Over a year ago I beat this ragrug together. The device that I actually use that is on the loom is called a beater  and one really does use quite some force to make a really good rag rug.
I am making a series of small wall pieces now and will soon publish a photograph of the first one to leave the loom and get plaited and ready for leaving the studio.

This one's colours are the autumnal colours a year ago. Very lush indeed. I am pleased with this piece and I think it is good to be pleased about ones own work. I remember years ago I made a wall hanging depicting a bird. When I took it out of the loom I found it hideous, so ugly that I rolled it up and put it in a closet and didn't see it for a couple of years. By some reason or another I took it out of the closet and had a look at it. Alas! I liked it, and couldn't understand why I found it so hideous earlier. Either it must have been me or the ragrug that had matured. I will have to dig it out and make a digital photograph of it and show it here on the blog.
You might recognize the red part of the autumnal piece. I use it as the banner for my website.  It is actually for sale, even if I am a bit reluctant to part with it. If you are interested see here

Fyrir rúmu ári síðan sló  ég saman þetta tuskuteppi.  Verkfærið sem ég nota til að gera það með heitir slagborð og það þarf svoldið afl til að slá saman almennilegt  tuskuteppi, eða á maður að kalla þetta leppateppi eða tuskuteppi ?

Ég er nú að slá saman seríu af frekar litlum veggverkum sem að brátt verða birtar myndir af hér á þessari síðu en fyrst þurfa þau að yfirgefa vefstólinn og verða fléttuð á langhliðinni.

Þetta teppi er í haustlitunum frá því í fyrra. Litríkt og höfgafullt.  Ég er mjög ánægð með það og mér finnst það vera gott að geta verið ánægður með eitthvað sem að maður skapar sjálfur.  Fyrir þó nokkrum árum óf ég veggteppi sem að sýndi fugl.  Þegar ég tók það úr vefstólnum fannst mér það svo ófrýnilegt að ég rúllaði því saman og setti inn í skáp og leit ekki á það fyrr en að nokkrum árum liðnum. Þegar ég barði það aftur augum fannst mér það bara flott! Skildi ekki af hverju mér hafði þótt það svo stjarft.  Annað hvort hafði ég þroskast  eða kannski teppið í skápnum.  Ég þarf að finna það og ná af því stafrænni mynd og birta á blogginu mínu.

Það getur verið að þið kannist við rauða hluta Haust teppisins en það nota ég í fánanum efst á heimasíðunni minni.  En það teppi er til sölu sjá hér

Introducing the Jolly rag rug. I found these two colours difficult so I decided to join them into a long rag rug that is sturdy and will lie flat on the floor most of the time. Something happy looking and with a nice feel under the feet first thing in the morning when you take the first steps of a day full of...adventure.
Kynni káta teppið. Mér fannst þessir tveir litir vera erfiðir einir og sér en saman, var hægt að gera eitthvað ekki væmið með þá?  Káta teppið leit dagsins ljós, þykkt og stöðugt teppi á gólfið sem gott er að tipla á sín fyrstu spor, dag hvern á leið  í ævintýri lífsins.
More here/ Meira hér

Weaving rag-rugs does not only require a loom and shuttles.
It requires scissors and a cutter. My newest tools are the left-hand scissors and cutter that I bought in Finland this summer. After having cut rags for 20 years my right hand wrist has been worn out so I figured out that I should start cutting with my left hand and then have 20 more years of cutting ahead of me and weaving. I guess I'll have to find an assistant when I am 70, who can cut my rags.
I also bought this handsome one eyed out-of-space creature or earthling-bacteria-like thing in Finland this summer, a cutter for cloth or rather rags in my case.
I can handle both tools now quite well, but it took a lot of concentration to get control of the left handed cutting. But I succeeded! Small victories in the tough world of Rag-rugs.
The latest piece is growing and I am getting very excited about cutting it loose from the loom, soon. Did you nootice all the oo's??

It is also a whole lot of thinking, pondering etc. I have a kind of clear idea of what I want to make. Then I have to dig into the material that I have got a and start looking at it and organize, un-organize and cut more rags.
The balls of rags are a beau too.
As for this week I will not be pondering in the loom but rather tell people about the wonders of the Icelandic Goat race on a farmers fair in northern Iceland. The goat race in an endangered species and only counts 850 animals and there is a lot of inbreed as you might understand.

This is just the beginning of a new piece. Unfortunately the sun is shining on a clear blue sky and I want to spend the day outside.
Have to clean the bike as the gears are not smooth enough, caused by dirt.
But I am thinking of how to proceed with this piece.
I guess thinking is good for the brain ;)

I have been busy, very busy indeed. I had to finish the two green sisters before end of the month and I made it. I has been hard work and I have hardly done anything else than put the corselet on, started the audiobook and sat at the loom. And it has been a fabulous time. Living in the world of rags, greens, multicoloured rags and crime novels.
And not to forget all the green dust that this work creates. A lovely mixture indeed. And I am so happy in the making of rugs.
Meanwhile the outer world has had its own changes. I have looked briefly at facebook to see what is going on. People seem to have been enjoying the outdoors during winter and this flash of spring that we have now in Iceland in the middle of winter time. They have been skiing, hiking, going on picnics and rowing their kayaks. There has been sunshine, northern lights dancing in the sky and snow and rainfall. But I have been inside the world of rags.

Actually it is not quite correct. Every weekday I have to leave my den to go to my paying job. It is difficult to tear myself away but I have to. I need the money in order to by food and pay the bloody bills. So it is not too bad. And it forces me go out of my cave and prevents me from getting happily totally mad. I usually go by bike to and fro the paying job so I have had my share of sunshine, wind, rain and of course NORTHERN LIGHTS.
The green sisters I have created are the northern lights. Look at them. They are similar but not the same. Their hues differ depending on how close one scrutinizes them.

It has been an eventful winter in my studio. I almost set the house on fire while dyeing the warp and leaving it on the stove for 5 hours while I went to earn my living!  Then I managed what few people have done: fall into the loom and fracture a rib. I have also managed to sell a piece and be interviewed on the Icelandic state radio, actually not about my artwork but about when I was caught in a cyclone on W-Australia a decade ago. I have had wonderful coffee and cake parties with friends that have helped me beam the warp and we totally forgot to photograph the events.

I have started weaving. It takes a bit of effort as I have managed to fracture a rib. But I bought a kind of corselet  to support the rib and it makes all the difference.
I have been thinking of what makes green. I am not very good at theory but sometimes it is the gut feeling that tells me what. I think I am getting it right in this piece, what makes it feel green in spite of other colours amongst it. Green is basically blue and yellow or what? But there is much more to it than that I can recall. I think I'll have a look into a book about colour.

I am preparing green rugs. The rags have been cut, the warp is waiting in the loom. This is a bespoke work. Now it is all about thinking, arranging, deciding and finding a "red thread" in all the green. The work revolves around staring at the balls of rags, using the brain = thinking and creating.  It is hard to describe what happens in my head on this level but there is a lot going on. To decide what colours will go along, what colours and hues will accentuate each other in the desired direction. To find a path for the work.

Ég er að undirbúa græn teppi. Tuskurnar hafa verið klipptar, uppistaðan bíður í vefstólnum.  Þetta er sérpantað verk. Nú snýst allt um að hugsa, raða, ákveða og finna hinn "rauða þráð" í hinu græna. Vinnan snýst um að stara á tuskuhnyklana, nota heilann = hugsa og skapa.  Það er erfitt að lýsa því hvað gerist í höfðinu á mér á þessu stigi en það er margt sem á sér stað.  Ákveða hvaða litir eiga skap saman, hvaða litir og tónar upphefja hverja aðra í þá átt sem ég vil. Að finna leið fyrir verkið.

They are arriving today. The helpers, to warp the loom. Very exciting. I have made couple of cakes and my mother has baked cinnamon rolls. The helpers are always rewarded with cake and coffee (or any beverage they prefer). This was the custom at the weaving school I attended in Ekenäs, Finland three decades ago. That is one of the best things I have done in my lifetime, to attend the former Ekenäs hemslöjdsskola. It underwent changes after I finished my studies there and is now called , well I actually do not know.
My helpers are dear friends that don't do any weaving that I am aware of. Actually a weaving one offered her help but was not able to attend today as for another one, a new acquaintance, that lives down mainland Europe wanted to be here but the traveling proved to be to long, far and dear. 
The intention was to photograph the whole procedure but we were far to occupied to think of that until we had sat and had cake and coffee. Too late then. But next time.  I am showing an old pic.

Vinir aðstoðuðu mig við að rifja vefstólinn í dag. Þ.e. slangan sem ég raktí í um daginn var undin upp á slöngurif og orðin að uppistöðu núna. Steingleymdi að ljósmynda starfið og starfsfólkið. Notast við eldri mynd.
En það verður annað sinn. Uppistöður taka endi og þarf að rekja í þær aftur og rifja.
Þau voru 6 sem að mættu svo starfið gekk hratt fyrir sig og við höfðum ærinn tíma til að eta kökur og drekka kaffi og myntute. Skemmtilegt laugardagssamsæti samhliða vinnu. 6 góðir vinir sem mættu.