Bugs in, or on, a rug

We have a little saying that goes, "She is a bug in a rug". I'm not quite sure what the actual meaning is, but I infer it to be mischievous, but very cute. That is how I would classify our girls on any given day, mischievous, but very cute. I thought this would be a good opportunity to show our rugs/carpets.

These rugs are all hand made on old looms and take ruffly a year to complete. They are all hand tied, meaning every little speck on them has been tied, trimmed, and shaved, by a human hand.




These two rugs were made in Turkey, in the Cappadocia area. They are wool on wool, meaning the foundation and the pile are both made of wool. These are typically made by people for personal use. They "usually" sheer the sheep, dye it, and spin the yarn themselves. The boarder of the blue and red carpet has Christen churches next to Muslim Masques that represents the blending of two cultures (so I have been told). I have also been told this boarder is very typical of the Cappadocia area. They measure about 3x5 feet and are very soft.
This is a Bukhara (Boo-car-ah). It measures 7x9 and has around 640 to 700 knots per square inch. This is an amazing carpet. It is 1oo% wool and made in Afghanistan. The wool is so soft it almost feels like silk. Same as the Turkish rugs, Bukhara carpets are made by people that will sheer the sheep, dye it, and spin it into yarn. The dye's are vegetable dyes so you will get a little variation in the color. They say these are some of the finest carpets you can buy. You can tell a high quality Bukhara by the size of the "elephant footprints". The footprints are the circles. The smaller the print the finer the quality. These are about 1 inch round.

This is a Tabriz Gumbet. This is the one that started my fascination with carpets. Unlike the other rugs, the Tabriz is a "sweat shop" carpet. This means it's sole purpose in life is to be sold. These are commercial carpets. From my little bit of knowledge I know these have been dyed with chemical dyes and the wool is commercially produced. They are still very fine hand made carpets. They are made in Iran and are wool on cotton with silk highlights and have 400 to 500 knots per square inch. This rug is signed by the family that made it. The small medallion on the bottom center has Arabic writing which tells the family name and the city where it was made. This design is of the roof of the Masque. I guess all masques have a domed ceiling and that is what is represented here. The squares on the boarder are the windows of the masque. This carpet will be hung on the wall. With the girls I think it might get trashed.

Well hoped you enjoyed my little history of "Persian" rugs all be it as limited as my knowledge is.

Come to Turkey, but beware, you WILL get bitten by the carpet bug!!!

In Their Sunday Best

I believe this was the 2nd Sunday after the Wilsons left for Italy. Valerie and the girls had completed their beautification rituals before me and actually had some time before church.






As you can tell the day was pretty windy and Bella wasn't in the best mood. She was a pretty good sport though and let mom take these pictures.






In the background you can see our new digs. It's a pretty nice house and will serve us well this year. There is plenty of room for the girls to roam and, as much as I hate to admit it, ride their bikes. Bella has mapped out a course of sorts. She can race from the playroom, down the hall, through the kitchen, out onto the patio, back in and through the living room, back down the hall, and finally end in the playroom. She and Sophie get such a kick out of it it's hard to tell them, "NO", as much as I would like to.

I think the house is around 3,500 square feet. There are 4 beedrooms, 4 bathrooms, study, playroom, Turkish bath, mudroom, laundry room, and Val has her Deluxe size closet. I think it should have been a bedroom but it's pretty small for that and we had enough bedrooms. The kitchen is nice and large, as is the living room, and we have a dining room. Each floor has a great balcony and the first floors has a small fireplace/Turkish B-B-Q.