Wandering Vine Table Runner

I did it!!! I wove an overshot table runner!!

I wish I would have made it a little longer, but I still love it. This was a huge learning experience for me. I had only made two rugs on my loom but decided it was time to try something new. I am so lucky to have a great teacher, Jo Anne Setzer, in Laurel Montana. She helped me get started on this project at home. (I'm making a sampler at her studio) My dilemma now is whether I should tie some more yarn on to the yarn already dressed to make a longer runner in a different color, or make tea towels. Or maybe another rug or two.

Now I understand why weavers own more than one loom. I wish I could have overshot dressed on one loom, and rug warp on the other. Unfortunately, I don't have the room for such a luxury. It isn't like sewing machines. I own several different machines, and love them all for different reasons, but they are much easier to store than a loom would be. I would have to make an addition on to my house for another loom and that will never happen. Heck, I already have the entire basement for my studio. So, I am thankful for the loom I have, and will just have to learn to make one project at a time.
But which one?

Coffee Tea or Bee? Mug Rug Patterns

Woolin Rouge is proud to announce our NEW Mug Rug Series, Coffee Tea or Bee!!

Each Mug Rug is 10 1/2"x6 1/2" when finished. Ours are made of wool of course. The patterns are available on our Woolin Rouge Website. Wool Kits will follow this week.

All the stitches used in the Coffee, Tea, or Bee? series is printed on the back of each cover for an easy reference guide.  

I can't tell you how fun it is to have a different rug mug for each of my guests! They make great gifts and go together quickly and easily.

For the thread I use Aurifil Lana Wool Thread. It makes sewing these little gems a breeze! I love the quality of Aurifil so it's an easy choice for me.

These patterns are also available on my Etsy Shop, Sylvia Gauthier Wool.

I just know you will love making these adorable Mug Rugs!

 

American Made Blog Tour Has Begun

The designers of the license plate blocks have started and we are now three days into the American Made Blog Tour by Clothworks Fabric.  We are celebrating the beautiful cottons created by Clothworks and the amazing part is that this fabric is AMERICAN MADE!!! That's right, it's made right here is the Good Ol' USA. If some of you don't already know, most of our quilting fabric is produced outside of the US. Clothworks changed that.

These solids are not only stunningly beautiful, they have a wonderful feel to them. If you are one of those people, like me, who wants ALL of these amazing colors, go to the Clothworks blog,  http://americanmadebrand.com/blogtour/ On each states day, check out their blog and make a comment to try to win a pack of one of every color of American Made Brand fabric.

American Made Brand Blog Tour Excitement

Just another reminder to check back here on Monday May19th when we depart on the AMB Blog Tour!  As we travel to all 50 states in this ‘virtual road trip’, we’ll be featuring 2 incredibly creative bloggers each day on our tour.  Each blogger is a representative of one of the 50 states and has been given the challenge of re-imagining a state license plate as a quilt block using Clothworks newest line of cotton solid fabrics- American Made Brand solids!   I was chosen to represent the State of Wyoming! This might even be more fun than playing the license plate road trip game, as you’ll have the chance to collect each ‘license plate’ block to make into a quilt! Now what a fun souvenir that is!!
But the fun doesn’t stop there!!  During the AMB blog tour, there will be chances to win giveaways of some gorgeous American Made Brand solid fabrics!
Wyoming is the 44th State and the Wyoming pattern will be downloadable on our Woolin Rouge Blog as well as our Woolin Rouge Website

Save the date and forget packing the bags!  Sit back, relax, grab a cup of tea and sit yourself in front of your computer as we hit the road on the AMB blog tour- May 19th through June 20th.

American Made Brand, Quilting Across America

I am so proud to announce that Woolin Rouge was chosen to represent Wyoming in Clothworks American Made Brand, Quilting Across America! (there are three separate links)

As most of you know, most of the fabric we quilters use is not produced in America. The fabric company Clothworks now has a brand of solids made right here in the USA called American Made Brand. 

To help promote traveling in America as well as buying American made fabric, Clothworks has solicited the help of 50 designers from each state in the USA to design a license plate size quilt block representing their state which they will have available.  We will have a blog tour of each of the states, two states at a time starting May 19th. The tour will have each states designer's blog in the order they became a state.
I will fill you in as it progresses.

We will also be having give-a-ways on each blog for a chance to win some of the American Made Brand solids. The colors are amazing and such a nice hand.

Stay tuned for more of our Quilting Across America progress.

Weaving a Rug

I need to add "weaver" to my blog title. I have officially woven my very first rag rug on my new Norwood loom.
It was a learning piece, and did I ever learn a lot! For instance, I need to start doing some core body exercises to build my back muscles! Just dressing the loom killed my back. It is a large loom compared to the one I use for my lessons, (I've had two lessons) and everything is a reach. I now understand why I've read that weavers make the warp for more than one thing at a time a lot. It took one day to measure the warp, two days for my back to make it through dressing the loom, and a little over half a day to weave the rug. I am still trying to figure out how to finish it off. Then I will wash it.

Directions on the Internet for finishing a rag rug are not as available as weaving instructions, but I am pretty sure I know what I want to do and if it isn't right, it's OK, because it's my rug and such a great learning project. For instance. I learned I don't know how to adjust the tension, I don't think I dressed the back part of the loom right. I had a lot of skipped places where the thread didn't separate in the dent that I used double thread on, and I think that had a lot to do with the problem I had at the back of the loom.
The rug is a lot thinner than I would like but I used rag balls I had from locker hooking projects that never got done. I have enough balls of fabric for at least one more rug, and I have a bunch of batiks I cut and rolled into balls for a darker version.
As far as a first rug, and the lessons I learned, I think I did pretty good. At least it looks good from 5 to 6 feet away.

New Adventure, Weaving

At our monthly hook-in of the Wild West Rug Hookers, two hookers Craig and Barb were telling us that they were learning to weave. They are taking a class once a week in Laurel, MT. Well, since weaving is something I've always been interested in, my ears really perked up! Especially when I found out it was only $10 a class. So I instantly started researching looms, what the difference was in different looms and found out they are expensive. I knew I wanted a 4 harness, 6 treadle loom with a 40" weaving width. I couldn't get one too big because I wouldn't have a place to put it, and I didn't want one too small because I wouldn't be able to weave rugs or shawls. With a lot of computer time looking for the perfect loom, I found it.

This isn't the one I got, but it is exactly like it and comes with the warping board, bench with storage, and all the accessories. It was a great price. The only problem is that it is Ft Collins, Colorado, which isn't really a problem because my daughter and her husband are picking it up for me in two weeks when they go visit family in Torrington, only a couple hours away from Ft Collins. So by this time next week I will be setting a loom up in my studio, commonly known as the basement.

I took my first class Thursday. I was so nervous about the class. With weaving, like any other craft, there is a whole new language to learn. I downloaded weaving terms and diagrams so I had an idea of what I was about to learn. I'm so glad I did. There is so much to learn, especially how to dress the loom. Basically, my first lesson consisted of measuring out the yarn, slaying the reed, and figuring out which heddle to thread the yarn through. I didn't finish dressing the loom before it was time to go so my teacher Jo Anne is going to finish it so I can start weaving next Thursday.

The building that our teacher Jo Anne had built for teaching is shaped like a barn with full windows on the front and back of the building. There are two floors completely filled with looms. Some are for sale and some are owned by women who come there to weave.

For my first project I will be making a sampler with 62 different weaves using the same threading. Barb is doing the same one. She is further along of course. A hand tag will hang on the side of each design showing how it was made so I will have a reference that I can quickly look at if I want to make something like say a tea towel or scarf.

I have a feeling I will be collecting all sorts of fabulous yarns now. Just what I need. More stuff.