Braided rug class

At the Rag Rug class I attend (every other Tuesday at Upperby Institute, Carlisle) we had the pleasure of Gill Curwen, rug making extraordinaire, visiting.

She was showing us how to make Braided Rugs, or Plaited Rugs if you wish to sound less American.

This is her lovely sample...

We were using pieces of recycled fleece and blanket.  Gill taught us how to start off with a T-Bar, then plait (or braid) adding in 'corners' to make the rug turn while still laying flat.

I have to say, this was not my forte.  I blame my Mother for never letting my grow my hair long - I never learnt how to plait.

I can plait, or rather, I know the process of plaiting, but my tension is rubbish and I have loose bits.  I guess you could just say I am a baggy plaiter!

Twice I pulled my rubbish loose plait out, then I threw my toys out of the pram and sulked.  Maybe I will have another go sometime, or I might just leave it to my Mum, she seemed to do ok  :)

(sorry about the rubbishy photos, forgot to turn macro off!!)

Rag Rug Club

Today was the bi-weekly meeting of the Rag Rug Club I attend. It is held at Upperby Institute in Carlisle as part of the U3A (University Of The Third Age) and ran by a lovely lady called Judith Harrison who makes the most wonderful rugs, you can see her work HERE.  I don't get there very often nowadays due to work shifts, but when I have spare time I do like to go and catch up with everyone.

I am half way through two rugs at the moment, a proddy style fleece one with a traditional pattern,

and a latch hook one that I picked up from Hobbycraft.  (Haven't taken a photo of this one yet)

Only, today, I took my crocheting  :)

But let me show you some of the other members amazing work.

Gill Curwen at Rag Rug Club.

A couple of years ago I decided I would like to try rag-rug making, so I managed to track down a local group that met up once a fortnight.  This group is part of the U3A, (University of the 3rd Age), and is run by a lovely rug maker called Judith Harrison.

I have made 3 or 4 rugs to date now, you can find them on my Opus Moon Facebook page.  I always use the proddy method, having never ventured into any of the other techniques.

About a year ago I was teaching at Higham Hall, and I got talking to another tutor who was also there that weekend.  It was Gill Curwen from Bapple & JoJo.  Gill makes rugs for a living and had a degree in rug making.  We kept in touch via Facebook and I asked her if she would come to our class to give a little talk and show off her work.

She very kindly agreed, and today was that day.

Walking into the room I was met by the most colourful array of gorgeous rugs.  I took a few photos, but I only had my phone with me so they are not the best quality pics.

I am jam packed full of new ideas and inspiration now, can't wait to start and put some of those ideas into action.

You can find more of Gill's work on her Facebook Page.