| |
Byrdcall Studio, LLC
Rya Rug Revival
and Creative Arts
by Melinda Byrd
| |
Greetings from Byrdcall Studio | | What is Happening with Rya Supplies? | | |
To be honest, I don't know exactly what is happening in yarn availability. Since we last spoke, the tariffs have been put into play I'm sorry to say. I have not raised my prices, but it will probably have to happen in the coming months. For over a month, I did not hear from my distributors, so I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't worried.
The GOOD NEWS is, they recently received a large shipment of yarn and I have placed a large order of Ryegarn and Prydvevgarn. No new backings were shipped from Norway. I still have backings, but wish I could receive new ones as they sell. When my yarn order arrives, it will be interesting to see if all the colors I ordered arrive. If not, we'll make do. Substituting very similar colors is a possibility if you are open to that.
Last week I had to "unlist" about 30 of the kits I offer on my website and Etsy because either I didn't have the backing for it or I was missing a crucial color. Hopefully with the incoming order, I'll be able to relist them. Thanks for being flexible and patient. Truly, I have been able to fill 85% of the orders I've received.
Fortunately I have a good amount of the Finnish Taito Pirkanmaa backings in various width. See them on Etsy. These are the surface-notted backings.
Lundgren yarn has been moving very well. Several colors have sold out this summer.
| | |
Open Studio ~ Drop In Day
Sat., November 8 from 10 am - 3:00 pm
Impulse-Buy Rya Supplies
| | I was so happy to have the camaraderie and support of last month's Rya Open Studio attendees. After shopping and sharing projects and techniques, I was so lucky they all offered to help me make Lundgren Sample Cards saving me hours of work. Thank you! | | |
To all of you who have participated in the Rya Sewing Circle over the past 10 years, I invite you to drop in. Hand-pick supplies or dig through the vintage discount bins.
This is an invitation for anyone who is in the area and wants connection with rya folks, supplies, guidance, or to do some shopping. RSVP if you plan to work on a rya project so I can save you a seat.
Studio is located at
1103 Hoods Mill Rd. Woodbine, MD
| Pick up a box or two of my linocut Cheer! holiday cards--blank or with holiday message. | | |
Come see your old knotting buddies or make some new friends.
- Bring a rya in progress and knot a few rows with buddies
- Select a backing and some yarn for your next rya
- Pick up a ready-made kit (Let me know in advance so I have time to get it ready for you.)
- See the little-known artsy items I have all over the studio that no one ever sees but I would love to watch you discover!
- Pick up a rya backing strip, some yarn, a needle, and make a decorative rya dog collar. $25 and I'll personally help you get started.
Email to say you are coming so I have some idea how many people to expect. Thank you.
info@byrdcallstudio.com
If several of you want to come but are not free that day, we could pick a weekday evening to open the studio doors for visits and purchases.
If no one can come on Nov. 8th, I will cancel, so be sure to let me know you'll be coming.
| | | Miscellaneous Small backings on Etsy | | |
Many of you have asked for small backings for experimentation, wall-hangings, or to play with. I often have the end of a roll of backing that I will cut and hem in odd sizes. There is nothing wrong with these backings. I brought a big bin full of these backings to my class at Common Ground on the Hill so students can choose the size and type of backing they want. I will continue to add to these listings as new pieces present themselves.
| | Ready-to-Go Small Taito Pirkanmaa backings (Finland). All have been given a preliminary hem which you can fold over to make a hollow hem for a rod when you are done. Click to see the available sizes and prices. | |  | Ready-to-Go Rauma (Norway) backings of miscellaneous sizes and prices. I expect to add to this regularly. Click to see options. | | | A Few Kits Ready to Mail and $ave! | |
| |
"Tulipan" is prepared as a kit and looking for a home
I'm not sure why I made this in advance of an order, but it has all the yarn you need even if I am sold out of it on the shelves.
Take a look at it on Etsy and read about it. If your are the first to email me saying you want to buy it, I will send you an online invoice and subtract 5% of the listed price (It will be $332.50 plus postage). For most of you that will cover the shipping plus a lot more. (Do not buy it on Etsy if you want the discount.)
Click to see more info.
| | | |
| |
"Tornerose"
Translates as "Thorn Rose", this is a bright and colorful rya kit all ready to mail off to you.
Take a look at it on Etsy and read about it. If your are the first to email me saying you want to buy it, I will send you an online invoice and subtract 5% of the listed price (It will be $513 plus postage). For most of you that will cover the shipping plus a lot more. (Do not buy it on Etsy if you want the discount.)
Click to see more pictures and info
| | | | | |
and Lastly: Fjellflora
You can see another picture of the rya further down in this newsletter. This one is packed as a kit and ready to go.
You can read more about it and see more photos at my Etsy shop at the link below. much more than a couple of paragraphs. If your are the first to email me saying you want to buy it, I will send you an online invoice and subtract 5% of the listed price (It will be $556.70 plus postage). For most of you that will cover the shipping plus a lot more. (Do not buy it on Etsy if you want the discount.)
Link to Etsy to view this rya
| | | Update on Rya Business Status | | |
During the past year, I have been telling you that I need a change in my active role as your rya rug provider and coach. We have had active interest by qualified and wonderful people. I am keeping things in a holding pattern at the moment due to the uncertainty of the supply chain as things stand.
No one would want to take the torch for the next period of time without assurance that supplies will be forthcoming. No rush on anyone's part, so we will take our time and see what unfolds. When a change occurs, you will be the first to know. All is well. Feel free to shop as you normally do.
| | Remember My Blockprinting Days? | | |
This is Knotty Dogs. It is the first block print--a linocut--that I carved in my adult life. At Common Ground on the Hill, the Traditional Arts Camp, I took Celtic knot carving class with Shawn Lockhart in 2000. Knotty Dogs was the outcome of the class and the beginning of about 15 years of actively carving about 40 woodcuts and linocuts which I sell as framable art AND (used to) hand-print on T-shirts.
Except for a few breakaway carvings, I have not carved or printed anything in 10 years. Getting back into printmaking is one of the things I will do when I slow down.
Just a few days ago, a friend asked to buy an original Knotty Dogs print. I had sold out years ago and still had plenty more to print in the edition of 100. I just bought a new tube of printing ink since my last one dried up. In the next issue, I'll share the outcome. Maybe some Knotty Dogs are in your future.
Check out some of my other prints on my website at this link.
Note: there are two pages of the blockprints listed o my website.
| | |
Most of you have been in touch with me one way or the other for a decade or more, but I wanted to share with new folks the best way for me to communicate with you most efficiently.
Best Email: byrdcallstudio@gmail.com. Info@byrdcallstudio.com also works and comes right to my gmail address.
Contacting me via my Website: This works fine and goes straight to my gmail address.
Contacting me via Etsy messaging: This is fine for questions about Etsy purchases, but not so much for asking general questions that don't relate to Etsy orders. They monitor my message with algorithms and I must respond within 24 hours or they give me demerits that affect my 5-star rating. It's like having a "boss" looking over my shoulder. But definitely use their message system regarding an order.
Messaging me on Facebook. Please don't. I won't notice and will feel terrible when I notice weeks later.
Contacting me by Phone: All of my promotional info which I send out when you make a purchase has my phone number on it. During business hours, I welcome a call. But I must say that 90% of the calls I get are spam or junk calls. If I don't recognize the number, I'm not apt to answer, so LEAVE A MESSAGE. I will call back asap. If no message is left, I might assume it is spam and "block the caller." Sorry. I know you all experience the same thing and it is frustrating. Texting is OK (not great), but my friends and family all text, so I'm afraid of mixing up business texting with personal life texting and I try to live as disconnected as I can from "devices."
So, I'm here for you, but email is best so a speedy response and my ability to locate your past messages for reference. Thanks.
| | Show & Tell ~ Sharing with Others | | | | |
Tam from Roseville, Minnesota
... recently completed her knotting of this Rauma design, Fjellflora which in Norwegian says "Mountain Flowers." Her sweet kitty, Taco, has laid claim to the flowerbed. This photo shows the true colors of this kit.
I have a Fjellflora kit all packed and ready to go if anyone would like me to send it to them.
Here is a link the the Etsy listing so you can read about it and see more photos.
| | | |
Here are TWO rya rugs knotted by
Rebecca from Orem, Utah.
"I had completed one 35 years ago from a licenced pattern that I bought while in Sweden. That pattern is called Tundra (browns, grays and whites that I included below, 120 cm x 175 cm) from C.U.M, a company that isn't in existence anymore."
Note from Byrdcall: I still have some random CUM rya yarn in case anyone is looking for it. Ask me.
| |
| |
Inspired by Ritva Puotila's
On Land and at Sea
"And at some point I acquired another backing much larger 6' x 3' 10". But it sat for many years until I started hunting on the internet and found one by a Finnish artist named Ritva Puotila. She named it, On Land and at Sea and I knew immediately I had come across what I wanted."
Unable to find a kit for this beautiful rya, Rebecca set out to create her own by graphing her interpretation of Puotila's design. She gathered yarns from Rauma, Borgs/Åsborya, and Lundgren Rya.
"I'm starting to think of the next project, this time one of my own creations for sure. I loved making it, a very therapeutic thing for me to do at a difficult time in my life.
| | | | |
Megan from Mount Airy, Maryland
is totally new to rya rug making. She took my class this July at Common Ground on the Hill and fell in love with it. She purchased another backing the same size so she can make a second companion rya to this one.
She lives in a midcentury modern home and designed this exciting rya for her home.
She has been attending the Open Studio Sewing Circles and I look forward to seeing her next design.
She is an active member of our Rya Rug Friends Facebook page.
| | |
Barbara from Havre de Grace, Maryland
Barbara was in my class at Common Ground on the Hill. She was totally new to rya rug making. She is an excellent jewelry designer and also taught at CGOTH (Check her out.) Now she is an excellent rya designer and knotter. Inspired by a field of sunflowers at sunset. Makes me smile.
| | | | |
Elaine from Columbus, Ohio designed this beauty. I asked her about it, and she replied, "Melinda, this rug is my own design. I was attending Miami University in Oxford Ohio as a Fine Arts major. Through my professor, I discovered the intriguing world of Rya Rugs. With a fascination for fabric arts, rug hooking, rug punching, needlepoint, this new art was intoxicating. The supplies were purchased in Cincinnati Ohio and the name of the woman who supplied us, escapes me. I still have some of the yarn from that time - 1975.
[The rya supplier in Cincinnati was Greta Peterson.] ~MB
| | |
Elaine also shared this.
"My first rya rug in 1975. My own design. I love it."
The Rya Rug Friends Group had many positive comments:
Megan: That is really cool! Almost looks like animal fur!
Elizabeth: That is awesome. So true to the spirit of Rya!
Helen: Beautiful! The wool looks fine and lustrous.
Brenda: That is stunning. I love it!
Christina: This is OUTSTANDING!!!!
Kathy: Just gorgeous!
| | | |
David from Cincinnati
He amazed us at the top of this newsletter with his round rya of his own design. He is always very generous in sharing his self-taught tips. Take a close look at his progress and learn from the master. Now you'll know the rest of the story.
One challenge was the size and weight. This 78" rya used over 90 skeins of yarn!
| | |
He had lots of reds on hand so using them was a goal though he still needed to buy more. Another goal was to blend the reds in a nice flow until reaching the black. Then not have a salt and pepper appearance at that point.
He found it challenging working with a round backing to come up with a layout where each of the diamonds/circles were of the same size and equidistant from one another. (Has anyone else tried that?)
The templates were the inside of a bicycle tire for the large circle, the lid of a large container for the small circle and a template I made for the diamond that would work both horizontally and vertically. Then I moved them around until I liked what I saw then traced onto the backing.
| | | |
I started with the brightest red and worked all the lines in the holes and the weft to establish the pattern. Worked the designs inward from there. I decided that the diamond should be the predominate design but I also still wanted to keep the appearance of the large circle going through it so on the corners of the design I think this can be seen.
"Since not working straight across the backing when my designs came together I really had to work the needle and yarn in those tight spots." [That is something I always warn students about--how difficult it cn be to add knots underneath knots that are already made. Well, here is proof that it can be done.]
| | | |
Have You Heard about the Book? Of course you have.
I still have lots of books to send out. I self-published so no one else is pushing them for me. Unless you do. And I thank you.
Do you know anyone who would enjoy this book? I would so appreciate your support of sharing my book with anyone who might enjoy it. If you know a shop that might like to carry a few books, I sell wholesale. Share with anyone who might appreciate the book. Thank you. Click here.
| | |
And a Few Closing Words
and a Garden Stroll
| | |
Until Next Time, Friends,
I hope you enjoyed the newsletter.
Thank you for sharing your photos and love with me. Being in touch always makes my day. I hope you are well and enjoying life each day.
As usual, we'll be on vacation early in October. At the beach. And I am bringing miscellaneous art supplies to entertain myself and others. The Etsy Shop and Website Shop will be closed during that time. Hang loose.
Looks like I will be hanging art on the gallery walls of the Taproom at Milkhouse Brewery at Stillpoint Farm later this fall or winter. I'll let you know more in the next newsletter.
Giving a sincere shout out to our friends in Canada. We love you.
And though life has been challenging and overwhelming at times over the past many months, I always refresh my mind by taking a walk through the yard or at the parks. I sure hope you enjoy my garden pictures since I love taking them and sharing them.
We are all in this together. Join me for a stroll around my yard today.
With love to you,
Melinda
| | |
Fall in the Woodbine gardens
| | | |
And finally, I have to share one of my biggest joys of the summer. As you may have noticed, I garden mostly for wildlife. I let milkweed grow where it wants to within reason and I reap the benefits of many monarch butterflies hanging out on the milkweed flowers and eventually laying the eggs on the milkweed leaves.
I also have planted another "weed" called late boneset or white boneset (Eupatorium serotinum) which has recently been found to contain healthy chemicals in it which provide monarchs defense and strength. It is lapped up from the DRY leaves of the boneset after the monarch moistens the dry plant tissue with its tongue. I have been fascinated in observing this and have photographed it as documentation for the "science world" that is studying it. I know many of you are nature lovers. If interested in learning more go to this website and you might learn something new. My good friend, Nancy is The Humane Gardener.
| | |
Thanks for reading all the way to the end
Stay connected. I'm here for ya.
Let me know if I can help you with anything rya.
Sincerely,
Melinda
| | | |
|
PO Box 162
Woodbine, MD 21797
410-615-2473
info@byrdcallstudio.com
| | | | |
