The Pendleton Wool Rag Rug ... Still on the Loom

This morning, I started weaving the Merino wool premium strips from Pendleton Woolen Mill.   

I designed the warp for this round specifically for this color way.  It's based on the one in Tom Knisley's Weave a Good Rug Book.  I had to adjust his pattern to fit my weaving width (26 inches).  The iWeaveIt App was wonderful for this--but I digress ...

At the top of the pick, you can see a sample strip from Pendleton.  They are about 1-1/2 inches wide.  Previously, I sewed the strips together and rolled them into balls in preparation for this very moment.

I love the way they are packing in so nicely!  I'm keeping this rug!

 THis is what I started with --  3 inches of header, that will be a rolled hem sewn to the back of the rug.  

 Here's a detail shot of the header woven at the end of the first rug.  The header (at Tom Knisley's recommendation) is 2 strands of the regular 8/4 black carpet warp (same as I used for the warp).  I wanted to show howbeautifully the black showcases the other colors around it.

Here's another shot of the header at the end of this rug.  I got to use one of my new Jim Hockett shuttles that I purchased last fall at the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival in Jefferson, WI.
This one is a beautiful Bird's Eye Maple.  The weight and heft seemed right for this task.  My usual cherry Shacht shuttle was too light for the task.  Besides, I can get a lot more cotton onto the 6-inch bobbin.

For weaving the thicker wool strips, I'm using my ski shuttles (not pictured).

Detail shot of the gorgeous wood on this shuttle.  

Back to weaving ...