Harvesting a Bumper Crop of Rugs from my looms...

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I just took a bumper crop of rugs off my looms in my studio. 

It was a "Harvest of Rugs"   

(please note, this is not an ad to sell these rugs, 

they are already spoken for by a gal named Jean in Lodi, WI) 

I thought I would share with you some of the work I do in my weaving studio, located in my home.  I have four large rug looms, a 60" wide blanket loom and a variety of other smaller table looms, spinning wheels and antique circular sockknitting machines.  It's a real Fiber Fest around here, I tell ya!

As for the rugs, the process of unrolling 3 or 4 or 5 rugs at a time from a loom is a heart-quickening event for me.  Seeing them for the first time in their entirety, flat out the way I envisioned them as I wove.

When weaving a rug, the weaver really only sees about a foot worth at a time as you weave it.  Each time the warp is advanced to get more space to weave on, the finished rug is rolled down and underneath, unseen until the run is completed and cut free.  It is the final step to a lot preparatory work.

  (see the side view photo of a loom below -  the warp string comes off the back of the loom and passes through the harnesses and reed where it is woven, then the rug curls down and around a beam to make a roll of finished rugs) 

BACK OF LOOM                                                            FRONT OF LOOM

Here are some closeups of the rugs in the group photo above, 

and I will explain how each one is made.

This first rug is woven in a twill pattern for the threading... and I just place in fabric in random stripes. 

The special twill threading pre-deigned on the loom makes the diagonal patterns. 

The striping is random and is sometimes called "Hit N Miss" fashion.  

For perspective, the rug is about 6' long and 30" wide.

The next set of rugs are made from flannel sheets-- a set of blue ones and a set of green ones.  There was enough fabric to make 2 rugs of each color.  The flannel weaves up nicely and makes a thick rug.  For the stripes, I used a thin strip of burgundy white and tan fringey selvage.  More about fringey selvages with the next rug down the list.   And Allegra gave these rugs her "Butt Stamp of Approval"!

Now WHAT is Fringey Selvage you might ask?  Well, it's simply recycling at it's finest!  Factories make huge rolls of fabric, and the selvage edge is sometimes nothing more than a long rope of fringey stringy ends that they cut off the ends of the rolls before shipping to fabric retail stores.  The factories normally dispose of this stringy rope into the landfills.   

Some innovative weavers came across it and said: "Hey, let's see if we can weave a rug outta this!"   It is now commonly purchased in large bales from these places and snatched up by the creative rug weavers to have a new life as a rug, instead of rotting away in a landfill.   Jean in Lodi had purchased a batch of this fringy selvage- enough to weave this rug.   Every other row is selvage and every other row a narrow strip of cotton sheeting to add body and oomph to the rug.   Kinda a retro 60's shag look, huh?

Next rug up on the list is probably Norwegian, Scandinavian or some other Slavic county in origin of the design, I am not sure.  I call it an "Arrow Rug".   The borders are accented with carefully twisted sections of contrasting rags to create the arrow designs.   I have done a few of these now, and they are striking. 

The two contrasting fabrics in the arrow rows have to be only half of the thickness of the regular rows so the rug is even.  I pre-twist them ahead of time and insert them in the loom to line up the arrow points.

I really like this next rug,  it's from light yellow, blue polka dot, and turquoise cotton fabrics in a pattern.

This is a longer runner too.  I sometimes weave till I run out of that specific fabric.  Repeating the colors in a harmonious pattern.  The colorway reminds me of a summer beach seaside cottage.

(also approved by my photography assistant, Allegra) 

I like weaving rag rugs with cotton fabrics.  These next two long runners have some random placements of prints from floral bed sheets.  Again, recycling the fabrics is much better than setting in a landfill. 

Here is the whole stack of rugs ready to be shipped off to their new owner....  

This represents many hours work.   

From carefully warping up the looms  (putting on 350-450 strands 100 yards long of string, winding evenly under tension with no snarls).   Then time is spent cutting up the fabric rags, planning out the rugs, calculating the amounts of each color and ratio of what is needed to make a pleasing rug.  Finally, winding up the shuttles and weaving in the header or hem yarns.  THEN you finally get around to the actual weaving, which can take from 2-4 hours per rug on average. 

Now, this next tidbit is what I do with a short section of rags, too small of an amount to weave into a rug. 

I weave a tote bag, and braid the handles right on the loom as I weave the bag.  

They are a secure part of the bag and not just a sewn on strap.  

Next I sew the side seams and add a button once it is off the loom. 

I use this one for my laptop case!

Here are a set of rugs that I made using a whole different technique called "Clasped Wefts".   It makes a wonderful patchwork design... by starting one color of rag from one side of the loom, and the other color of rag from the other side, then I "clasp" the rags around each other and send them back to their respective sides of the loom again.   Each time I change the color, I clasp in a new section of the rug... creating blocks or patches!   (p.s. these two rugs ARE for sale) 

Now on to another technique that I am just beginning to work with.  

These last two rugs are just pure fun!  I have one done and just started another.  

Again, this is the fine art of recycling and keeping things out of the landfills.  A colorful sock knitting company takes all the irregular and mistake socks and slices them up the length of the sock and trashes them!   A weaving friend in New York, by the name of Hilary, has been able to procure them to weave into rugs.   Once woven into the rug in various spots, we have dubbed them "Caterpillar Rugs"!  Aren't they just the most interesting rugs?     Hilary's shop is :   http://www.crazyasaloom.com/

She sent some to try. I gave them the name of Hilary's Hilarious Caterpillar Rugs!~ 

I think I will tie colored fringes on these instead of a sewn hem like my other rugs.  They sure are fun!  

These will be for sale once I complete them. Available in my Etsy shop:

http://kareninthewoods.etsy.com/

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A Dreary Tuesday is Brightened up in My Loom Room

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Ohh it's raining all day... and dark and grey.... 

But I found some sunshine on my looms! 

Bright sunshine yellow, cobalt blue, sky blue and white....  

it just brings the summer sunshine right into my studio! 

This rug is fininshed ... so the pic is taken from under the loom!   It's a white background with bits of burgundy printed floral pattern...  on a striped warp of burgundy/black/white and hunter green.  It's a long runner.

Here are a pair of rugs with some thick blue flannel and some fringey selvage from factory waste leftover in upholstery fabric making.  Recycling!   It sure adds interest and texture to the rug.  

Yesterday I worked on this rug and finished it up.... random rows of blue/burgundy/deep plum and cream

Here is a closeup shot of the rug above, because it kinda plays tricks on the camera 

from being diagonal rows of bumps (called a "twill")

These rugs are all spoken for already, so are not for sale but I can do custom orders...  email me at pfundt@gmail.com    Also I do sell some rugs at my Etsy store  
HTTP://KARENINTHEWOODS.ETSY.COM/

Sweet little Chelsea was napping a lot today so I got some weaving done, 

and when she is awake, we have a portable crib set up in my studio.  

I bang away on the looms while I sing her songs....   "Old McDonald" being the favorite.   

So we go through a whole litany of animals, and she is sooo happy.   

Wonder if she will grow up to be a Weaver?   Or a Farmer? 

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A peek into my world... my Loom Room Studio

Some folks on the RV chat last night were asking about my fiber tools ...

so I said I would make a little virtural tour of my studio in my home,

and the fiber toys I take along in the motorhome.

 

Yes, I am a confessed Fiberholic, I cannot avoid the urge to touch, create and collect fibers!    I am a helpless case, and there is no 12 step program that can help me. 

Looms find me, and call to me to take them home and make them work again.  Right now I have five big looms set up in the lower level walk-out of our home, overlooking the river.  I have a a few table looms here and there, that can go along traveling!  -- they like that --
(I will not show you the extra closets and storage rooms packed full of fibers, fabric, and unspun wool!) 

I work on rugs, blankets, throws, towels and tote bags on my looms.

I keep a constant supply of incoming fabrics, and then out going products are sold on my Etsy site:
http://kareninthewoods.etsy.com/

I like to position my looms facing out over the river, so I can look through both double wide patio doors over the woods...

Daydreaming adds to the Creative Process, dontcha know?

The non-camping winters are made bearable by this kind of view out the patio doors!

(although the caption says *this morning*
the photo was taken last year
amid winter doldrums)

I keep my laptop handy nearby when weaving, so when I take a break, I can check on emails or see what is up in my RVing world of buddies!

My aircard gets a weaker signal down there, so sometimes I am unhooked and don't even know it.  ARGGGHHHH

The fiber products roll off my looms into lovely rugs, mats, runners, totes etc.  and I am lost in the creative process.

My health does not always let me work at my looms as much as I want to, but I get done what I can, when I can.



When I am not down in the loom room working on stuff, you can usually find me upstairs, sitting by the fireplace in my chair.

I am either knitting on the antique sockknitting machine, spinning wool on one of my spinning wheels. beading a few bracelets, or knitting up something on regular knitting needles. 




Now.. of course I mentioned that I take along my fiber toys when we go traveling in the motorhome! 

The spinning wheel sets neatly into the closet, surrounded by my clothing to keep it from tipping over or getting bumped.  I take it right out by the campfire and relax to its mind-mesmerizing whirls.... 

I spin up sheep and lamb wool, llama, and alpaca .. sometimes dog fur, into luscious yarns to knit with later.

Some of my yarns are soooo pretty that I have entered them in spinning contests and won some ribbons....

I enjoy the soothing spinning process and it's something I can do without straining myself or my health.

This is my 8 harness table loom that I take along . It detaches from the little coffee table Steveio made, and store either in the basement compartment, or I fold in the front and rear beams and it sets right in aisle. Often I take it outside under the awning and weave in the lovely morning with green trees, blue skies, soft breezes and the steady whump whump whump of the shuttle and the beater....  ahhh Heaven!

Now, for the sockknitting machine!  (saved the best for last!)  This unique device is called a Circular Sockknitting Machine.  It is clamped to a table or a bench, turn the crank and out come socks!

Well, it's not THAT easy, these machines are finicky, futzy, putzy and frustrating!  You need a lot of patience, a good eye, and various kindis and types of wool.

Some days these machines work, and other days they jam up --- there is no end to the frustrations!


Mine was made in 1904 in Clearfield, PA by a guy named Gearhart.  It has served me well, and I have a few others too.  1894 being my oldest, and 1925 being my newest.
The process of making a sock can be complicated, but usually takes me about an hour to make a pair of socks.  It will also make mittens and scarves too. 
I cannot just sit and watch tv, my hands need to be BUSY... so this helps my creative juices flow, plus creates something that you rarely find anymore, real wool socks!!

I pack my sock machine along in a tool box, and clamp it to a folding stool when going camping.  It's portable enough to take along, and garners a LOT of attention when cranking in a campground.
Folks wander into our campsite to see whatever fiber tool I am working on, and many times they purchase items from me that I keep on hand nearby.  If I make $20 or $40 from a private sale, it helps towards our camping budget!   Otherwise they take my card or brochure and get to see the bulkier items like rugs and blankets on my Etsy site store.
Who doesn't need some cozy warm wool socks for camping or a new rug to toss in the kitchen of their camper???

Soooo that is a tour of my fiberholic toys and what I do with them.....

I hope you enjoyed this look into my studio and the stuff I like to create. 

Yes, I am a Loom-atic....

(a label coined by my sister many years ago when I started collecting looms)

Now she has 2 looms too, as do a few of my friends.

Be careful, verrryyy careful! 

This disease might spread....

to YOU!