Penny Rugs

I love everything about working with wool...the texture, the fact that it's easy to manipulate and finally...it's so forgiving.

When I retired from the decorative painting industry a couple of years ago, I needed something other than my art to keep my hands busy. I always loved penny rugs and managed to pick up three in my travel teaching around the US. One was handmade and given to me by one of my students and the other two were made offshore. During that time, I started to buy and managed to accumulate a stash of wool...for future endeavors.

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About two years ago, I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try. I sketched the tulips and rabbit and as a result, came up with this, my first attempt at a penny rug.

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Last year, my friend Lucie bought an Easter-themed penny rug pattern. Since she had never made one before, she decided that I should share my "expertise" and we would each make one while sharing afternoon tea at each other's houses. In this way we would be more productive...sip tea, stitch and solve all the problems in the world...all at the same time. We both got our penny rugs done in time for Easter and without spilling a drop of tea on them!

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This next one is from a kit that I picked up at the Vermont Quilt Festival last June. I started it a couple of months ago but somehow got side-tracked with other projects. (wink) It's very near to completion and is on my "to do" list, so hopefully it'll get done soon.

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Enjoy the day and as always...

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Happy stitching!