Wow! Did I really just order 4 pounds of trash to be shipped across country to me?
One person's trash is another's treasure!
I do like the idea of recycling, and keeping this out of a land-fill for a while longer.
Someone on one of the Weaving Rugs on 4-Shaft Looms FaceBook groups made a rug out of wooly worms from Pendleton Woolen Mill in Oregon. They couldn't say enough good things about them, or the resulting sturdy and long-lasting rugs. The prices can't be beat, and they are already cut into strips, so I won't have to deal with the lint from stripping them myself.
$1 per pound for wooly worms
$2.50 per pound for Strips from Merino Wool blankets
Shipping was$10 for a good-sized box
$17 total for this order of decent wool for making rugs.
I bought 2 pounds each to try them out. I'm interested to see how much rug you can make for 2 pounds of wooly worms. You can't choose colors -- They just dip into the bin and pull out a pound for you. If it's gray, I thought I could dye some strips to the colors of my choice--deep purple!
Makes me want to make rugs on the next warp. I still have lots of velvet to use up, too. Rug weaving goes fast, once you have the warps set, and the rags lined up. ;-)
Now to get some suitable warp ... or do I dye the wool carpet warp I already have?
2 comments:
This sounds like a really interesting project and I hope you will post as you go and when you are finished. I tried weaving with yarns a number of years ago and decided it wasn't my thing and I imagine weaving with these strips is very different. Good luck with this project.
Didn't know the mills offered this. I have a Pendleton wool blanket, probably 30 years old and, not that I'm biased, I think they are the best wool blanket made. And I've also bought their wool yardage for clothing, making shirts for my dad and husband, skirts and blazers for me, just the best. In fact, I still have some leftover yardage plus some quite long pieces from my mother-in-law when she realized she wasn't going to be making any more clothes. I'm not making clothes anymore either and don't quite know what to do with it, but it's too precious to get rid of somehow. I should consider stripping some of it for rugs maybe. Maybe I should send some of it to you. You're giving me ideas.
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