First thing every morning I pour myself a really good cup of coffee. And before I pour that cup, I select a mug rug to put under my coffee mug. A handmade mug rug makes a good cup of coffee that much better. I like having a mug rug under my cup as I walk, to catch any drips. And then, the mug rug protects the table surface, as well. So, in the early morning, with hot coffee and mug rug in hand, I go sit in my favorite chair to read, think, and pray. And I sip my coffee, thankful for a new day.
Morning Coffee! I keep a selection of handmade mug rugs to choose from. My sister and I had a short phase of basket weaving in the 1980’s. This is a basket I made at that time.
I have made, acquired, and given away too many mug rugs to count. Here are a few favorites that I keep within daily reach.
Mug rugs such as these sometimes come in conference goody bags.When my grandmother crocheted these decorative potholders many years ago, I’m sure she never imagined that her granddaughter would put them to use as mug rugs.Blue, brown, and green M’s and O’s. Dark wool butterflies left from tapestry weaving, woven on the Emilia Rigid Heddle loom. Green stringyarn for a rosepath mini rug.From a recent page in my sketchbook. A portion of this sketch is the basis for my next tapestry cartoon.
May your handiwork show up as embellishments for daily living.
Knowing I would be away from my floor looms for a while, I put a narrow cottolin warp on my little Emilia rigid heddle loom to take with me. Mug rugs—perfect for travel weaving, to use bits of time here and there. I had some bulky wool yarn and a few rag rug fabric strips to take for weft. In a burst of hopeful inspiration, I grabbed a bag of Tuna/Fårö wool butterflies, leftover from my Lizard tapestry (see Quiet Friday: Lizard Tapestry) a couple years ago, and tossed it in my travel bag as we were going out the door.
Glimåkra Emilia 35cm (13.5″) rigid heddle loom. Narrow cottolin warp is from a previous warp-winding error that I had chained off and saved.Blue bulky wool yarn left from a long-ago project makes a good thick weft for mug rugs. Picks of navy blue tow linen are woven between picks of thick weft on some of the mug rugs.Wool butterflies for the weft are made of several strands of Tuna and Fårö yarn.
Those colorful wool butterflies turned out to be my favorite element! They not only gave me colors to play with, they also provided variety, the spice of weaving. The forgotten Lizard butterflies will now be remembered as useful and pretty textiles.
The end of the warp.Rag rug fabric strips are used for a few of the mug rugs. Rag rugs for mugs!Mug rugs are cut apart to prepare for hemming.Hems have been folded and pressed under. Choosing bobbin colors to sew the hems.Wool butterflies provided many different colors.Alternating two different colors of wool butterflies was my favorite way to play with color.Completed mug rugs, ready to be sent out as gifts.
How do you want to be remembered? Like my tapestry-specific butterflies put away on a shelf, our carefully-crafted words will soon be forgotten. Actions speak longer than words. Our deeds of faithful love will outlive us. Our actions that reveal the kindness of our Savior will stand the test of time. And that is a good way to be remembered.
Coffee or tea, anyone?
May you be remembered for your deeds of faithful love.
This is a rag rug playground! I am weaving miniature rugs—rosepath rag rug hot pads. My small countermarch loom is perfect for this exploration. Withouttabby or with tabby? Planned weft or hit and miss? Vibrant colors or soft neutrals? Weft inlay or plain and simple? So many possibilities! My “idea bank” is exploding.
Reverse treadling adds a diamond design element at both ends of this mini rug.
Color choices are inspired by views outside this Texas hill country window.
My goal is to weave as many different versions as possible. No two alike! Sure, they all have the same 12/9 cotton warp and all-cotton-fabric-strips weft, but with all sorts of variations. Most will be gifts. Handwoven hot pads, making it to the kitchens of friends, to serve them well.
White fabric strips are used as tabbyweft to highlight the blue rosepath pattern.
Deep purple fabric strip is used for weft rosepath inlay over a plain weave background. Woven hot pads wind their way around the cloth beam, separated by scrap weft and warping slats.
There is no one like you, with your hopes, dreams, and pains. You touch others like no one else can. Your life makes a difference. Your life matters because it matters to God. Your Creator had good things in mind when he formed you. Lord, place us where we will best show your handiwork, where we can humbly serve those you’ve given us to love.
Twenty-seven coffee mugs sitting in a row… on these new mug rugs! Wouldn’t that be a lovely sight?! Twenty-four of the mug rugs are identical. The last three, however, are different. I ran out of string yarn near the end of the warp, so I switched to fabric strips for the weft. There is just enough spacing between warp ends that some of the fabric print shows through. I love the results! These last three mug rugs are set apart. Brought about by a shortage of string yarn.
Fabric strip from a past rag rug project is used for the thick weft in this rep weave mug rug. The cotton fabric strip is 3/4″ wide.
Beautiful batik fabric with crimson and purple deepens the color of the red cottolin warpends.
Cutting Off! Six yards of mug rugs.
Finished with machine zigzag stitches and a short fringe. 25 mug rugs with black string yarn weft. 1 mug rug with fabric strip weft. (Not shown: 2 mug rugs from the set-apart pile that have already been dispersed as gifts.)
Realizing our personal shortages is the beginning of humility. It’s not easy to acknowledge shortcomings. But humility begins with honesty. And it’s the answer for those who want to find the path to God. It’s our honesty about our shortcomings that catches His attention. God hears a humble prayer. The God of the universe gives one-on-one attention to the person who comes to Him in humility. Amazing! We come to the end of our personal supply, and He supplies the needed weft that sets us apart.
May your humility make you different from the norm.
With you, Karen
~ATTENTION~ Towel Kits ~
Thank you for your fantastic response regarding the towel kits I am offering! Many of you have expressed an interest in knowing when the kits will be available for purchase.
A small number of towel kits are ready! The River Stripe Towel Set, Pre-Wound Warp and Instructional Kit, for $150 per kit,will be listed in the Warped for Good Etsy Shop tomorrow, Wednesday, March 29, 2017, around 10:00 am CT.
If you are not already on the Towel Kit notification list, and would like to be notified when the next batch of towel kits are ready, please send me a message HERE.
I don’t mind slow weaving. The progress that is measured in hours, not minutes, is satisfying. I don’t mind fast weaving, either. It’s a chance to be productive. These mug rugs fall in the fast-weaving category. I can whip up a few of these in an afternoon.
I hope to get 20 to 25 of these little mug rugs from this six-yard warp. I have to admit, it’s fun to weave something easy once in a while. Now, I can measure progress in minutes, instead of hours. We determine the value of things according to time and effort, don’t we? How long did it take, and how much effort? Some woven items are destined for elegance, and others are, simply, rugs under mugs.
Mug rugs begin to circle the cloth beam. Turquoise Cottolin weft thread alternates with black midi stringyarn. Block changes are made by weaving two thick picks in a row.
Grace doesn’t measure value that way. The Lord’s generous grace demonstrates true equality and fairness. His grace places equal value on people, not taking into account how “good” they are, or how much effort they extend to do “good” things. Grace is distributed equally. The Lord offers it to all, not because of who we are or what we have done, but because of who he is, and what he has done. That’s good news. The mug rugs may end up on an elegant table, after all.
May you receive and extend grace.
Happy weaving, Karen
PSPlattväv Towel Kit update: Still in progress! You will be the first to know when the kits are ready.
