Lynne, from Massachusetts has designed and knotted three ryas in the past year. Lynne was a beginner!

I would love to have you share your rya stories with each other and me!   I’m looking for stories to add to the book I am writing about off-loom rya rug designing and making.  You can call me lazy if you like, but I feel rather than me telling you everything I know about rya, you might get more out of reading the book if you meet other people who have discovered rya. So if I think others can relate to what you have to say, or if you have a technique you would like to share or an opinion you would like to express, please share it in the comments below or email it to me at byrdcallstudio@gmail.com.

Nancy from Florida just completed a rya rug started by her mother decades ago.

Anyone can post here (assuming it gets through my spam filter: me)  I will be selecting from these comments ones that would bring home a point to my potential readers of the book.  I will contact those folks and possibly ask for you to elaborate a little more and perhaps submit a photo of some of your rya work or a photo of you or both!  I will not be able to pay you for these comments, but if yours are selected to go in the book, I’ll send you a complimentary copy as soon as it is published.  If you work in a rya business, I’ll promote your rya business in the book.

My goals is to make the books as helpful and motivating as possible.  Sometimes beginners who have just fallen in love with an art can be the most motivational.

Heli MG’s Award- winning Eco Fur Convertible Coat. Heli, from Finland, has turned rya into a modern fashion art form.

So whether I know you or not, whether you made rugs for the first time this year or 50 years ago, whether you weave them on looms or on pre-woven backings, if you are completing a rya rug started 50 years ago by a parent, I want to hear your story–how you found supplies, how you discovered rya, challenges, rewards, designing experiences, ideas for the future, helpful hints, anything you would like to share.  Feel free to forward this to anyone with a story to share.

If you are wondering if your story is worth telling, just the fact that you are considering telling it means it is probably worth reading.  This blog is an easy place to start telling your story.  Go ahead; don’t be shy.  You will help give others confidence.  I may or may not be able to use it in the book, but I’d love to see what turns up here and how I can work more fun into the book with your perspectives.

Mia, in Sweden, lucked into finding a whole rya kit at an auction. She basically taught herself how to make it, and it is progressing nicely. Is it done yet, Mia?

I hope to have the “stories” in place in my book rough draft by the middle of September, so if you are tempted, please send your stories soon.  Many thanks in advance.     Melinda