THE MAGDALENA RUGS ~ ~ ~

Please keep in mind that mama forgot her camera ~ these were taken with my phone ~ but I wanted you to get a sense of what we were able to see at the Sauder Rug Show!!  On Wednesday evening, we attended a lecture by Evelyn Lawrence (who has unearthed a lot of the Magdalena Briner rugs) and Kathy Wright, Director of the Rug Show and Evelyn's sidekick in the search for these rugs.  The top rug is the original and underneath is Evelyn's hooked version.  Both are beautiful! The color of the original is still very good ~ seems like it might have been packed away for many years.

 This is the original Magdalena's Dog ~ I, too, have hooked this pattern ~ seeing the original is a treat for sure!  The fabrics are mostly cottons ~ and have their own patina from long years of use.  The ones on display are from private collections and we're so glad they loaned them so that so many of us could enjoy the primitive folk art of Magdalena!

This photo shows the original rugs on the left and the contemporary hooked versions ~ all Evelyn's, I believe.

 Evelyn has a wonderful way of just talking to you ~ not a speech ~ not scripted ~ just chatting away about what she knows.  It was very interesting listening to her and looking at the many Magdalena rugs she has hooked!  Behind her is 'Domestic Zoo' ~ a very interesting runner rug ~ the pattern is sold by Saundra Porter of the Woodland Junction blog ~ take a look at her recent post!

 Kathy Wright also chatted with us about the personal life of Magdalena Briner Eby ~ she has tracked down lots of information herself.  You begin to feel like you know the artist even though she was born in the 1800's.

And this is the book that Kathy and Evelyn have co-authored ~ I've read it from cover to cover and find it very informative ~ with lots of good pictures.  You can contact Kathy at wrighttraditions@aol.com if you would like a copy!  Many of us have hooked Magdalena rugs with Barbara Carroll ~ I have the Rooster Pair in the works right now ~ well, sort of ~ I haven't hooked all summer ~ but I'm getting ready to!

I'll share more rug show photos this week.  We did have a great time at Sauder Village ~ Heidi and I took a tour of the Pioneer Village that is only two years old ~ complete with costumed interpreters in the houses that talked about life during that time and gave us a sense of how hard their life was.  I shopped in the spinning shop and picked up some black fleece ~ nice for a sheep and a ball of roving.  Now that I learned to spin (I use that term loosely), I'll put those to good use ~ I'll write about that soon, too!  A very productive class!

Okay, I'm off!!  My goal this week is to be productive and to have a quiet, unhurried pace ~ we shall see!!  You have a good week, too!