My grandmother believed in wearing clothing until it wore out; and even then, she would darn thin areas inconspicuously, to make something last longer. So, it made perfect sense for her to turn scraps of dresses into quilts, and anything that was left could go to the lady across town who made rag rugs. Fortunately, I have a few of Grandma’s hand-sewn quilts, and two of those memory-filled rag rugs. As I weave new rag rugs, I think of the stories woven into her old rugs.
This old rag rug is made of clothing fabrics that are very similar to those in this quilt my grandmother hand-stitched.This old rug is right beside my big loom. I like to imagine that the green denim in this rug was my grandfather’s worn out overalls he wore on the farm.Close-up view shows the interesting pattern in the rug.Rag rug on the loom, with the distinctive Swedish rosepath motif right at the breast beam. (Click picture to enlarge)In contrast to the muted tones of my grandmother’s rugs, the new cotton fabrics I used in these rosepath rag rugs are colorful and bright.Double-faced rag rug. Flip the rug over for a different look. (Click picture to enlarge)Twill rag rug in the making.Sturdy rug, perfect for the entry hall. This is our “Welcome to our home” rug.The treadling pattern in this diamond twill rag rug took full concentration. I did a fair amount of “unweaving” and do-it-over’s with this rug. Perhaps someday a grandchild of mine will put this rug in a special place and wonder about the stories woven into it.
May you find something old and something new; ponder stories of the past and make new stories yourself.
Remember that cute little Glimåkra Ideal loom? The one we re-sized so I could use it as a workshop loom? You can read about it here. Well, it is time to take the show on the road, so to speak. Time to go meet Jason Collingwood in his basic rug weaving workshop.
Two new rugs, ready to be hemmed.
I wove like crazy to finish off another rag rug warp, yielding two more rag rugs. That gave me one more opportunity to practice taking everything apart (with a warp on the loom) and putting it back together again, before dressing the loom with the workshop warp. Done! And not a moment too soon. Whew!
Side pieces flat on the bottom; with beams, loom parts, and tools organized into bags. Ready to go!
We (truthfully, my husband) turned a 100 centimeter (39+”) Glimåkra Ideal loom into a 70 centimeter (27+”) loom by creating all new horizontal pieces. I can select either size loom–it is convertible! I plan to use the 70 centimeter loom for workshops, since I am able to break it down with a warp on it and and set it back up. Singlehandedly.Not kidding! Steve spent hours of measuring, cutting, creating, and fitting. All in a hot Houston garage. A lot of love went into this cute little loom.Here’s our story in pictures.
After months of searching for a second-hand 70cm Glimåkra Ideal, we found this 100cm one, right here in Houston, that was looking for a new home. So we took her in. Now, we just needed to figure out how to take her down in size. (Click picture to enlarge)Steve started with the most challenging part, the octagonal cloth and warp beams. One end is precisely shaped to fit into a round hole on the side of the loom; the other end also has the round shape, but then is squared to fit exactly into the turn handle, with a rectangular hole for the wedge that holds it in. Whew, he did it!After making all the beams, Steve said this horizontal countermarch mechanism was a piece of cake.New pieces for the 70cm loom being added: treadle beam at the back, foot beam at the front, and upper and lower lamms in the middle. No need to replace the treadles, seen on the floor in front of the old 100cm treadle beam.Last step before putting a warp on the cute little loom. With classical music in his ears, Steve is making 70cm slats to use for warping. The hat is to keep sawdust out of his hair. The fan is to keep him alive.Ready to weave! Besides being cute, this loom could well be the world’s first convertible loom. Two looms in one! Have you ever seen a loom that could convert to two different sizes? (Click picture to enlarge)For the first warp, I used a simple plain weave draft from “Simple Weaves” (Nya Vävar) by Björk and Ignell, p.22, just long enough for two small rag rugs. This first rug, Lime Green and Blue Stripe, is happy proof that everything works!One rug done, one to go. First rug is cut off, and warp ends are tied in overhand knots in front of the reed. Now I bundle up the reed and shafts with the warp beam, and completely disassemble the loom. Can I get it all back together in working order? By myself? (Click picture to enlarge)Loom is reassembled (took me 28 minutes, 30 seconds) and Red Flame rag rug is in the making. The cherrywood ski shuttle is another one of Steve’s lovely creations.Two simple rag rugs, a test for this old-new loom. This cutest loom ever passed the test with flying colors, and oh so much love!
May you enjoy a quiet day of love – some old, some new.
A simple solution for keeping the guide string out of the way when winding a warp: Eliminate the guide string! Okay, use a guide string, but not while measuring the warp. After I select the appropriate length guide string, I line it up on the warping reel. And then — this is the simple part — I place a little piece of blue tape (fold under one edge for easy removal) on the inside of each vertical post at the spot where the guide string passes. Remove the guide string and wind the warp, following the little blue tape markers! Simple.
New rag rug warp for little Glimakra Ideal loom. Little pieces of blue tape mark the winding path for the warp.
It is easy to complicate things. In my efforts to simplify, I occasionaly reach an impasse by trying too hard to get the perfect solution, and lose sight of the main thing.
Talking with our creator is one of the simplest things we can do. When we get caught up with trying to say the right words, we can make it so complicated that we totally miss having the conversation. Simply saying what is on your heart touches our creator. And I’m convinced he bends down to listen …just like a father.
