Rugs
I feel drawn to rugs and wool. There’s just something about it - the coziness and the colours that blaze through, with the natural gloss which the lanolin creates.
The weaver’s hands are like a ticking clock. Mechanical. Moving swiftly along the rows of knots. Whilst the hands and mind are busy creating a beautiful tapestry to last a lifetime.
The rhythm of the knots is meditative. Your fingers flowing across the material, almost like they can’t stop. I imagine it’s a similar feeling to playing the piano. There is something much more enchanting about a rug being handcrafted by human hands.
The aroma of real sheep’s wool takes you back to a place we all come from… middle earth!! It is a shame to see these weathered coats of sheer nature, the warmest, coziest and the hardiest, they are full of natural lacquer which is called (lanolin), being thrown in the bin.
To me the name ‘Rug’ is an understatement, it’s purpose and value far exceeding being a floor covering. A Rug is like a furry stained-glass window. It’s a tapestry, a soft mosaic, a miniature wild lawn of flowers. Sometimes I think they’re too holy, too pretty to be walked all over. They truly are a piece of artwork. A palette of rich texture… to be treasured.
I hope to leave a trace of pictorial history of our British land, plants, flowers, wildlife and objects.
Rugs deserve to be the centre of attention and our eyes deserve to see them. Placed in a living room in front of the fireplace, it makes a home, home.
As a society I believe we should leave the grey behind us and come out to a whole new Britain.
Leaving the clouds behind and out with the colour that comes glistening on our green grass & flowers after an English spot of rain. Britain is beautiful & optimistic.
I have always been drawn to the texture of rugs; I remember as a child going to IKEA (as it was close to Alder Hey Children's Hospital) and feeling all the rugs in the shop. Normally people go to IKEA for the meatballs, or furniture.
I started off with the craft Latch Hooking, the first one I made was a small cushion cover kit from Hobbycraft. After that I felt hooked, literally. I went on to buying a plain holed canvas and designing a pattern, then using the yarn which I have hand spun on my Spinning Wheel to go on to making a rug. Since then, I have completed a few Latch Hook Rugs.
In 2020 I then discovered the traditional way of making rugs, which involves using a Vertical Loom. I found this form of art on YouTube - very academic I know! I patiently learnt from there, utilizing photos on the web, which was often quite challenging to see and to understand the way they create the loom and rugs. As soon as I saw this craft online, I knew from that this was something I was determined to master.
I knew there was a long road ahead before I could make a rug to the standard I wanted. However, on the bright side, I was halfway there as I had spent six months learning Joinery from a very talented teacher. These Skills allowed me to to design and build my own Vertical Loom.
The other key step before beginning a rug is the designing – one of the most enjoyable steps. I do this with a plain square grid onto which I sketch the design and colour using watercolour. This is a very time-consuming process. Let alone all the other processes like dyeing the yarn, setting up the warp and weft strings on the. My favourite stages are the designing/colouring and weaving, both very satisfying!
