Summerand Winter Weaving

Recycled Jeans Rugs

The picture to the right is a close-up of a recycled jeans rug. All jeans I use...have been used!  I have been weaving and selling these rugs because they incorporate my interest in the environment. The more jeans I weave, more stay out of the landfill! You can browse through the rugs I have for sale, or order a rug using your family's jeans. Look in the "Recycled Jeans Rugs" page. If you send me your jeans to make into a rug, I won't add shipping charges to get the rug to you.

 

 

ReNews Rugs                                                                             

Most of the recycled plastic bags are used newspaper bags, hense the name "ReNews" Some are grocery, or other bags people give me. I also sell green (Pittsburgh Post Gazette) rugs in a very cool web company called "Uncommon Goods". They called them Bubble-Mats, because I make them purposely with bubbles in them, and they "pop" when you walk on them!

 

ReNews Bags

This year, 2012, I'm sewing some ReNews weavings into bags. These are entirely made from reclaimed materials (except for the black warp thread & sewing thread). The straps are seat belts (thanks to Missionary Auto Service & Slavage and Stan Sadowski Auo Wrecking).  This bag has a  main strap that can (un)buckle and is length-adjustable.

See ReNews Bags page for more info and more bags!

 

 

 

 


If you are interested in how the rugs are made, look in "weaving - how". I've also thrown a few pictures in of past weavings....and another weaving passion of mine...Early American overshot designs.

Thanks so much for looking,   Beth Hedin

 

 

About Summer and Winter:   The name is a type of weave "summer and winter", a versatile weave structure, which is usually darker on one side and lighter on the other. There are many types of weaving I like to do, but I sell mostly plain weave (rag rugs) and overshot (Early American designs).

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Allegheny Green & Innovation Festival 9/24/2011
I'll bring out my small loom and rugs for sale at the Allegheny Green & Innovation Festival at Hartwood Acres on Saturday  (9/24). I'll be part of I Made It! Market, which is an amazing group of artists...make sure you check out their website 'cause you never know where IMIM artists will pop up in the city next!

Kool Kats, Sustainability Saturdays at the MtLebanon Farmers Market   10/8/2011
Kool Kats, in Mt Lebanon,is a store that features local artists. You can find fabulous jewelry, textiles, paintings, etc and I am very lucky that I have some rugs and placemats for sale there. NO need to go to gift stores that sell things made by machines or shipped in from around the world. We have sooo many talented artists right here in Pgh...support them! I'll be demonstrating weaving on Saturday morning (10/8) in front of Kool Kats (inside if the weather is bad!)

Working at a Zero Waste event recently, I am learning more about what is "waste". The more we reuse materials, or the more lives we give a material, the better. Rugs that I make from used jeans and plastic are a pretty good reuse, but would be called "downcycled" (not "upcycled") because a rug would likely be it's last use...what's the next use?...probably the landfill. But I feel pretty good, still, about the rugs I weave because they are very durable and these bags and jeans are kept out of the landfill for a very long time. YES, I will be glad when the use of plastic is decreased, or gone, and I'll have to look for another thing to weave! (Maybe grass clippings...stop putting them in a landfiill for goodness sakes!)

Beth

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