Monday, August 16, 2010

pledge to finish

Update on the August project for the Posse Pledge to Finish! Thisone is just about the oldest I think I have--it has been at the bottom of the pile for 39 years!
In 1972 I was living in Sweden and attending Alstromerskolan in the Hemteknisk line. That means something like Home Ec for people of my generation. I learned how to weave and this was one of the things that I brought back home with me. There are 3 placemat-sized woven pieces, sort of blue with a nice design worked into the sides. I think they are linen, but I'm not 100% sure. They had raw edges on 2 sides which I just needed to hem, so that is what I did last night. Now they can grace our table and remind me of the fun I had learning to make them!
And just so you know I haven't forgotten the July project, here's a picture to show that I have been working on it--
If you can look past the basting stitches and uneven corners, you can get a feel for what these hexagons are like. I decided to add some variety to the mix and bump it up to a bigger size, plus add some triangles and parallelograms in there, too. Still no master plan. Just picking it up and working on what suits my fancy at the moment. Also discovered that the Black Gold needles from Clover are perfect for this, they really make a big difference in the handwork, especially with these batiks I am using which have a higher thread count and tighter weave than some other fabrics.
I was pleasantly surprised by the ease of stitching with these needles compared to what I usually use. Sister Jan had told me they were good, but I had to feel it for myself to become a believer! Thanks, Jan!

2 comments:

MissesStitches said...

I'm glad you finally tried the needles!! Your hexagons look great.

MissesStitches said...

Love your weaving, too. I remember those pieces of weaving.