Finnish-American Rag Rugs, rag rug weaving

First Rag Rug

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Here it is, my first real rag rug completed and on the floor! Looking at it now, I like the warp stripes and colors, as well as the weft colors. It lays quite flat, selvedges are nicely even, and only a tiny bit of “smile.”

It seems to meet the tests of a good rag rug ~~ you can’t put your fingers through anywhere, and when rolled up and stood on the floor it stands. Another “test” I read in the book “Finnish American Rag Rugs” is hold the rolled up rug in your hand, palm up, at shoulder level, the rug should not droop, and happily, it doesn’t.

The rug passed another test here, too, right after taking these photos, I walked over to the computer to download them, turned around, and there was a cat already laying on the rug. No, I’m not ready for a 50 pound Keeshond and five cats to enjoy this rug just yet, so yes, I picked it back up off the floor.


Another view of my first rag rug.

Details: 8/4 cotton rug warp, sett 12 epi. Good tension when weaving, beat hard, change sheds, beat hard again, and I used a temple. Weft strips are sheets purchased at thrift stores, cut into 1 1/2″ strips and the strips were sewn together. When winding the ski shuttles, I wound the weft on folded in half and when placing the weft into the shed, made sure it was still folded.

Hems at each end are cutton rug warp, two threads per shed using a double-bobbin shuttle. I started by weaving an inch or so of string, then 3 1/2″ hem, and reverse at the other end. I cut the rug from the loom, machine sewed each end 3″ from the first “rag” row, rotary cut just outside the machine sewn line, then pin and sew the hem. The finished rug measures 28″ wide, 55″ long.

The warp has been tied on again. I’ll use some of the same strips/colors so they are ready to use, but I’ll need another three or four colors so must get those cut into strips and ends sewn which shouldn’t take long. The second rug shouldn’t take as long now that I’ve gotten a bit of experience.

washing fleece

Spring Fleece Washing

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Spring came very early to the WI Northwoods, and on April 2nd, a beautiful 75+ degree day, I decided it was perfect weather to get part of a fleece washed that I’d purchased a year or two before. Thankfully, it was still in good shape having been well-packed for shipping.

This particular fleece came from Andy McMurray, Humble Hills Farm. It has beautiful locks, nice crimp, and is probably Romney, a breed I particularly like to spin.


As we live in the WI Northwoods and have a well and septic system, I am careful about what goes down the drains. I know of people who wash their fleece in their washer and spin the water out, but last year I bought a new front-loading washer so soaking the fleece that way is no longer possible. Plus, I hesitate the put that much lanolin/grease down the pipes and into the septic tank.

My method of washing fleece is to fill old “de-commissioned” canners (no longer used for processing food) with hot water and soap, and use other canners for rinse water, rising twice. The washed fleece is then laid out on a couple drying racks that rest on sawhorses.

This time I had only washed enough fleece for one rack. Since it was so windy for a couple days, I set the second rack over the top to keep the fleece from blowing away, something the area critters love.


Beautiful fleece drying on racks on the lakeside porch. I’m looking forward to hand-carding this fleece. Though hand-carding takes longer than drum-carding, I feel the results are better, and worth the extra time.

Since this was only a portion of this fleece and the weather is supposed to warm up over the coming weekend, I’ll be washing the next batch.

Lendrum spinning wheel, thread guide

Missing Bits

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You know how pairs of socks go into the wash and come out as singles? Socks go missing, never to be seen again? I occasionally have the same problem with little bits of things disappearing in my studio. A couple years ago, the top wood knob on my Glimakra swift disappeared. I turned that room inside out and never did find it.

This time it was the thread guide on my Lendrum double-treadle folding spinning wheel, mysteriously gone. I’d arrived at the gallery a few days ago, wheel in tow, sat down to spin, and something just wasn’t working right. Now I have to tell you, I’ve done almost no spinning on this wheel in a couple years, and my other wheel has the usual hooks for thread guides. I was busy with kids and moms coming in to see the children’s art exhibit so wouldn’t have been able to spin much anyway.


Back at home, it finally dawned on me, the thread guide was missing. I didn’t find it in the car or driveway, perhaps it fell off in the parking lot? What to do?

I looked online, you can buy various flyers and carrying bags for this wheel, but no one listed a thread guide. Aha! I bought the wheel at a WI Spin-In four years ago from Susan’s Fiber Shop in Columbus, WI. I called and yes, she had ONE left which arrived a couple days later. I’m all set now, have wheel (and thread guide), can spin!

Oh, if anyone has seen my large pair of everyday scissors, the ones with the orange handles, will you let me know?

ArtisTree Gallery, Finnish-American Rag Rugs, rag rug weaving
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I visited Susan Johnson’s blog, “Avalanche Looms” earlier this week (link is on the list on the right of the screen) and found a post “Rags, Rags, Rags & More Rags,” where she writes about her love of old rag rugs and a new book just out, “Finnish-American Rag Rugs” by Yvonne R. Lockwood. I emailed Susan and ordered a copy from her which I found tucked in-between the mailboxes today when I arrived home.

Eagerly tearing into the package I found a large 11″ x 9″ book, about an inch thick, and 249 pages, full of the rag rugs weavers of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. If you’re like me and like to read not only about an art or craft, but the PEOPLE who do it, I think we will really enjoy this book. In addition to color and b&w photos of rugs and weavers, it looks like an interesting history/record.

In my brief look at this book, I saw photos of various Finnish and American looms, weavers at the looms, finished rugs, and so much more. I had to laugh at photos of their “stashes!

After finishing up this blog entry, I’ll be upstairs in flannel PJ’s, with this book in my hands, eagerly reading. The timing for this book was perfect for me, arriving while weaving my first real rag rugs!

Today was a work at the gallery day for me and I took a spinning wheel and basket of Coopworth roving to work on, along with the book “Damask and Opphamta” and printed out notes (emails) from several drawloom weavers offering suggestions for adjusting my drawloom. They enabled me to list everything I need to check and adjust on the loom to get it working properly. A good, productive day!

It is Art Education Month in WI and Artistree Gallery invited K-5 students, both from the Land O’Lakes Elementary School and Home School students, to create artworks to be displayed for a couple weeks at the gallery. Gallery artists removed their works from the big wall, the kids works were framed and hung, and a reception was held this past Saturday.

Their works are bright, colorful, cheerful and wonderful to enjoy. I had several visitors at the gallery today coming in to see them. Congratulations, Art Students and Teachers!

rag rug

Adding a Bit of ZING!

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Three days ago, I started weaving again for the first time since my little incident with a rotator cuff injury. I’m back in the studio, and will now be back posting on my blog. I like to keep this blog focused, for the most part, on weaving and related fiber interests.

I’m looking forward to the day when I can weave off a rag rug in 45 minutes, like one weaver I know, not the months it has taken me. I’m still learning to love it, but it’s coming easier now and I keep myself focused on what is happening with colors.

I’m also finding it easier to weave the rag rug while standing up, easier to hold the shed open while I “futz” (is that a word?) with the weft before beating, changing sheds, and beating again.

I love the colors in this warp, and the sheets/strips that are blending in nicely,
but decided it was time to add a little ZING, just a few rows, and used a brighter solid Copper or Burnt Orange color picked up from the plaid sheet just before it.

My “design,” has the colors reversing at the center. I’ve redrawn my color plan and measured each color as well as counted the number of rows of each. I’m about 8″ from the middle, and anxious to get to the second half of this rug (as well as the next two). There should be a photo of a completed rug on here before long! After several weeks of not being to weave or crank, I want to be DOing again. My upper arm still has a fair amount of pain, but I can use it again, and must, to keep mobility.

I may have mentioned it before, but the next warp will be 8/2 navy blue cotton, with 8/2 cotton in variegated blues. Hhmmm, solid navy warp, or stripe them for more interesting towels? Thinking I might want to get a bit of white, ivory, or a natural linen color (or both) to add in the warp as I have quite a number of large cones of white/natural cotton/linen blends to use, too. It’s time to sit down with graph paper and color pencils and work out stripe warp options and see what I like best.

And now? Something has changed on Blogger, my photo shows on the compose page in code so I cannot move it. Posting this, but must find out what changes Blogger has made recently!

" tapestry forks, "Hand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece

Tangents

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I sometimes wonder why it is some people are able to be very focused on a particular area of weaving or a particular technique, and others, like myself, like to go off on tangents occasionally. I see myself primarily as a weaver, and have areas of weaving I focus on. But, I also enjoy cranking socks on an antique sock machine, do some spinning, a bit of felting, and some handknitting. For a long time now, dyeing has been on my radar.

While in the garage chopping kindling each morning, I’ve been noticing all the big canners, lined up on shelves, and looking forward to spring and summer, and getting more fleece washed. I’d also noticed a couple smaller pots I’d saved, thinking they might be useful for dyeing.

Earlier today, I was out emptying the ash bucket from the woodburner, and found an Amazon box at my doorstep. After quickly getting the fire started, I opened the package to find “Hand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece: Dip-Dyeing, Hand-Painting, Tie-Dyeing, and Other Creative Techniques” by Gail Callahan. I had placed a pre-publication order, so the arrival of this book was a happy surprise today.

This is not (yet) a review, but when I’m finished here I’m heading straight upstairs to sit and start looking through this new book. I have a number of dyeing books on my shelves, but this one appears to be a book I want to sit down and read cover to cover. I’ll let you know, but from my brief glance, I’d say chances are good I’ll be ordering dyes very soon. I already have ready-to-dye skeins and cones of sock yarns standing by, and let’s not even think about how much (white) raw fleece is waiting to be processed and very possibly dyed.

Over the past four years or so, I’ve collected a few nice tapestry forks. Recently, two more were added to my little collection, one is double-ended (far right in photo), the other has metal tines (second from left) which I plan to use for tapestry techniques in weaving rag rugs. I’d been watching for one for some time now, and this one finally crossed my path.

There is a Schacht table-top tapestry loom (with A-frame stand) upstsairs, which I’ve enjoyed using, also an upright Glimakra “Sara” frame loom (taller than I am) that I’m looking forward to using someday. Both looms a good reason to collect tapestry forks!

Tangents,… in this case, new areas of fibers to learn more about and try. It’s nice to have new horizons to look forward to.

color effects, rag rug weaving

Practice, Practice,…

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It was 1981 when I took my first weaving class and bought my first loom. Until now, my weaving has always been with 22/2 cottolin, linen, 8/2 and 20/2 cotton, preferring weave structures like twill, huck, and satin. Currently, I am still in the early stages of weaving my first rag rug, and I’ll be honest, rag rug weaving is taking some time to grow on me. Immediately after starting to weave this rug, I KNEW I preferred weaving with finer threads. But what can I say, I live in a rustic log home with plank floors that have been wanting rag rugs on them for a long, long time.

I have woven quite a few 14″ to 16″ wide table runners with 8/4 cotton rug warp and batik fabric for weft (above). For these, I cut the fabric 1.5″ wide, then fold and press the fabric as if making double-fold bias tape, only it is not cut on the bias. Why go to all that trouble? Because the “rag” runners are made for display on tables, close to the viewer. I do not like the “hairy” look, and do not want all those little threads working their way out. These runners look very nice with tableware and exceptionally nice with pottery (below).


However, Joe, a good weaving friend of mine, has been urging me for a long time to give rag rug weaving a try. I’ve long been an admirer of Scandinavian design, and have quite a number of Swedish rag rug weaving books for inspiration. I enjoyed designing the stripe warp and choosing the rug warp colors. It is getting the weft into the shed and folding the weft it in half (when both sides are not equal in color) that I am not yet particularly adept at. I may be the slowest rag rug weaver around, but am trying to give this a fair chance.

This is my first 28″ wide rag rug, 8/4 cotton rug warp, and cotton/poly sheets for weft. For the past couple years I’ve been haunting the local thrift shops for sheets, on the lookout for good solid colors, prints, and plaids that have COLOR and not mostly white with pastel flowers, though I have some of those, too. So I was excited recently to find a wine/blue/green plaid sheet with almost perfect colors in for my stripe rug warp.

After washing the fitted sheet (no flat sheet, perhaps another area weaver found it first?), it was time to “slice & dice,” rotary cutting it into 2″ strips, then sew them together, and wind onto a ski shuttle.

Last night, I wove a few rows of the plaid to see the color effects and it’s looking as good as I’d hoped.


Like the green and white ticking stripe at the beginning of the rug, the colors in the plaid are coming randomly to the surface within each row, giving a nice mottled effect.


Depending on the quantity of strips (size of sheet), I’m dividing the number of strips in half or thirds (more if the sheet is queen or king size), depending on how often I want that color to appear in the rug. I had “mapped out” my colors/design on graph paper using colored pencils, but I’ve already changed it a bit so need to revise my plan before I go much further as I would like this rug to be balanced.

After taking about a month off from the studio I had hoped to finish this rug this week, but I fell on Tuesday, injuring my shoulder, so there has been a slight delay while I gave it the rest it needed. After weaving those few rows last night (the first weaving since falling), I went to bed and could not sleep for the pain. No weaving today, the heating pad will be my friend tonight!
The rag rugs need to be woven and I’m looking forward to seeing them on my floors! As with most things in life, I’ll get better at rag rug weaving with more practice.
CSM socks

A Winter Break

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Winter wreaths always give a “Welcome Home,” both on the entry door (above) and garage doors (below).

Lately, I’ve been taking a winter break from my weaving studio. After having cranked socks right up to a couple days before Christmas, a daughter and friend visiting, kids on school break and their friends here occasionally, I needed some time off. No, I didn’t go anywhere, just quiet winter days spent at home.

Then normal life came back, it was time to deal with school financial aid meeting at the high school, FAFSA forms, taxes, food pantry board meeting, community dinner meetings and the dinner two nights ago. Let’s not forget, I’m supposed to be getting ready for a move, working my way through 40 years of stuff, only keeping what I want in my next home/studio.

I did get a pair of socks made for a gentleman who emailed me, and I’ve heard he is very pleased with them. Others who ordered socks for Christmas have also been happy with them, which is good for the cranker to hear!

At this point, I am more than ready to get back to my work in the studio, and have a long list of projects to do. Getting more done in the studio means more blog entries. I’m back working on the rug warp and looking forward to having them down on my floors. I’m quite sure the dog and the cats will appreciate that, too, as there are pine plank floors throughout the house which can be cool in winter.

Artistree needs/wants all new work by May, plus there are two, possibly three art shows I’m definitely planning to do. Warps are being planned. Cones of 8/2 and 20/2 cotton are waiting on the shelves; cottolin and cones of cotton/linen blend are always on hand. There are dozens of tubes of rug warp waiting to be woven into rugs, bags, and table runners.

The woodburner is warming the studio, music is on, the Ott light is in place, it’s time to weave!

CSM socks

A New Year of Fibers!

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Isn’t it wonderful when you find people to talk fibers with? I’ve been corres-ponding with Michael, a WI weaver/knitter, with a recent interest in sock machines. I told him of the Midwest Crankers as well as a group that meets in Madison, he went to one of their crank-in Saturdays and decided he would like to save up for a sock machine. Michael asked if I would make a pair of socks, and before I could get them made, he had ordered a NZAK, and is now waiting for it to arrive.

Meanwhile I sent along two pairs of custom-made socks, the first in beige/gray/hunter green,…

…the second in three shades of gray. I’m told they fit! It’s all been a fun way to begin a New Year of fibers at Shuttle Works Studio.

There are more socks needing to be made, weaving to be done, and warps to be made. I’m working on another sock order, I would like to have a rug done for Monday’s weaving guild meeting, and the gallery needs all new socks (only 4 pairs left) and weaving. Plus, I have a number of “single” socks here, where I got carried away with cranking and cranked more rows than were needed for the size I was making. Now, just need to count rows/determine size, and make mates for them. Same yarn, same tension, so they should turn out the same size. I also have my drum carder and wool back and would love to do a little felting, too. Did I mention I’m knitting a scarf? Now, to see how much I can get done in the next few days!
Toika "Laila" loom

Gifts from Afar

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It’s amazing, this year my “gifts” all came from “afar,” from western WI, Oregon, and as far away as Australia.

Four days or so before Christmas, I found a slip in my mailbox telling me I had a package to pick up at the post office. I went over that afternoon, and found it was from Jill Lynch in Australia. Jill is a member of the Complex Weavers Double Harness Study Group that I chair. I stood in the post office wondering why? What was I forgetting?

Well what could I do, since there were no other customers, but open it up right there! Inside I found a beautiful card, thanking me for sending her a copy of “Damast,” a book I had bought when I purchased a portion of weaver Nastche Milan’s weaving library. I already had a copy of that booklet, but added it to my purchase knowing someday someone would come along to pass it along to. (Nastche, your copy is now with Jill in Australia!)

There were two “packages” in the box, and opening the first, I found a “Weavers Interest Group Calendar,” with a page for each month and each page has two color photos of beautiful woven pieces by members of the group. By the way, Jill Lynch is on the cover, front row, far left. It’s a wonderful idea for private weaving groups or guilds.

Opening the second “package” I found a beautiful handspun, handwoven twill scarf, woven by Barbara Sanders (in the group). It’s a really lovely piece, and following instructions of the local postmaster (woman), I put it on and wore it for the rest of my afternoon out. It was a cold, cold day, and I don’t think I really noticed, just felt wonderful wearing this beautiful gift from weavers in Australia. Thank you, Jill (and Barbara), I’ll be thinking of you both everytime I wear it.

Earlier in December, LaVonne Stucky, who I know from the Tasha Tudor Yahoo group “Take Peace,” wrote on Facebook that she was making needle-felted angels. I asked her if she would make a couple for me, and a few days later they were in my mailbox! Upon opening the package, they immediately were hung from the fireplace mantle in my weaving studio where I can admire them each time I’m working there.

The last day of the Fall Northwoods Art Tour, Mary Nysted stopped by. She had seen in my brochure that I have Glimakra looms, and wanted to inquire if I was interested in purchasing a small Toika loom she had from her former weaving business, which she closed in 1992, the year I moved up here. Oh yes, I was interested. We arranged that she would bring it when she would be in the area at Christmas.

On Tuesday, Dec. 29th, the loom arrived. It’s a 27″ Toika “Laila,” has 6 shafts and 6 treadles, and is countermarche. Mary only used it a few times, and it’s been in storage for the past 17 years or so, which accounts for the “new” look of the wood.

Since the loom had been in her car for a few days (out in the icy cold), and was moved into a dry house with a woodburner, I’m giving it a few days for the wood to acclimate. I can, however, straighten out the string heddles, tighten wing nuts, and in another four days or so, use a wood hammer to tighten up the pegs for more stability. I can also plan a first project and warp for this loom.

I think it will be a wonderful loom for sampling and for smaller projects. It’s a nice addition to my weaving studio, and I just need to do a little rearranging tomorrow to make a place for it.

My other “Gift” this year was family, my children, all here at Christmas. This meant a lot to me as it may be the last time for awhile. Next year both daughters will be in college, and my son is talking about joining a branch of the military after graduation next June. They all mean so much to me, and are now growing up and going out into the world. I’m so proud of each of them, and the time is coming for them to make their own lives away from home. Letting go is difficult, but the goal was always for each of them to be independent, and to lead good lives.

But, I can’t look back too often, I must look forward and begin to create a new life for myself. What do I want, where do I want to live, what other responsibilities do I have, where do I want to go with my weaving? All questions to quietly ponder on this New Year’s Eve. Happy New Year, and may 2010 be all you hope it will be.

Studio Life of a Weaver, Spinner, Dyer