Drawing has never been my strong suit. As in I can’t do it. There is no joy when I put paintbrush to paper, or pen or pencil or what have you. No matter how much I try (or don’t try), I cannot get what is in my head onto the paper and what ensues is just not good for anyone around me, much less myself. I fall into a rage, funneling all my frustration into crying about how I’m just not good at it and why I even call myself ‘creative’ when I can’t doodle more than a couple squares, some filled in, some left empty.
That’s why I turn to writing, or looking up images of things I like. This is lovely, I think to myself, endlessly jumping from one internet rabbit hole to another, saving down images of beautiful houses, furniture, and whatever else I can find.
But one day, a friend posted a rug she made, and I decided I was going to try my hand at it. It’s kind of mathematical, rug-making, and involves dissecting your design into little squares to build up one big square (or rectangle, whatever you please). Squares! I can do this.
So off I went to the hardware store, dragging Andy along, to get some long pieces of wood, some metal bits to secure it, and about 400 nails, grabbing the extra bag of 200 just in case. You never know when you need a couple nails at the ready. It took a while to put the loom together, but once it was done (not by me), off I went again, dragging Andy along under the pretense of a lovely walk in the crisp fall air, to a yarn store to get this project going. Walking out of that store with a couple spools of wool yarn in my bag, I felt it – my transformation to rug-maker was complete.
The rug is probably around 40% done, but it hasn’t stopped me daydreaming about future rug designs. In fact, my whole psyche seems to be readjusted – what used to be just a nice sweater, or a lovely painting, is now a great reference for a new rug design. Below are some of the things I’ve bookmarked for future designs.
I really can’t get enough of artist @feihuasanqian – the colors are basically my ideal color palettes. I specifically love the bottom left rectangle, the slight gradient with the seemingly random red circles and simple line shapes, but I have a feeling I wouldn’t be able to tackle something like that until around rug number seven. The designs on the top and bottom right hand squares are quite nice and easy to mimic – I love the plain block color background, the simple middle shape with a colorful graphic inside.
This rug closeup from @rrrrrr.es is gorgeous. I like how it’s still block colors, but with a few more shapes going on to keep the interest while weaving.
I really like this textile from Peter Aldington’s home (video here). I love the intricacy of the border, and I think the repetition of the triangles would actually be a great way to practice technique. Also, this feels like something that would work in any house, whereas the other references are maybe more stylised and specific.
Finally, this sweater looks like such a good rug option – three colors that seem quite easy to find, and a fun design that makes me smile every time I look at it.
At my current pace, my rug will probably still take another two months to complete, but thankfully I’m at a stage where I can’t really change the design any longer. Do you guys have any thoughts on the next design?
Forever yours,
Isabelle
can't wait to see the final product!