I started weaving this rug in February and it's finally finished and on the floor. It feels wonderful and thick underfoot. I love the Maori edge with darned ends for a rug finish. It's a little painstaking but makes a nice clean edge with no fringes. I'm already thinking of making variations on this design, using a smaller repeat and trying different colors. I may also try a slightly closer sett and a finer wool weft for a lighter/thinner rug.
Rugs
Weaving Rugs
I've been on a steep learning curve with rug weaving and have been making many samples -- using Peter Collingwood's book as guidance -- in order to get a handle on weft-faced rugs. Mostly I've been playing with twills and block weaves. I did plan and finish one rug, pictured below, which was to be used in an upstairs hallway. Alas, I discovered that the scale really changes from the design on paper to when the rug is on the floor, so I have found another spot for it. I dyed all of the wool using natural dyes. The brown comes from black walnuts that I found in our field last fall, the reds are cochineal and madder, and the yellows and greens marigold.
Here's another rug that I wove during a workshop at Peter's Valley Craft Center in New Jersey a couple of weeks ago. I have admired Connie Forneris' rugs forever, and I jumped at the opportunity to take a workshop with her. It was an intense 5 days of dyeing 5 lbs of wool in brutal heat, then setting up the looms and weaving. I learned so much that will be invaluable as I proceed on my rug-weaving journey.