What, a Crepe?

When Seattle’s Nordic Heritage Museum packed up the old place and moved into their shiny new building they unloaded old, non-museum-quality stuff. You know how it is during a move. They offered several boxes of cut/torn rolled rags to my weaver’s guild. Two of the boxes found their way to me.

Toothbrush rug from narrower rag strips

Enter the toothbrush (rug). Well, I don’t actually use a toothbrush since the old style is virtually extinct although one at last has been found and properly carved into a point. But that is beside the point. The name has very little to do with the technique being the name of the old homemade tool used to make these rugs.

Toothbrush rug, detail

Normally toothbrush rug technique calls for rags strips 1½ to 2 inches wide. The rags I’d been given were only 1 to ¾ inches wide. But they were worth a try.

Here is the result: a finer rug than the usual. It looks good and works well in our Powder Room. If it holds up I will switch to narrower rag strips in future toothbrush projects.

A study group I attend is studying Crepe Weaves. Having very slim experience with this structure I began thinking it would be a quick study. Did I ever have a lot to learn. It isn’t!

First attempt at weaving crepe

Putting together a threading from one source and a tie-up from another that seemed like a winning combination. Choosing two similar shades of green 10/2 perle cotton I chose a sett of 30 e.p.i. and dressed my loom. The result produced the required overall pebbled crepe effect. But the cloth seemed heavy and did not satisfy me. It’s time to think again and head back to the drawing board.

May the learning continue.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

(P.S. What a difference a comma makes!)

Departures

Departure #1: A new technique

Each year my guild hosts a summer meeting. Topics vary but it is always a chance to gather with friends and learn something new, perhaps a bit tangential to weaving. At last summer’s program I learned Locker Hooking, an easy and satisfying technique in which fabric loops are pulled up through a canvas and locked into place by way of a cord running through the loops. After the program I was inspired to hook a larger piece.

When I finally managed to find a large piece of canvas I eagerly began hooking a piano-key border in black and blue strips cut from tee shirts. The single knit fabric makes a nice cushy structure and I was pleased. But once the border was in place I could not decide how to proceed with the center/main design area of the rug. I wanted to hook detailed images but was afraid because this was my first stab at Locker Hooking a big project on my own.

Locker Hooked Pond Rug

Please permit here a slight departure. Over the past summer my husband and I have been working to redesign our back yard. We increased the size of our little Goldfish Pond from 150 gallons to 300 gallons. It is only a stock tank sunk into the ground but we like it. With twice the space our fish are flourishing and we have employed new technologies for fighting algae. In the past Raccoons and Great Blue Herons have decimated our fish population but we decided not to add a protective cover mesh on the new pond. Instead we built a camouflaged hidey cave on the pond floor. Five months later the water is still clear, our fish are survivors and we can see and enjoy them better. Knock on wood!

Chart on page 141 inspired
my Pond Rug design

Anyway, ponds and fish had been on my mind when I finally came back around to Locker Hooking. Searching for inspiration I scoured my library for charted needlework designs. In “The Filet Crochet Book” by Chris Rankin I found a design of fish and flowers breaking through borders. Adjusting the figures to fit my canvas, I added the water lily leaves and bud and then filled the background to look like water. There was a bright orange tee shirt in my rag stash – perfect for either Goldfish or Koi. It all came together nicely and I spent many hours over Christmas and into January happily hooking.

Departure #2: Time Away

The entire second half of January I was away from home. Somewhere in my travels I caught this year’s dreadful cold/flu. Four weeks later I am still coughing and wheezing but feeling grateful to be improving every day. I finished my pond rug the night before I left on the trip but haven’t had time or energy to post about it until now.

Return: Home Again and Back to Weaving

The Pond Rug works well in front of our refrigerator where it catches errant ice cubes from the (ridiculous and messy) in-door dispenser. It makes me smile every time I step in the pond!

While I was away my husband bought me another package of the hard-to-find hooking canvas. Further pond ideas are dancing in my head. Maybe they are “swimming” in my head? But those will have to percolate in my mind for a bit because these days I am back at my loom and Waffle Weaving away. It is all fun!

May you stay well.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Beginning and Improving

Rep Rugs
One of these is destined for a wedding gift

"We've Only Just Begun", sung by Karen Carpenter is playing in my head.

Here is my latest warp of rep rugs. Their sizes were dependent upon my supply of certain types of rags. The smallest one is with teal colored wide wale corduroy of which I had a limited amount. The beauty of that teal with this warp just sings. The happy combination more than compensates for the rug's small size. One of the longer rugs is destined for our dear friends' son and his bride.

As of today, the young couple has been married exactly two months. This gift rug will be in the mail to them far before the honeymoon glow has dimmed. For some couples that glow remains steady through decades and decades. That is our wish for Alec and Sarah. The rug should serve them well for at least the first couple of those decades.

These rugs are woven in Rep Weave using 8/4 cotton carpet warp sett at 24 e.p.i. The rags in two rugs are mostly old bed sheets. The other two have wide wale corduroy as the thick weft.

My experiment with floating selvedges in Rep Weave continues. Even though weaving with them is slightly slower, the method agrees with me. An extra opportunity for a splash of color adds to their appeal. Floaters greatly improve the selvedge edge on hems. This particular adventure will continue. Who knows the twists and turns to occur in subsequent chapters?

A floating selvedge in a contrasting color adds punch

The fuchsia-colored floater enhances these rugs

Life is a journey. Weaving can also be seen as a journey. In the studio and at the loom many discoveries are possible. Some things remain the same. But who is to say a new thought, new experience, new venture isn’t just around the corner? Even weaving an oft-repeated draft can spark a revelation or two.

Rep Rugs showing both sides. These rugs are reversible.

Time passes and every living thing ages. It is said that some things improve over time. Wine comes first to mind. Rugs age, may they do so gracefully. Marriages can mellow and bloom. I pray this is the case for Alec and Sarah. May it also be the case for their rug, a small token of our best hopes and wishes for a long and happy life together.

Warp On/Weave Off,
RepWeaver

Toothbrush Rugs

Toothbrush Rugs

Have you ever heard of "Toothbrush Rugs"? They were named before the advent of the modern toothbrush. Back in the day, a toothbrush handle was straight, simple and had a hole at the end. I guess it was the thing to hang your toothbrush for storage. Anyway these old brushes can be fashioned into a tool to make rag rugs. First the brush part is cut off. The remaining handle is shaped into a point at the non-hole end. The resulting needle is threaded with rag strips to sew them into thick and sturdy rugs.

Here are second and third toothbrush rugs I have made. Since I didn't have an ancient toothbrush I simply used a very large tapestry needle. It worked just fine. This is a great way for me to use up odd lots of rag strips left over from my Rep woven rugs.

These rugs are generally round or oval shaped. It has been a bit of a challenge trying to make them rectangular. But I am getting better with practice.

The one at top lives next to our shower door where it makes a perfect step out rug. The one at bottom now lives with a family member living in the deep South. Her kitchen floor is stained concrete. Since any latex product causes damage to such a floor, it's a challenge to find a rug that doesn't need a grippy non-slip pad underneath. Since this rug is heavy and a bit stiff, I hear it stays in place on the slippery concrete floor.

These rugs are hard-wearing and machine washer and dryer friendly. They are especially useful in homes with children and/or pets.

Allison's Rug

Allison's Rug by RepWeaver

Here are the finished rugs from my latest rug warp. There are three in total and each is around 25" x 52". After a long struggle with the colors, I am beginning to like this combination.

The area woven with the darkest green (Forest) may look familiar. I saw it in Väv Magazine, No. 4, 2013, on page 37. This issue is devoted to the topic "Stripes" and is filled with great ideas and inspirations and is bound to be a favorite.

Three Rep Rugs by RepWeaver

Just to either side of center there is an area of dark grey/duck patterning that doesn't stand out. There isn't enough contrast. It would have been better with the light grey rather than the dark. But I didn't have enough of the light grey. Ah, well. Otherwise I think the design works. This design is one I plan to eventually weave again only next time I will chose different color way.

Rep Rug by RepWeaver, detail

Rep Rug by RepWeaver, detail

New Entry Rug

It must be at least 13 years ago that I first wove a Rep rug for our home's front entry. Since then the rug has been through it all, including teenagers and pets. The design was adapted from Laila Lundell's book, "Rep Weaves". The rug is still in rather good shape except for the permanent dirty look along certain pathways. Here you see old faithful in the background.

New Rep Rug on the floor near the old Rep Rug.

Recently we moved my mother into a retirement home and I wound up with several sets of light blue bed sheets. These were the perfect rags for my new rugs. They will remind me that the struggles my family and I have been experiencing over the past couple of years are over. We have been caring for my father who suffered from dementia. For the past year neither he nor my mother could drive and I was often called upon to chauffeur. It was difficult but my precious mother took loving care of Dad at home until the final two weeks of his life. He is now at peace in heaven and she can finally rest.

I wouldn't be telling you all of this except that since January my loom has been naked. Naked! It has not been idle for this long since it came to me back in 1989. All the work and angst dealing with a dementia patient took a huge toll on me. I just didn't have the heart or energy to do anything creative during the last few months.

After such a long break, getting back into weaving was sort of intimidating. I fussed around in my studio for some time before plucking up the courage to dive in again. Dive in I did and managed to design the widest rug I have ever woven. The profile draft is #203 from "The Shuttle-Craft Book of American Hand-Weaving" by Mary Meigs Atwater, a book chock full of great ideas. I could weave for a lifetime out of this one little book. It holds just the kind of inspiration I love.

That old rug was a work horse and was so beautiful I wanted to replace it with a similar one. My goals for the new one included:

• Using darker colors in order to better hide traffic dirt
• Using a busier block design to help hide traffic patterns
• Maintaining the yellow/blue pallet
• Adding a touch of red
• Weaving a slightly wider/longer rug

It turned out well. I cut this first rug off my loom to check the design before going all-out and weaving the longer replacement rug. For the longer rug I chose a slightly different block arrangement. That one still needs hemming but I'll post a photo once it is finished and in place.

Dot was kind enough to help me weave the new Rep Rug.

This, by the way, is the type of help I get around here. Jenny and Dot appreciate every stage of the weaving process. Can you see how I put socks over unused treadles? When setting up I simply leave unneeded treadles tied up as they had been previously. Binding them together in pairs with a sock helps keep me from mistreadling while weaving. I'm always looking for ways to speed up my weaving and keep myself from having to look down at the treadles. Socks work for me.

It is wonderful to be weaving again. Until I returned to my loom it didn't occur to me how much I missed weaving. There are a couple of things more to post including my super-secret jeans pocket project. Watch for them.

Weave on. Weave Off!

Third Rug for Joan

Life has been happening all around me, mostly without my control. Weaving, tatting, etc. have lately taken a back seat to caring for ailing family members.

In between everything, I finally managed to weave the third rug requested by my friend Joan. Taking on a project by request can be intimidating. There is an understandable disconnect between the vision of a non-weaver and that of the weaver. Another issue is color choices and personal taste. Joan's palette is decidedly different from my own and weaving her colors was challenging. Isn't it true that the more pleasing the result, the easier it is to do the work? It is, at least for me. All in all, this rug was a long time in coming. In the end, Joan loves her new rug and it looks fabulous in her home. I am happy.




 Joan, by the way, has an awesome color sense and picks the most fabulous print fabric for the rag filler. Those bright spots really pop.

My little Inkle loom finally arrived. I have the new Inkle book by Anne Dixon. Four bands are woven and the fifth one is on the loom. This is loads of fun. I have a goal in mind, something under development. Details to follow.

Now that my loom is empty and I am free to weave as I please, I think I'll warp up some towels for my guild sale.

Joan's third rug.