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Out with the Old…and In With the NEW!

Feb 12, 2020

I tend to hang on to all the vintage rya yarn I find or buy on eBay. But in my last newsletter, I announced that my “hidden stash” really is available to you. I described all the yarns that no one sees. So, a long-time customer (and now friend) from Arizona had her eye on the vintage Frostagarn from Sweden and after some cheerful negotiations, she bought about 100 pounds at a good price. This was also very good for me since I need space in the studio for my growing rya yarn, backings, and kit supplies–and not to mention the 500 books I’ll be bringing home from the printer next month!

So, all of the natural and earthy colors of Frosta are gone as well as many of my Bergå and Nordiskas yarns. Out with the old…and in with the new!

I still have plenty of vintage Lundgren yarn, a little Åsborya yarn, and new Rauma yarns rolling in each month. Happy to move the vintage to a new home overlooking the Arizona mountains.

Now you can update your Frosta sample cards. All I have left are the hot colors: yellow, goldenrod, oranges, and magenta.

The Developmental Tale of a Rya Design by A “New” Designer

Dec 3, 2019

 

Elizabeth Terzakis with her father, John, on an extended vacation in Sweden this past summer during which time he knotted this rya rug.

Elizabeth Terzakis likes to keep her rya rug-making father happy. He is happiest when knotting a rya. Elizabeth lives on the west coast; her parents live on the east coast. John made a few ryas and fell in love with the knotting. Elizabeth loves the end-product, so now she supplies him with designs and supplies, and he spends many happy weeks working away.

I frustrated Elizabeth a year or so ago when she wanted me to design a rya for John, and although I can design with the best of them, I turned her down since my priority was to finish writing my book. And I refused to do the calculations for how much yarn she would need. (You see, I’m not always nice.) But she was a good sport and agreed to try her hand at designing her own and making her own calculations. Check out this blogpost of their collaborative project this spring.  She was my guinea pig at trying out the charts and worksheets which are in the soon-to-be-printed book.  

Here is her second design as it progressed through the necessary stages.  She was kind enough to share the commentary in her own words: 

“A friend of mine’s parents were moving into a new home on a lake, and he wanted to give them a housewarming present. I thought a rya rug would make a great gift, asked for a shot of the lake, and was presented with the photo below.

“Since it had been some time since I had done any drawing, I warmed up by doing a free-hand pencil sketch of the photo, scaled to match the proportions of the Rya-rug-to-be.

“For additional warm-up, I made a color drawing of the scene with pastels.

“Because I know that rya rugs tend to work better when they are more abstract and that the recipient of the rug wanted something in blues, greens, and yellows, I simplified the design and adjusted the palette.

“I then blocked out the rya backing with black yarn and drew the design onto it with chalk, following a black and white version of the colored pattern shown above. My father and friend had rejected my earlier rendition of the tree, saying that it looked like “a giant and malevolent spider,” so I replaced it with a softer version (one has to compromise, sometimes, in a collaborative project).

“Next I retraced the pattern with a black Sharpie and chose my yarns.

“Many knots later, we had the finished project.”

Everyone creates their own path when designing ryas. Every now and then I like to feature a creative process–especially when it has been photo-documented so well. Thanks for sharing, Elizabeth.  I’m sure your friend’s parents love it. Readers, kindly share your comments below. Comments might not show up immediately, so be patient. Cheers!

~ Melinda

I’m Seeking “Testimonials.” Can You Help?

Nov 12, 2019

 

2017 Stitches United Rya Rug Making Workshop in Hartford Connecticut

It is a little embarrassing to say, “Hey, got any praises you can sing for me?” But in truth, I am looking for your kind, but earned, words of recommendation that I can use to improve my new website which is in the developmental stages. 

As I was working with my book designer, Ken Koons, in designing the back cover, we realized that many successful books list great reviews which help give confidence to the person trying to decide if they want to buy the book or not. We figured we’d probably just add rave reviews on the 2nd edition. So who knows where your testimonials will turn up?

Feel free to post your comments below in the Leave a Reply section. As always, you may not see it posted for several hours, so don’t feel like your comment was “lost in space” if you don’t see it right away. Brief comments sharing your personal experience as to how I was able to help you with your projects are best.

I’d love to hear from my former students, designers, beginners, accomplished rya artists, long-distance internet buddies, everyone with a story to share.

I thank you in advance. It has always been a pleasure and an honor to help you.

~ Melinda

Are You Interested in Ordering my Book when it is Released?

Sep 14, 2019

We are getting towards the end of an 8 year endeavor, my friends!  Some of you have been patiently waiting for many years. Now as I work with kind editors, indexer, and book producer, we are on track for publishing in the next few months.  No, I can’t be specific and unexpected things can happen, so let’s just say “quite possibly by the end of 2019!”  But I can not guarantee since I’ve never done this before and I never dreamed it would take 8 YEARS. But it will be worth it.

The sole purpose of this Blog is to help me determine (when the time comes) how many books to order for anticipated immediate sales right off the bat.  I don’t even know how much the book will cost you, but you will be under NO commitment-to-buy if you help me out in this little survey.

I’m using this blog so I won’t jam my email-box and I can always refer back to this list for priority mailings if I have more orders than I have books.  But I can guarantee I will fill and refill my Amazon orders regularly so every one who wants a copy gets a copy as quickly as possible. And you will be able to buy directly from Amazon once they have it up-for-sales.

So, all you have to do is post a comment below with your name and “Yes I want a book!”  You can phrase it any way you like.  😉  (Again, no commitment, since you don’t even know the price.) To add a comment, click on the little “conversation bubble” by the heading of this blog. No worries if you don’t see your comment right away. If this is the first time you’ve commented on a post there is a delay.

Ready … Set … GO!

FYI As of about 4 PM on Thursday, September 19, it looks like 136 book reservations made. 🤗

 

One Way to Design a Rya Rug

Nov 2, 2018

Here is Carol Solinger with her rya almost complete (11/1/18)

Everyone tackles rya designing in their own way. In July this year, a long-time customer (and now friend), Carol Solinger, made an appointment to come to my studio to pick out the backing and yarn for her next rya project. She had recently moved to Maryland from Connecticut making it much easier to drop by for supplies.

First, Carol selected a backing.  4 1/2′ x 6 1/2′ or so.  It is a fairly large backing which will be used on the floor.  She brought along a printed fabric sample explaining to me that it was not the design, but the colors in this fabric she wanted to match with the yarn on hand.  We did a little calculations to figure that this backing would require about 70 skeins since Carol is using three strands of Rauma ryegarn to the needle and likes a fairly long pile of about 2″.  But there was no need to get all the yarn at once.  So for the most part, she picked out 2 skeins of every color she wanted.  We laid them out on the table.  They were very pleasing to look at. She had an abstract design in mind which was in black and white. (See photo.) She wasn’t done planning out what she was going to do with the design, but that was not a worry.  Carol has plenty of experience in designing her own ryas.

A month or two later, Carol ordered another pile of yarn …

She left knowing full well she would need more yarn as the project unfurled and her design developed.

What I had not expected to see, nor have I ever seen anyone do before, is Carol decided to work upwards on her backing rather than straight across the rows!  To all of my rya students, you may recall me saying “Never work upwards, but always across the rows.”  But then I would always add, “But if you do move upwards, just do not make knots over a blank area.”  Carol, moved straight up making the creative color blended side margin without knotting over a blank area. (You go, girl!)  She also drew out the design on the backing (which many people do) but she continued to work the full length (rather than width) as the pattern dictated.

She has sent the following photos I could share her progress with you.  I am mesmerized by it and thrilled to realize that after so many decades doing rya, I can still learn from others and grow.  I’ll add updates to this blog post as Carol shares more pictures with me.

Thank you, Carol, for documenting this process.

Notice how Carol is working vertically, though the knotting rows go left to right. Also note how she fills little plastic bags with her three-strand threadings so they are ready to grab and knot.

Early September and she appears to be half way done.

I asked Carol to send me a photo for the book showing how she knots with the design drawn on the backing. Notice she is using two strands of Ryegarn and one (thinner) strand of Prydvevgarn on her needle.)  Thought you might enjoy this photo, too.  Some people can’t imagine drawing on the backing.  The pile will totally cover your markings as you knot.

Her friend, Leon, pitching in.  Stay tuned for additions to this photo-series… As the Rya Turns . . .

And here it is complete and in place next to the couch of the fabric which originally inspired the color selection. Now you can rest, Carol.

Help Me to Help You with Rya Problem Solving

Apr 18, 2018

To the rescue! When I saw my friend, Angie, had posted frustration and this photo in a Facebook posting, I–along with others–jumped in to offer encouragement. She wrote: “Trying desperately to get back to work – cleaned the study, cleared my desk, organized my piles of papers, put away the books, called my muse… but nothing is happening 🙁 “

So it happens.  You think nothing can go wrong, but then, something stops you.  I am finalizing one of the last chapters in my book on TROUBLE-SHOOTING.  I am going into detail on all of these progress stoppers, but what am I forgetting?  Have you come up against a wall for any reason when working on a rya?  Tell me about it…if fact, tell everyone about it (unless it was because of a booboo I made–then just tell me!)  Hit the reply button below and tell me things you want to be sure I included in the book.

What Can Go Wrong? How to Prevent and Fix it:

  • You (or someone in past generations) packed it away in a closet due to major life change. (a baby coming, moving, new job, family emergency…)
  • You forgot how to make the knot.
  • You ran out of a yarn color, and the company that made it no longer exists.
  • You lost your graph (or the dog ate it.)
  • You loose track of where you were headed in your designing process
  • You suddenly don’t like a particular color combination.
  • Your body is not as young as it used to be.  

Most of the questions will be answered clearly in the book, but what if I missed something.  This is your opportunity to tell me not to forget anything that is important to you–and others for sure.

Leave comments below.  They may not show up immediately, but check back in a few hours or a day.  Many thanks, Melinda Byrd

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