In case you missed it, Svensk Hemslöjd in Sweden bailed us out of having no 24" backing this summer. It has been very highly acclaimed by those who have used it.

It is available in any length you request via Etsy.

The Finnish backings made by Pirkanmaa--these are the ones that are knotted on the surface of the backing--have been very popular. I think people were hesitant to try something new, but once they started knotting on these backings, they fell in love with them. And you can use lighter weight yarn, like prydvevgarn or less rya yarn for savings.

And finally the Lundgren backings woven in the USA of acrylic and cotton linen. When I bought back my grandparents' rya business from the woman who had purchased it in the 80's, I found that she had 27" wide acrylic backing woven in NY. I bought four very heavy bolts. I thought it would last forever. Now I'm down to the last few yards of it. While not for the wool-loving purist, this backing has been popular for its price and its softness. Great for wall-hangings. Well, its days are numbered.

In the Fall Newsletter, you may have noticed a "call for weavers" who were interested in weaving rya rug backings for sale or for the learning experience. There are many of you here who expressed interest. I forwarded weaving patterns, and instructions to the ten or so people who contacted me. The instructions and patterns were sent to me by weavers who had already figured it out or had good books on Nordic weaving techniques.

Just a week or two later, I was on vacation and experienced the fraudulent cyber attack, so my efforts towards coordinating weavers and figuring out logistics for how it would all work was out the window and gone with the wind for the time being.

The challenge would be whether or not an individual weaver could weave and sell a backing at a price that the buyer would be happy to pay. The backings I sell now were woven in mills where the cost is reduced due to the mechanization of the process. Is there a weaver among us who would like to be the "point person" to gather and share info with other weavers at least to keep the backing weaving skill alive if not for retail sales. Maybe a weavers' cooperative could pool orders and coordinate weavers. I would love one of our weaving rya friends to step forward and say, "Put me down as the contact person." I'm afraid if no one is interested in coordinating, it will fall by the wayside if left to me alone. I am realizing that I am one tired woman who better not take on any more challenges.

If anyone is weaving a backing and wants to share it with our readership, send me a photo, the details, and a price, and I can share in the newsletter. The buyer can contact you directly.

True, I'm waiting for some popular sizes from Norway, but I still have so much to choose from--especially if you are designing your own. I keep updating my Etsy shop where it is easy to describe them and sell them. Click to see more.

As you can see I still have both hardbacks ($49) and softbacks ($39). It still costs $5 for media mail. I ship in a sturdy box. What a great gift, too! See other locations below for where to purchase books

I spend all my time helping people get their rya supplies together, packing up kits, and counting skeins of yarn. I never think I have time to make a rya these days. While I was on vacation in October, a woman from Houston called me asking if someone could complete her rya rug she had started 30 years ago.

Her 80+ year old hands were not up to the task. This is not uncommon. I usually pass a rug completion job to others, but when I saw and felt this rya rug, I was intrigued and then hooked!

I have never knotted with Nordiskas yarns. That is one of the many popular rya companies that closed in the 1970-early 80s. Look at the yarn organizer below. I've never seen anything like that. The needle is threaded with a heavy strand and two medium weight strands.

I'm getting great pleasure from working on this rya. Over the years, people have told me how working on their rya helped them through hard times; the loss of a loved one or depression. This rya has helped pull me through the dark days of dealing with the fraudulent activity on my website I've been dealing with. I was truly comforted by the colors and the progress and nice music playing in the background.

I have arranged the yarn by general color arrays layed out in three rows: top, middle and bottom. Most of the yarn has no tags on it, so I don't know color numbers for most. Rya designers can look at these groupings as squirts of paint on a pallette. If you are in a blending mood, you can ask me to gather the "right side of the middle row in the Red-Yellows Array photo, for example. I will gather that grouping and shoot a photo for you to see more closely and price it either by the skein, or by weight if there are cut skeins involved--and there are lots of cut skeins. It is a great opportunity to increase your color selections within your own yarn stashes. Once you like what you see, tell me to send it, and I'll send you an online invoice and get your order right off to you.

I will soon be listing small color groupings on Etsy. I wanted to give YOU first dibs.

See her big photo at the top of this newsletter. And this is hot-off-the-press today! Looks like Genny is adding a "shooting star" burst almost every day!

Today: Genny just shared a write-up with me about her learning process and techniques with designing and making this rya. It covers many subjects you may be wondering about. We decided to share it as a blog post in the future months. So stay tuned.

Jeanne is a rya dare devil. She challenges herself with exciting colors and designs she has made or adapted from her grandchildren's art!

No fear! She jumps right in and has a party with the colors. LOVE IT!

He has been coming to the studio over the past few months to get started on this colorful design he was inspired by. We drew it on the backing and selected color combinations. He's getting quite good at the math. Kudos!

He is well on his way and now has all the yarn he will need to complete it--we hope!

Brenda is no stranger to making rya rugs. She shared her progress in making Kontrapunkt in these mustardy colors which I have never seen before. It's coming along beautifully. Thanks for sharing. Check out the other colors available in the Kontrapunkt design in my Etsy Shop.

You all make my mission and work so rewarding. Thank you for your kind correspondence and friendship.

I usually end my newsletter with colorful garden photos. This fall, my husband and I hired a team of "pond builders" to install a small pond with flowing water behind our back porch--in front of Byrdcall Studio.

In the spring we will surround the pond with plants that are good for the birds, butterflies, bees, and other wildlife. So stay tuned.

As always, stay happy and well, and seeing the beauty around you.