On a Magic Carpet Ride

I do not need a rug, I do not need a rug, I do not need a rug were the words I repeated to myself on the way to the Turkish Carpet demonstration/store.  We were shown a few women working on the rugs. . . the process is tedious.  Turkish rugs are double knotted as compared to rugs made in other countries (so says the presenter) and a woman will usually work on the same pattern of rug for 10-15 years.

Turkish woman at the carpet loom

The wool that was being used for the above rug was hand spun and vegetable dyed.  The yarn in the store was gorgeous and you could pick out your colors for your own rug. . . it would take anywhere from 6 months to 1 1/2 years to get your special order rug depending on materials and knots per square inch.

Vegetable dyed hand spun yarn

My favorite rugs are the wool and silk or all silk rugs.  They spin and dye much of their own silk.  They first place the cocoons in boiling water to kill the larva and other mites that might be living in the cocoon.

Silk Worm Cocoons

 They then take the straw brush and stir the pot of cocoons, as they lift the brush out of the water it catches the end of the silk strand that makes up the cocoon.  This is then transferred to cooler water and the ends of the strands are fed into the spinner to make the silk thread.  The threads are then dyed.

Beginning the unwinding process

We were then taken to an room with a very large floor space and they started telling us about the different types of rugs, how to spot a good rug, the different families that make specific types of rugs, etc.  It was a very fascinating presentation.  My favorite of all the rugs was a small 3x5 silk rug of the highest quality, a mere $21,000!  Needless to say that rug is still in the showroom!

Plethora of rugs

I will not buy a rug, I will not buy a rug, I will not buy a rug. . . "Ms. can I show you something?"