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FO Friday: A Multi-Craftual Creation

Weaving with worsted weight yarn is a little tough,
but it's worth the effort!
I'm excited to finally post about a project I've been working on for a VERY long time! I originally began it last summer, when I thought I would be making it to give as a holiday gift. However, I decided to put it on the backburner til 2014. Earlier this year, I pulled it out of hibernation to finish it in time for my grandmother's 90th birthday (which was this past Wednesday).

There is no pattern for this pillow, as I made it up as I went along. It began with the Schacht Zoom Loom I got at the TNNA Trade Show last summer, which I thought would be a fun way to use up leftover bits of yarn. My first squares were made with sock yarn, since that is what I have the most of in my stash, but I decided that using a thicker yarn would make a pretty great pillow fabric. I used leftover worsted yarns to warp the Zoom Loom, then created the weft (woven part) with my own handspun yarn. It was a little difficult to weave with such thick yarn, but the fabric it created was absolutely lovely!
One of the many configurations I experimented with
prior to seaming!
I made 9 squares which I seamed together; then, using a contrasting yarn color, I began crocheting a border in single crochet, increasing two stitches at each corner on every round.
Once I had a piece that was big enough to cover the front of a 12" square pillow, I grabbed some yarn which had been in my stash for quite some time (more on that in a second) and began crocheting a square, also in single crochet. I guesstimated how many stitches to make a square similar in size to the woven squares when seamed together; once the piece was finished, I worked a border in a similar fashion to the front piece, except I used two different colors.
When the front and back were basically the same size, I used the working yarn to crochet them together, saving myself a little seaming. It was a little awkward to do this with a pillow form sandwiched between them, but it was totally worth it to spare myself the odious task of seaming.

I'm pretty thrilled with how it turned out! What's even more exciting is the story behind the light pink, magenta and deep purple yarns used in this project: they were all purchased back when I lived in Portland, OR at a little yarn store in the NW called Lint (which isn't there anymore). I'd originally bought this yarn, Berroco Softwist, to make a project for my grandmother! Obviously, it didn't happen, and it languished in my stash for nearly 10 years...only to be used in a project for the very same grandmother!
These 3 colors of Softwist were originally purchased almost
10 years ago in Portland, OR!

Thanks for stopping by this week - for FO Friday inspiration, visit the Tami's Amis blog.


Have a crafty weekend! 



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