Scandinavian Weaving Rocks!

When my son was about 5, I made him red Jello hearts for Valentine’s Day. His reaction: “You rock, Mom!” Twenty years later, I don’t get those sudden outbursts of affection from him (probably because I don’t make red Jello anything anymore), but I still love the expression.

Handwoven March/April 2017 rocks Scandinavian weaving. Our contributors combined hygge (the Danish word for cozy) with beauty, and style. I can’t decide if the issue offers an American take on Scandinavian weaving or a Scandinavian twist on American weaving. Either way, the issue has something for weavers of all abilities and loom types.

During editing, we called them the Finnish Trio and you’ll see why when you see the 3 projects from Marty Benson, Gayle Pace, and Janet Giardina; friends who studied Finnish weaving together. The result is a set of lace napkins, doubleweave placemats, and a lace table runner that are beautiful, coordinated, and all woven in the Finnish style.

Left: Ebb and Flow Crackle Scarf by Sarah Jackson. Right: Finnish Trio from Handwoven March/April 2017.

Working on this issue and reviewing Swedish weaving texts, I became at least a bit more fluent in the Swedish weave structure names, although I’m fairly certain I’m not pronouncing them correctly! In any case, here are the 5 projects in this issue that reflect Swedish style:

1. Sunny Swedish Towels in half-dukagång by Suzie Liles
2. Swedish Rosepath Rag Rug by Karen Isenhower
3. Springtime Linen Runner by Rita Hagenbruch
4. Ebb and Flow Crackle Scarf (technique known as Jamtlandsvaev) by Sarah Jackson
5. Color Gradation Towels in half-dräll by Susan E. Horton

Also in the Swedish style category are 2 bags in the Idea Gallery: Swedish Pockets and Baltic Bands, by Joanne Hall and Alison Irwin, respectively.

Harking back to Norwegian traditions is Anita Osterhaug’s Memories of Norway Rya Pincushion. Anita drew inspiration from a pillow her grandmother brought home from Norway, where she has family ties.

Besides the great projects, we included Tom Knisely’s tips for getting good selvedges on boundweave, a detour to India to learn about the traditions of saree weaving, and a Yarn Lab by Jodi Ybarra about using pearl cotton on the rigid heddle loom. We rounded it out with 2 articles about Scandinavian weaving today by Gina Hedegaard Nielson and Elisabeth Hill.

I think you’ll agree that our March/April 2017 issue of Handwoven ROCKS!

Weave well,

Susan