Eugenia Stanley

The name came from the natural colors I used. There was no dyes in this weaving. Other than the natural wool that came from the sheep. The design came about when I looked at the handspun yarn I was spinning with a hand spindle. I thought of how I could make this design look different from the other rugs I have wove. I wanted the look to be bold and have that traditional feeling to the storm pattern. Using all natural colors to beautify the creation I was weaving. 

This one is dedicated to my mother. Without her teachings, I wouldn’t be who I am today with my weavings. When I was a teenager, my mom taught me the basic block textiles that could form a rug. When I started weaving I thought about all the designs she would create. I added her touch of two grey hill colors. As I also added a colorful shade of yellow to make the design pop. I made sure everything would be perfectly squared as I got to my middle design. Just as my mother would do to her weavings.

I was pregnant with our youngest when I wove this rug. My grandfather told me, if you find out you are  pregnant and you weren’t weaving at the time, it’s best not to until after your pregnancy. If you found out you are having a child and you were weaving at the time. You can still do it during your pregnancy. Which I did. Our daughter was apart of several runner rugs I wove up until I had her. We gave her the name “Stormi” as her middle name.  Something she will always hear me tell her as she grows up. I wanted to add in intricate designs to share what I have taught myself thus far. Choosing the color scheme was hard at first. But as I wove a way for the designs to come about, I wanted it to make a statement. That adding an outline of lighter shade against darker ones would help you see the complication of my weavings. I don’t like to see big portions of the same color. I rather go in and add more designs to make my rugs compliment me. As a weaver. I swapped colors in my weavings back and forth. Something new I have been doing in my designs to build a little trademark for myself. I also added the two grey hill design. To show a bit of balance of what I wove when I first started weaving. Adding a striking block border as well. 

This is by far the biggest All Handspun rug I have wove to date. Which the name “my magnificent blessing” came about. I taught myself so much before attempting this rug. I had to find the balance between how to weave with handspun wool. It’s different from commercial wool we purchase at the trading post. It could come out finer or thicker than we wanted the yarn to form. If you pull too hard your warp will start going inward. Making it hard to keep that square alignment. When I made up my mind that I was ready for a big weaving, I wanted it to be all natural wool colors from churro sheep in my weavings. Around that time I was experimenting with natural vegetal dyes. I used yellow onion skins to help create the yellow in this rug. It was my first natural dyed yarn and I was very pleased with the outcome. I spun them all during the pandemic when we were all quarantined. It gave me time to teach myself how to spin yarn on my spinning wheel I was gifted that year. Since I was only using a hand spindle before then. I was able to spin finer yarn. That was an advantage for me. To be able to add more lines for designs. Looking at the blank canvas I was about to weave. Makes me visualize what I can create. Sometimes I will dream about it and the next day I remember what I wanted to do and I would weave it out. This was also a time for me to show the world what I could create from my own two hands. To add that block textile I learned from when I first started weaving. Plus the designs I have taught myself since. I have always used that natural look or color for my rugs.