Snapshots 8: Amish Rugs

Erik Wesner has a blog posting on Amish Rugs today. The question at the end “Anyone own an Amish rug?” brought out the mischievous streak in me, and I couldn’t help posting this.

I do have Amish rugs:

Amish Rugs

The woven rug in front of the door is a typical Amish rug. The oval one was braided with strips of wool by Mem for my fortieth birthday. She was the only woman I knew in my home community who braided rugs, so this is not as typical an Amish rug.

I also have some ex-Amish rugs in my house. I usually prefer being referred to as former Amish, but when it comes to my rugs, I don’t care if you call them ex-Amish. These are rugs I made just in the last five years. I learned the trade from Mem.

Ex-Amish Rug

Ex-Amish Rug

I treasure the rug my mother made for me and I also like my ex-Amish rugs. They fit my house, and they fit me. They braid together the three different strands of my life: my Amish life, my transition years, and my life as a “Yankee.”

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15 thoughts on “Snapshots 8: Amish Rugs”

  1. Love the rugs you made and the one your Mem made. I’m sure you treasure the one she made for you.
    My grandmother made rugs. She died ten years before I was born but my uncle lived in my grandparents home and they were on the floors there. Hers were different, rectangles and squares. Daddy said she made them on a loom. Never saw any liked she made. Wish I had at least a picture of them. Often wonder what happened to them.

  2. Hello Saloma,

    Your rugs are all so beautiful! How special you have one your mother made for you.
    The colours are wonderful!!!

    Have a nice day & Dutch greetings, Carolien

  3. Love, love, LOVE those rugs!! They really set your room off, nicely. I also love the fact that your mom made one for you just a few years before she died… how special is that?!

  4. Simply wonderful! I wish I would have learned the crochet rug my great-grandmother used to make… we have a few that survived the years, but there’s never enough to pass down to all the generations. You have a wonderful gift in your rug making.:)

  5. My Grandma had a big rug like yours in her kitchen. I had no idea that they were amish. She did buy them from a local woman, who to my knowledge was not amish. Maybe in her past family history. Very interesting!

    Have you thought about teaching a class? I would love to learn!

  6. I love your beautiful rugs. Can you tell us, are they made of cotton or wool?
    I’m glad to see you here again. I missed reading as you were traveling!

  7. I took a rug braiding class once, and was terrible at it. It did not come naturally to me. The colors in your rugs are beautiful. When I was at a store in Apple Creek a few years ago I saw a different type of Amish rug for sale. It was small fabric triangles overlapped on a large single scrap of fabric and sewn by machine in a straight line. The effect was very different. But I think the braided rugs are timeless.

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