In our Swedish weaving group at the Florida park, some of the ladies prefer to do other crafts and this one caught my interest. It requires a small plastic loom (available at Joann's Fabrics) and takes very little time or yarn to complete a tiny newborn hat for donating to your local hospitals. I used some of my leftover yarns so the cost is minimal, too.
The loom is similar to what we used to do as children using the wooden spindle from thread and putting nails in the top to wind our yarn around. Out the bottom came a knitted coil that we could use for whatever...I'm not sure I ever used the ones I made for anything, though. With the new plastic loom (different sizes available), it's really easy to make these little hats...you would use a larger one for larger hats.
I just like to have a simple craft on the go that I can turn to instead of always doing the Swedish weaving.
Joann's Fabrics also has a little doodad that is supposed to make perfect pom poms but I found it cumbersome so I used my own method of winding yarn around my fingers, tying it in the center, and clipping the ends to make a very good pom pom.
One of the ladies in our Swedish weaving group came to me with a problem. She couldn't center one of her patterns and couldn't understand why. I looked it over and also couldn't find the cause...this irritated me no end because I knew it must be staring me in the face but I couldn't see it.
We tried for a while until I got fed up with it and suggested she bring it to our next get-together so we could have some of the other weavers look at it. She did and, sure enough, one of the ladies solved the problem.
This is the value of joining a Swedish weaving club. What one person can't solve, another one can. We also learn new techniques from each other to further our craft.
I've been kind of lazy this winter and haven't put in much time on my own project. I took time out to learn how to make infant toques on a little plastic loom I found at Joann's Fabrics. It's nice to have these little projects to occasionally turn to because making a Swedish weaving afghan is a lengthy process.
Swedish weaving is still my craft of choice and I do enjoy it more than any other but my Florida winters don't leave me a lot of time to spend on it. I do more Swedish weaving when I'm back home in Canada for the summer.
I'm sure the afghan I'm presently working on will be finished quickly once I get back home but, for now, the Florida sunshine and warmth offers more interesting choices for me to do.
It's early days in the park so our Swedish weaving group is small. It will grow in January when most of the residents return for the winter.
Angie is working on a dark green fabric that we know will be hard on her eyes but it will look gorgeous when it's done. Sandy just started Swedish weaving last year and is doing a lovely job on her afghan. Betty is also new at it and also doing a great job. It's such a pleasure to see even new Swedish weavers created a thing of beauty.
Note: Betty coils the strands of yarn she's not working on (opposite side) and clips them together so they don't trail all over as she's doing the other side. I hadn't seen this done before and now will do that myself.
This is a table runner I'm working on. I still haven't finished the afghan but felt I needed a small project for a short while.
I'm using a dark navy monks cloth and a variegated plus a solid yarn. The solid color is close but not perfect match to one of the colors in the variegated but it doesn't really matter. I really like the subtle colors on the navy cloth, too.
I often switch from working on a large afghan to putting in a few days on a simple table runner.
This happens to be a little larger width of cloth than I usually choose for a table runner but, when I'm finished, I'll simply cut it back a bit.
I've completed the pattern and will continue with it all the way to the finish. I like it as I like every Swedish weaving piece but it's a little too pastel for me to really love. Already I'm planning my next afghan which will be for my grandson and it will be in stronger colors.
I'm not making this as a baby blanket but think the colors and pattern would be perfect for one.
Just a note: One section of the pattern is done with a variegate yarn that I originally thought held all of the solid colors I'm using but it's not exactly the same. Regardless, it's staying in the afghan and doesn't appear to be clashing with them.
So here I go with my new project. I have 2 other colors I might add to it but I often like to make my decisions as I go along, trying out and either keeping or discarding.
The pattern is called "Blue Ridge Mountains" from an Avery Hill book and you'll notice that I've printed out the pattern and put it into a clear plastic sleeve. I've found that this helps keep our pattern books from falling apart with use. The books are awfully expensive (overpriced, I think) but I reuse the patterns or parts of them over and over so I guess I get my money's worth out of them.
It will take me months to finish this because I don't work on it every day and sometimes only pick up my monk's cloth for a few hours or a few minutes at a time. That's one of the beauties of Swedish weaving. Unlike quilting, you can opt to work on your project for really short periods of time if you wish.
A while back I realized that I was ending up with too many odd colors of yarn because I would buy 1 or 2 at a time that looked interesting to me. Then I got smart and started to buy my yarn in groups of 3 or 4 that blended well together and I would keep them stored as a grouping. When I began this project I looked through my stash and found the yarns I'm using now...it was so easy!
Well, off I go and I'll post a photo of the finished project when I get it done!
This is a table runner that took me most of 2 days to finish. Only people who do Swedish weaving understand how long it takes to complete a project and, when we sell one, we can never be paid enough to make it profitable. I get my enjoyment from doing the work and seeing the completed project.
The fabric is a light sage monks cloth (my photos haven't captured the true color) and the yarn is Simply Soft deep salmon, light salmon, and medium yellow. I used part of the "Musical Melodies" pattern on page 89 of Avery Hill's "The How To Book of Swedish Weaving and Huck Embroidery. I use this book a lot and often alter the pattern to serve my purpose.
By the way, you can use huck embroidery patterns for your Swedish weaving.
I also prefer shorter fringe on a table runner as opposed to the longer fringe on an afghan but everyone should use their own judgement and do what appeals to them.
