Christmas presents!

Here's some nice ideas. They made great Christmas presents...

 This set of Mug Rugs were for a Pittsburg Steeler fan

 This oval rug was for a special person who loves the color "Blue".



I thought you'd like to see some additional rugs that I've made in the last few years.  Two are breed rugs for display and the third is an artistic endevor for competition.

Finn Sheep: this consignment oval rug is in two natural colors of Finn Sheep fleece. I found the Finn fleece very easy to braid and sew, plus it felted nicely. The owner from Pennsylvania, sent fleece from her own sheep to Zeilinger's to be processed, they sent it on to me.

 

 This is a round rug made from three natual colors of Wensleydale fleece donated by Sherry Carlson (Loma Rica, CA). The Wensleydale roving worked up much like Lincoln or Cotswold, smooth and almost slippery, but with a wonderful handle.

 Here are two views of my Taos Rug. I made this rug to enter in the rug competition at the "Wool Festival at Taos" in New Mexico, October of 2008. Roving from several sheep breeds and blends were used to make this rug. Annie and I taught a workshop and had a vendor booth that year.

Vermont Workshop

I just returned from a great trip to Vermont. Traveling companion, Amy Tyler from Interlocken, Michigan, and I were both invited to teach three workshops at the biennial retreat of the Northeastern Handspinners Association. This 3-day event was held at the Grand Summit Resort and Conference Center on Mount Snow near West Dover, VT.

With Amy's Subaru packed with a spinning wheel, fiber and class materials, we took the northern route through Canada, to reach the beautiful Green Mountains of southern Vermont. Amy and I had never really met before, but we hit it off great, and were even roomies at the resort. The wonderful and memorable thing about this event was that for 3 days we didn't have to leave the resort. Meals were served buffet-style and were excellent. I used the guest laundry to felt the class braids, so I didn't even have to dash to a laundromat, I even got to eat lunch.

The good/bad result of this trip was that I sold all the books that I had. Our book is now OUT-OF-PRINT!

Letty

Rug Roving For Sale

Cornflower Blue Swirl, Pumpkin Fog and Forest Moss

We have roving for sale, here are just a few examples of dyed roving, but we also have every natural color imaginable. The roving is blends of breeds from our own sheep which includes Karakul, Cotswold, Leicester Longwool, and Dorset.

Contact us for a specific color and we will let you know what is available. You can purchase through our etsy account with PayPal or through either of us personally by check.

Our roving is blended specifically for rug braiding but is also very spinable.

Prices are:

Dyed roving $30 per pound or $10 per 1/4 pound plus shipping

Natural Colored roving $24 per pound or $8 per 1/4 pound plus shipping

Don't forget we also have Waxed Linen Thread available in natural or slate-gray at $16/spool, includes shipping.

New Rug Technique

The Shepherds Rug announces an exciting new rug design. This is an Annie Brown original technique.


The rug is rustic, light-weight and durable, perfect for that cabin in the woods or cottage on a lake as well as in your own home or apartment.

Annie worked many hours developing this new and very unique technique for making a wool rug. She first felted batts of wool from our own sheep’s fleece, then cut the batts into strips, crocheted the strips into an oval or round design, and finally felted the whole rug again.

Annie will have several or these rugs for sale at the Montpelier Station, VA and SAFF festivals. Be sure to see these rugs in person. Check out our ETSY store to see even more examples of this new technique.

Fall Fiber Festivals

Well, I'm back from the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival in Jefferson, WI. This event just gets bigger and better every year. No rug workshop this year, I judged the Fleece Show (almost 200 fleeces) and gave a 2 hour lecture on The Perfect Fleece.

I'll be home now until the first weekend in November when I'll be teaching at the Northeastern Handspinners Association meeting at Mt Snow, West Dover, VT.

Annie will be at the Fall Fiber Festival and Montpelier Sheep Dog Trials, Montpelier Station, VA Oct 2-3 and at SAFF in Ashville, NC Oct. 22-24.

etsy store

Go to our NEW etsy store at http://shepherdsrug.etsy.com to see all the items and materials we have for sale.