Christmas festive in real life!
I sell my pieces at relatively low prices at the one venue in December so I don't like to put as many hours into them as I did on this one. This isn't an actual business for me but a way to continue having the pleasure of weaving while still making a bit of money. I probably give away more items than I sell but that's okay with me.
I altered the pattern (which is beautiful in it's own right) by filling in the spaces. I felt it needed to be fleshed out a bit and I like the way it turned out.
I have 2 more Christmas table runners all finished but the photos were absolutely horrible so I'll try again tomorrow when I might have more patience. LOL!
