Sunday, August 09, 2015

Slow Sunday Stitching - Rag Rugs

Yesterday my friend Louise and I were at the Fergus Scottish Festival teaching people about making rag rugs. It was a great day! Here are some of the highlights:


**Albannach - what a great Scottish band, and the bass rhythm drummer Jacquie (on the right) is unbelievable! You can listen to their music here.


**Raymond - he is the maker of my new needles! I had been using the plastic toothbrush needle (from Aunt Philly's) but my friend Louise has this very creative neighbour Raymond who made us each a wooden needle and a bone needle. 



This is what the needles look like when threaded with a strip of fabric.  The bottom needle is Aunt Philly's, the yellow one Louise made from a plastic toothbrush, the white one is bone, and the brown one is wood.
These needles are amazing and are like stitching through butter.  My new favourite is the bone, and Louise prefers the wooden needle.






**Steel City Rovers - another great band, and these folks are from Hamilton. To hear them, click here or come over to the festival right now!




**Students - we had great interest in learning how to make rag rugs. Most people couldn't resist touching the rugs we had on display. And we heard wonderful stories about rug makers from days gone by, who used all kind of different materials including ties, saris, bottom cuts on trousers, nylon stockings, and binder twine. 

**Handwork all day long - This photo is of Louise helping to me start another rug. The beginning is the hardest part of this whole process, and between the two of us, we can usually figure it out with a minimum of swearing.


**Quilting - I snuck over to visit with the quilters and couldn't resist putting in a few stitches while I was there.

Uh oh... busted!
Get back to the rug making table!








The things to watch out for:



**this guy, who usually carries a large hatchet and is scary looking!



and





**these guys, who shoot their old (LOUD) guns right beside the heritage tent, and scare the living daylights out of people who have sharp objects in their hands!


Today is day 2 of rug making at Fergus Scottish Festival, but Louise can't come today, so if you're in the area stop by and keep me company, and make some rag rugs.

Those of you who can't come to the festival, link up your blog post below and share what you are hand stitching at your place.




27 comments:

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

Wish I was there! :)

Carla A Few Of My Favorite Things said...

Looks like fun! Thanks for sharing and love seeing the needles you use. How lucky that you found someone who makes them.

Kathy ... aka Nana said...

Looks like you all had fun. So fascinating to see the different kinds of needles used ... I didn't expect them to be so big. I learned something new.

margaret said...

looks like a real fun day

CathieJ said...

I have always wanted to make rag rugs. Sigh....another thing to add to the list. That festival looks like a whole lot of fun.

Deb A said...

That looks like so much fun! Wish I was closer.

Kaja said...

This looks like a great way to spend a couple of days! And reminds me about rug making, which I haven't done for years.

The Cozy Quilter said...

I just knew you would find the hand quilting area! Nice rugs! Have fun today!

Cathy said...

Looks like a fun festival. Funny how you just had to sneak over to the hand quilting tent.
My great grandmother made beautiful braided rugs from scraps and I crocheted a few from scraps back in the 70s.

swooze said...

And how do we get Raymond to make us a needle?

Kate said...

Looks like lots of fun. Thank you for the music links. We are always looking for new Celtic music.

Karen in Breezy Point said...

Looks like a very fun day!!

Karen said...

I no longer have the booklet or Aunt Philly tool. I could never master the art of starting the rug. Maybe once out of a couple dozen tries.

Juliann in WA said...

This is our first year missing the local Highland games. So fun!

Debra said...

Thanks for the visit to the festival. Being Scottish/Irish I would have loved to have been there! Great job on the rugs.. look like great needles. The right tool is so important.

Jill said...

Kathy, this looks like so much fun! I'd love to come visit with you, but I'm over 9 hours away, so I don't think I can zip over there today:)

Rebecca in AK said...

It looks like you are having lots of fun! I am glad you got a little quilting time in.

Lyndsey said...

That looks a fun event. I wish I'd been there.

Angie said...

Wish I could've visited you at the Festival - it looks like fun!

Jennie in GA said...

Looks like fun! Glad you got a few slow stitches in.

Missy Shay said...

That sounds like a lot of fun!!

Anonymous said...

Looks like a great festival! I love those Scottish plaids.

Janet O. said...

What, no haggis?!? : )
Love the bone and wood tools. I have the Aunt Philly plastic one, but have NEVER tried it!

AnnieO said...

I'd love to go to the Fergus Festival!! We have a Highlander's Games here in September and I'm planning to attend again. I haven't seen any crafting like yours though!

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

Maybe you could teach us how to make a rag rug at the next TOGA. Maybe a video, to show how to start it (with out the swearing;)

Sarah said...

Looks like a lot of fun!

audrey said...

Very fun! I bet you did have a lot of interest in the rag rug making. They look wonderfully fun to make!