rug

Round 2:Rug Wars

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Rugs Wars officially started yesterday. And with the help of my friends and people who genuinely liked my rug- I made it into round two. Thank you for the votes!

With only a few hours remaining, I’m not sure I’ll make it into the next set of rounds. On both pages, I’m just not doing as well as yesterday. In fact, I am only at 39% on both.

Obviously I’d like to be getting further on in the Rug War. However, I have seen some great rug designs out there and I know that I would have a tough time competing further on.

If you’d like to vote for my rug prior to end of day, go to the following two links and cast for my Alien design (the top one).

First link: RugsByLess

Second link: Shellula

Be sure and vote on both stories to help me along! I’d appreciate it.

Even if I don’t get too far, I had fun getting involved in the challenge.

Before and After With Pride

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Making rugs has been a fun adventure these past 8 weeks. I have learned a lot and improved tremendously in the art. One of the things I am working hardest towards is the finishing touches and final results.

It’s amazing how a bit of trimming, cleaning and shaving can make all the difference in how a rug looks in order to get crisp edges, it starts with how close you stitch the yarn to each colour and change. Leaving a small gap can make it easier to show the transition since yarn has a tendency to spread a bit when cut.

Noticing the difference in the quality of how my rugs turn out is huge for me. Not everyone sees it as I am making the rugs. They look pretty good without the extra work. But I take great pride in making sure they have crisp edges and lines in order to look amazing. Especially when the rugs are going to a new home. I want my friends to be happy with what I have made for them.

Taking pride in one’s work is a quality I admire in others. Which is why I work so hard in all my ventures.

Wrist Rugs

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Recently I wanted to make some of my own designs when it came to rugs. One of my favorite inspirations has come from other tufters. The idea of rugs going on your desk below the keyboard sounded interesting. So I made a few of my own “Wrist Rugs.”

I first created matching Wall-E and Eve rugs. I liked the idea of their eyes and the simplicity of the design. The rugs are recognizable and I love the fandom art behind it. Perfect for a His and Hers style!

I also made a wrist rig for me to use at work. I made the CN logo and the basic red and white stripe of the locomotives. The black background will also be good for hiding any dirt and grime that my office space has.

These rugs are soft and wonderful for underneath your wrists as you type. If you want one let me know! Perhaps I could even design a custom one for you!

New Rug Designs

Posted on by Josef Havelka

This week I tufted more rugs. I have not made any of the same designs yet. I like that each rug I have made at this is a “One Off” and unique.

I enjoyed designing a couple of the rugs this time around. I did a sakura flower and a pot leaf. Both very different designs, and both fun to make.

I also made a couple of “wrist rugs” that can be placed on a desk in front of a keyboard. I designed matching Wall-E and Eve inspired rugs. The colour scheme and simplicity of just they eyes really works.

I also have a couple of other rugs that I made, but don’t want to show them off yet as they are gifts for a few friends. Once they are given away- I plan to share the images.

This hobby is a lot of fun. I am enjoying creating recognizable images in rug form. I hope that everyone else is enjoying seeing what I make. Remember to follow on my Instagram Tuftleupagus to see progress of what I make.

New Rug Designs

Posted on by Josef Havelka

This week I tufted more rugs. I have not made any of the same designs yet. I like that each rug I have made at this is a “One Off” and unique.

I enjoyed designing a couple of the rugs this time around. I did a sakura flower and a pot leaf. Both very different designs, and both fun to make.

I also made a couple of “wrist rugs” that can be placed on a desk in front of a keyboard. I designed matching Wall-E and Eve inspired rugs. The colour scheme and simplicity of just they eyes really works.

I also have a couple of other rugs that I made, but don’t want to show them off yet as they are gifts for a few friends. Once they are given away- I plan to share the images.

This hobby is a lot of fun. I am enjoying creating recognizable images in rug form. I hope that everyone else is enjoying seeing what I make. Remember to follow on my Instagram Tuftleupagus to see progress of what I make.

Keep on Spending

Posted on by Josef Havelka

I am really enjoying my hobby. So much so that I am spending more money than I am bringing in. But that’s okay, right? I mean it is just a hobby after all.

I keep buying monks cloth and yarn. Loads of yarn!!! I am stock piling a variety of colours just in case someone wants something different than what I have made this mid far. I have also purchased some new trimming scissors and am waiting for a second razor as I want one for the edging and one for making the rugs smooth.

I am even at a point where I want a second tufting gun. Mostly as a backup, but also to be able to teach others how to make rugs. Like family and friends. I think it would be a neat activity to do in a group environment.

So if I do get a second gun, my door and knowledge will be open for those who want to learn this fun hobby! Maybe I’ll teach classes at the local Maker Space.

Making More?

Posted on by Josef Havelka

I have enjoyed tufting- obviously since I can’t stop talking about it… But I was only able to make one rug at a time with my set up. So on Thursday I decided to make a larger frame.

This one is six feet wide and four and a half feet tall. This allows for my entire monks cloth sheet to fit without much waste.

On my previous frame, I made removable and adjustable legs. I moved them to my new frame. I also added a hook to hold my tufting gun when not in use. I also added a couple of dowels on the side for my yarn in hopes to make it easier to work with.

I was able to draw five large rugs and a couple of small pieces. Over the past few weeks I was able to complete one to two rugs every week. I hadn’t realized that working on a layout for the images was going to be so time consuming. I spent most of my day just getting this ready that the only colour of yarn I was able to finish with was the black yarn.

Tomorrow I will be spending more time rug making. Hopefully by Monday night, my rugs will be ready for the finishing touches and by next weekend they will be completed. I can’t wait to show off these designs.

Hobby For Work

Posted on by Josef Havelka

I’ve been doing tufting now for a little over a month. During this time I have gotten visibly better at it. My coworkers are genuinely surprised at my skills. Which is totally understandable- I usually keep work at work and my life outside of there is where the fun is.

But after seeing my work, two of my coworkers asked me to make rugs for them. Both very different designs. Both are something I wouldn’t have done on my own either. I looked up ideas online and got feedback prior to creating the rugs.

The first “commission rug” was requested to be a mushroom. The colours just POP in my opinion. This is going to be a gift for his wife since she loves mushrooms. Before doing the rug, we discussed what style to do and went with a cartoonish style- reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. This one was fun to make because I was able to create it in a more whimsical style. When I finished it, I wasn’t sure what rug to make next. So I contacted another coworker who asked about a rug the other day.

This next rug was from Naruto. It was a Mangekyō Sharingan symbol. He asked for this specific design with black and red. As simple as this image looks, it was far more difficult to make than anticipated. I decided to draw a circle on the fabric and lined up the image to fit perfectly. The hardest part was sewing the curves. The monks cloth is set up horizontal and vertical. Making the turns takes longer and is slow going.

In the end, these two rugs are the most perfect ones I have made to date. I’m really happy that they are going to new homes. My house is getting full…

Carpet Kirby

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Today I made what I consider my best rug yet. I made it for our oldest kid. They requested the video game character Kirby holding a star. I found some images online and created my own design in the end.

I learned some more techniques from following other tufters on Instagram. I have been growing my abilities each week and with every rug. After each colour, I went to the other side and trimmed the edges. It was a bit more time consuming, but the results are superior to anything I have made yet.

This rug was challenging in its own ways. The pink was a different size of yarn and caused me to re-thread it repeatedly. A few curse words may have been said over and over again. But look how cute this rug turned out!

I’ll finish this rug later in the week. There’s just a bit more trimming to complete once I glue the backing on. Hopefully our 20 year old likes this one as much as I do. If not- I have an amazing pink rug!

Improving My Tufting Skills

Posted on by Josef Havelka

I have now made four rugs since starting my newest hobby- Tufting. Creating rugs based on our Fandoms has been fun so far. This week I made one with far more detail than my previous rugs.

I made Haku- the dragon from the anime: Spirited Away. This one had more colours, thinner segments and an attempt at blending that I hadn’t tried yet. I spent a couple of hours today trimming the image in order to make it pop more. I still have a long way to go, but I am enjoying this new hobby immensely.

Tuft working with yarn reminds me of Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street. So I finally created an Instagram account for my artwork: Tuftleupagus. (Tuftle-up-a-gus). I even had some fun making logos, but haven’t settled on any yet.

I think I’m obsessing too much with the 80’s lately. However, I am having fun with this hobby. No plans on making it lucrative yet. I still have a long way to go in the process of making these rugs. I’m also going to need to buy more yarn soon. My white and black are running low, plus there’s other aspects of the tufting work that I need to buy soon. Like more glue and backing for the rugs.

This is my first hobby that I have enjoyed since perler bead art almost a decade ago. That lasted for a few years mind you and I enjoyed what we made together as a family. I kind of see tufting going that route soon enough. With the potential to be a battle over who gets to make a rug.

Follow along with my rugs on my Instagram account. I’m going to keep working hard at getting better at these and hope to make a large scale rug one day.

Fandom Rug Making

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Over the last couple of days I finished another two rugs. Spending about four hours on each rug seems to be average. These next two had more intricate designs in them. Both fandoms are near and dear to me, which is why I chose to make these.

Akira has been my favorite anime since I first saw it as a teenager in the late 80’s. Something a bout the style, music, and pace of the film just captivated me. I own every iteration of it on video, I owned a shirt for almost thirty years from it, and the soundtrack has been in my playlist for ages. It seemed natural to want to do something from this film as my own personal rug.

The Powerpuff Girls was something that my wife and I connected over when we first started dating. Ever since then we have been enjoying finding items, gifts, trinkets, etc from the series. (Read more about our love of PPG Here)

I was able to put both on one framing this time. The Akira one will be going on my side of the bedroom opposite the The first one I completed for my wife. The Powerpuff Girls logo is going to my wife as a soft support for her wrists while she uses her work computer.

Both turned out pretty awesome. I completed the final touches on my Akira rug, and my wife wants to do the last bit on the Powerpuff Girls one. Now that I have a better understanding of how to tuft, I am looking forward to making more challenging pieces for myself. Next week, I already have an idea of my next one to make.

Any suggestions on what I should attempt next? Keep in mind that the size is under 36” square, so no area rugs at this time. But I do love my fandoms and anime. I have a feeling those will be the majority of what I make. Once I get good enough- I may just start to sell them.

First Rug Completed

Posted on by Josef Havelka

After a couple of weeks, my first rug was completed yesterday.

Now, it doesn’t take a couple of weeks to make a 16”x30” rug. But in that time I had to buy yarn, build a frame, order a power supply, figure out how to get an image projected from my iPhone, draw the image, tuft, glue, cut out, shave, shave some more, trim, shave again… in the end, the work required to do this rug took me about three to four hours.

A solid start. I learned what I need to do to be better. I also got a feel for the gun and the materials used. I’m hoping that my next few rugs will take about three to four hours but would have more details involved. The next rug I make is for me.

After a slow start on the rug My New Hobby turned out pretty good. I made it for my wife: Lee-Anne. She loves “L” from the anime “Death Note” and this was his symbol. Fitting since it’s the first letter of her name as well. Maybe after I make a few more rugs I will retry this one to perfect it. I know all the flaws I created and it will bother me for ages. But still, a solid first rug.