Dear lord, the role and faces this rug has taken on. For a few years I’ve been searching for just the right rug. But that was actually before children. And now that I’ve got two, I understand why I need to walk away from the most gorgeous wool yellow and peach oriental area rug I’ve ever laid eyes on. It’s been pretty painful on occasion remembering this glowing rug knowing full well that as soon as child meets rug, it’s game over.
So I kept searching. Turning my hopes to braided rugs. But then never finding just the right color combo that makes my heart sing enough to spend the money.
Then it dawned on me while I was taking a basket weaving class. Not just any basket weaving class, but a PINE NEEDLE basket weaving class last spring at Portfiber with Zack from Rewild Maine.
As I worked on this basket, visions of all my fabric scraps where forming a rug in my mind.
Then I started researching how to make one myself. You see, I had always assumed it needed to be braided wool. But no, no it does not. I saw a few tutorials on YouTube and came across a technique that I thought I could get behind.
It’s still not perfect but I sure do love it. It lives in my fiber studio of course.
I ended up remaking this about 4 times. I’d find a spot where the tension wasn’t just right. Or it was curving upwards. So I’d redo it all. Or I’d change the color direction.
I’m pretty happy with it though. And it’s certainly a mindless project that doesn’t need a ton of focusing on like lace knitting.
I’m currently working up a few sample rug pads for a workshop I’ll be doing this summer. To see my full list updated of workshops, head over to my workshops page.
