Register to Win the Great Common-Thread Give Away!

January is my month to be featured as the Artist for the Great Common-Thread Give Away. To win this penny rug pincushion, simply leave a comment at the end of this blog anytime between Monday, Jan 7th and Thursday, Jan 10th.  I will choose a winner at random  Thursday evening after 10 PM EST.

If you have never visited my blog or shop I welcome you!  If you have visited me before than likely you know that I started doing felted wool pincushions after making Penny Rugs.  Some of my most popular styles of pincushions are what I call, Penny Rug Art.  If you don't see what you are looking for or see something that has sold, know that you can contact me to do custom order work.

In regards to penny rugs, my research has found that they were originally made from scraps of dark wool fabric or recycled wool felt from used clothes and hats and were used as doormats to clean mud and dirt off shoes.  They were named penny rugs as they were made of three different sized medallions layered on top of each other.  The top medallion was the size of a penny, and pennies were actually sewn into them to help weight them and make them lie flat.  As the top medallion wore out with use, it would be replaced with another, and so these mats lasted for years.  They were not colorful or pretty, but merely functional.

Penny rugs eventually evolved into a traditional and colorful folk art.  Women used their remnants and scraps of wool from making clothes or “turned” wool from used clothes to make their penny rugs.  They would use bits of material too small to be used for strips for hooked rugs.  Designs evolved from the simple circular medallions into colorful works of art with appliquéd patterns of various animals, stars, hearts and other primitive shapes. People, flowers, homes and scenes told wonderful personal stories and transformed their scraps into wonderful works of art with elaborate stitching.  Decorative edging also became part of the art.  Scalloped edges or tabs cut in the shape of tongues were added and many of these were decorated with appliquéd circles of wool using colorful blanket stitching.

Penny rugs have recently made a “comeback” and are used to cover beds for warmth and decoration or to decorate table and mantel tops, wall hangings and pictures, quilts and pillows or other items, as in my pincushions.

For more pictures of my penny rug art work please check out How I Came to do Penny Rug Art, as well as more on The History of Penny Rugs.

Don't forget to leave a comment on my blog any time from Monday through Thursday and your name will be entered to win. Good luck and thank you for visiting my blog!