Another rug done: Sister of Monarch rug- pictures and video, and a preview of my next rug

I was working on this before the wedding rug, but had to set it aside to rush that one into reality in time for my best friends' nuptials.

The inner area of it is made of leftovers from the final row of the rug on the left, the "monarch rug".  The tan rows in both rugs are from the same sheet.  The final variegated rows of the new rug were one entire sheet.

As you can see, it came out EXACTLY the same size as its "older sister."

In the video below, you can see some the details better, and also hear and see what I have planned for my next project.  We're keeping the sisters, while this next one will be for sale or gifting.

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First peek- The "Fade to Black" wedding rug

Since my foot is preventing me from doing much other than sit at the computer, and I'm waiting for the videos of Ike hitting Indy to finish upload, here's the first peeks at the finished rug. I'm desperately hoping the ones I took with my SLR come out better, but no idea when they'll be processed (or how they'll turn out- the film in that camera was at least 5 years old!)

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This shows the best color, but the arpeture was such that the entire rug did not make it inside the area focus (wide arpeture = shallow depth of field)

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I had to phutz around with the settings on this to make it look halfway decent... REALLY hope the SLR version of the picture comes out MUCH better

A new slogan for my rugs: "Art you- can/are supposed to- walk on" - Help me decide

Forgot to mention in the previous post, the "fade to black" rug inspired such awe in those who've seen me working on it / the finished product, that a new slogan for the craft came to mind. I had been calling it "Beautiful recycling" which it indeed is, but in talking with those here who were admiring the rug someone said (I think it was me, but I can't recall right at this moment),

"Yeh, its art, but art you can walk on"

So, I'm working on honing that down to either

"Art you can walk on"
or
"Art you're supposed to walk on"
or
"Art designed to be walked on"

Let me know which of those you think is most apt, or give me your own variant. That's your "assignment" while I'm off fulfilling filial piety and being a happy David as I see my Jonathan from college years get married.

The rug is done, but I'm leaving for the wedding presently so pix and vid next week

I did get the rug finished in time. It turned out being 29", by far the largest jean rug I've made. It only took 19 days, which for a normal rug would be nothing, but it took quite a toll on my fingers, knuckles, etc., doing a denim rug that quickly.

I'm leaving for the wedding after I've taken care of getting my wife to the doctor etc. I'll be back sometime next week. I won't be having as long a visit with my dear mother as usual since her oldest living cousin died yesterday, so she's leaving for her funeral Sunday. I'll stick around till Monday or Tuesday doing household maint. for her, then head back.

So look for pictures and video of the "Fade to black" jean rug sometime late next week.

Toothbrush rugs: Sequencing with blue jeans, extending a color, and a fun bit of folk art.

I've been very busy lately working on a rug for my best [college] friend's wedding, which is a week and 3 hours from right now. I'm almost done with it.

He gave me his old jeans, which I thought was fitting- out with the old ratty life, in with the new life.

I separated them into darker and lighter blue. Generally this corresponded to wear/age, but not always. My pattern (after a colorful center I'll explain in a post when the rug is done) was to alternate darker and lighter strips. This technique my mother calls "sequencing" and I like the term. I'll finish it off in a really stunning way, but again, I'll wait to talk about that for when the rug is done.

Here is a close up of the rug, showing the effect of alternating the lighter and darker strips.

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This shows you very clearly the two different "blues" which went into this rug. I GENERALLY cut the lighter blue wider because it was thinner and more worn.

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This was a Juniors 7 which I had to cut up to add to the darker more intense mat'l to get the rug large enough.

When I do this, I start blending in the strips of the new clothing source before I've run out of the old, so there's no jarring demarcation, and the rug evolves organically and naturally.