Large Rugs Transportation

It's simple, the bigger the rug the heavier it gets, at 3.2 kgs per sq meter just a 3 by 2 meter rug can weigh 18kgs, thats roughly what a fully packed suitcase. So when it comes to large rugs, please bare this in mind.

Imagine when you're buying a 17 x 4.5 meter rug (the largest rug we've ever sold) . Well it weighed in at 230kgs and took 8 people to lift.

If you decide to buy a large rug of then consider the weight it might be.

Berber Rugs in Morocco

A boucherouite, (pronounced boo-shay-REET) a word derived from a Moroccan-Arabic is a phrase meaning torn and reused clothing is a rug made in Morocco. The carpets it describes, made by women for more domestic use, is a variation of the humble rag rug, without the humility. With their zany patterns and jolting colors, these household items look dolled up and ready to party; naturally more suitable for framing than for trampling underfoot, one would think?

The style developed fairly recently, a result of socio-economic changes. Since the middle of the 20th century nomadic life in Morocco has been seriously on the decline since the production of wool from sheepherding has much been reduced. During the same period, though, Berber culture has come to the attention of the global market, and Berber carpets have been ever more popular.

Faced with a call for increased output and a scarcity of natural materials, Berber weavers have had to rethink parts of their craft. This has meant, among other things, supplementing wool with recycled fabrics and cheap synthetic fibers like nylon and Lurex, and various plastics.

Removing a burn mark from your rug or carpet

Have you ever accidentally burnt your rug, let's say by leaving straighteners on it or maybe ironing on the floor? Burn marks can be really tricky to get our of carpets without it leaving a noticeable trace. If the mark is only on the surface of the carpet you maybe able to scrub it out with steel wool or a lightweight sandpaper, this should get out any small marks, after this you will need to vacuum the area to get rid of any wool fibres or residue sandpaper.

Although this method is a sure fire way of getting rid of small surface marks, it may not work on much deeper piled carpets where there is a much visible mark still left after rubbing it with steel wool. If this is the case for you then you will have to use a utility knife to cut around the area, try to make the cut out a square of rectangle. This patch will then have to be filled by another piece of your carpet, this could be a remnant that you kept after the carpet was fitted, if  you have not kept this then use a piece that is not seen regularly like underneath a sideboard or chest of drawers etc.

Use the cut out piece of carpet as a template by drawing around it onto a piece of paper, then choose somewhere to cut out your new piece of carpet. Using a glue gun, glue the underside of the new patch and fit it into place. Glue around the edges to make sure the piece will not become dislodged when cleaning. Use a carpet tractor to roll the carpet piece into place and make sure the pile is nicely

Aleppo Wedding, Chapter 3

Some weeks later his mother announced, over lunch as usual, that she had found a suitable flat for him nearby, and he must take time to see it. She had also arranged for him to see four girls, any one of whom she would be happy to have as a daughter-in-law. Nury had a strong feeling that anyone he married would all too soon be revealed to his mother as unsatisfactory in one way or another, but he held his tongue and agreed to spend the next few weeks in active search of a wife.
His eldest sister, Selwa, visited in the evening, accompanied by her inoffensive husband, who had been picked out as suitable by his mother but whose charms had faded rapidly, at least as far as Im Nury was concerned. Poor Hanni became quite tongue-tied in her presence these days, as he was always aware that she was taking critical notice of him, and would soon be asking whether Selwa was pregnant yet. Over the five years of their marriage the questions and remarks had become less general and more pointed, with illustrations from their own family to show that it couldn't be Selwa's fault. As Hanni came from a family of eleven children, he was inclined to believe   that shortage of children wasn't hereditary in his family either. However the knowledge that nothing short of high explosive would stop her combined with a disinclination for open warfare to keep him quiet, at least in her presence.
Sometimes Hanni had opened up a little to Nury, over a cup of coffee at the pharmacy, and Nury had been able to divine some of the trials he endured from remarks like, "Your mother, a very good woman of course, but she does make an issue of things, doesn't she?" delivered in an apologetic tone. Now Nury watched his mother and sister talking together and realised with something of a shock that they seemed to be growing more alike every day. It occurred to him to feel rather sorry for Hanni, and the same train of thought led him to think that he had better have a good look at the girls' mothers to see what the future could hold for him.
That had been Tuesday, and it was the Friday of the same week that Nury was taken by his mother to make the first formal visit to see a 'suitable' girl. Until now he had maintained an air of detached amusement towards the goings-on, but it came to him as he was knotting his tie that this was serious, and he was really going to have to share his life with someone else. It suddenly seemed very close, and he felt a sense of imprisonment and lost opportunities so strongly that he was tempted to tell his mother that he had changed his mind. The thought of what his mother would say, and at what length she would say it, soon routed the temptation, and he decided that no harm would be done by going with her just this once.

So last week

CUSTOMISED T-SHIRTS, MUGS AND MOUSE MATS ARE SO LAST WEEK.
Why not consider instead a rug made to a design or image of your choosing? That's the service on offer from Rug Designer, the first company offering an interactive rug design service worldwide.
Rug Designer is the brainchild of Anthony Hilal who has shed loads of expertise in the area having worked in the family business - which manufactures and supplies yarn to the carpet industry - for several years.

"Because we manage the whole process - that's from sourcing the raw material to making up the rugs - we're able to offer very competitive prices," said Anthony.

With rugs from £79 including delivery, they're fantastically affordable, but it has to be said that the best thing about Made to Measure is the input customers can have in the design of their rug - from the image or motif through to the colours. Let's face it, we all fancy ourselves as a bit of a designer, don't we? And it's great to get the chance to be part of the creative process.

"We can work with swatches of fabric or wallpaper or a photographic image," Anthony explained. "Just as long as the images sent to us are clear and quite specific - with everything in block colours - we can make up a rug in pretty much any design you like."

If you don't want to go to the trouble of designing your own rug they have a selection of ready-designed rugs that are pretty funky too - all the work of in-house designer Harneeta Kooner. Everything from retro patterns to organic or floral motifs, to paint splattered effects and of even a Zebra print.
These designs can be altered according to your whim - if, for example, you want a zebra rug in bright pink and blue instead of black and white. And the great thing is you can play about with your ideas online - on the website - to check how your finished rug will look.

The interactive aspect to the service is pretty unigue and it's great fun to mess about with patterns and colours, while giving you the confidence that the rug you order will work with the colours and configurations you have chosen. Incidentally if you don't find the colours you like they offer a Pantone-matching service too.

Meanwhile, future plans include Rug Designer concessions on select furniture retailers' websites - just like you have concessions in a department store, only these will be online. (Anthony is very interested to hear from anyone who has a suitable site.)

Oh, and all the rugs are 100 percent wool so no scrimping on quality either. Lovely stuff.

Rug Hooking

Rug hooking is both an art and a craft where rugs are made by pulling loops of yarn or fabric through a stiff woven base such as burlap, linen, or rug warp The loops are pulled through the backing by using a crochet-type hook mounted in a handle (usually wood) for leverage. In contrast latch-hooking uses a hinged hook to form a knotted pile from short, pre-cut pieces of yarn.

Wool strips ranging in size from 3/32 to 10/32 of an inch (2 to 8 mm) in width are often used to create hooked rugs or wall hangings. These precision strips are usually cut using a mechanical cloth slitter, the strips can also be hand-cut or torn. When using the hand-torn technique the rugs are usually done in a primitive motif. Sarah Nickerson is a famous rug hooker from Maine who uses this technique.

Designs for the rugs are often commercially produced and can be as complex as flowers or animals to as simple as geometrics. Rug-hooking has been popular in North America for at least the past 200 years.

The author William Winthrop Kent believed that the earliest forebears of hooked rugs were the floor mats made in Yorkshire, England during the early part of the 19th century. Workers in weaving mills were allowed to collect thrums, pieces of yarn that ran 9 inches (23 cm) long. These by-products were useless to the mill, and the weavers took them home and pulled the thrums through a backing. The origins of the word thrum are ancient, as Mr. Kent pointed out a reference in Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor. However in the publication "Rag Rug Making" by Jenni Stuart-Anderson, she states that the most recent research indicates "...the technique of hooking woollen loops through a base fabric was used by the Vikings, whose families probably brought it to Scotland." To add to this there are sound examples at the Folk Museum in Guernsey, Channel Islands that early rag rugs made in the same manner where produced here off the coast of France as well.

New website up and running

Thanks Paul Randall for all your efforts over the past few weeks, great job and so excited about the new site. Navigation is by far better than what it used to be and we have almost 200 designs you can convert to fantastic bespoke rugs.

Designer Rugs

Anyone can design a rug, be it for a living room, dining room or bed room. The key is to think about the preparation. Finding the correct dimension os the rug and the type of rug is easy. What is hard is the colour and design that will fit in with your already existent decor.

Would a contrasting rug colour go with your furnishings? Or would colour matching your furniture go better? You must also think if an irregular shape could bring a personality to your room? All of these are significant questions ou should be asking yourself when you come to purchasing a rug.

Our rugs at rug designer are all 100% wool and can be cut into any shape desired. We can cut the pile in different lengths to add a layered look to the rug, We can also do colour matching and match to any colour desired for a extra cost. We can also get it delivered to you in less than 4 weeks.

It's a beautiful day

So it has been quite beautiful these past few days and they weather is looking pretty nice for the coming days too! Having sunshine means going out and have lunch in the parks around london and drinking cider in the afternoon and spending quality time with your children or partners.

Having a glorious day doesn't mean you have to go for an adventure you could just stay in the comfort of your back garden. Taking out your rug to sit on it always a good idea, but make sure the grass or concrete is nice and clean before you lay it down! You dont want your glorious day to be spoiled by dirt on the bottom of your rug.

If you don't want to take you nice luscious rug outside you can always take an old towel and a few cushions to bring indor comforts outside!

Aleppo Wedding, Chapter 4

In the event, it turned out to be quite a pleasant experience. The first on his mother's list happened to be related to an old friend of his, who was waiting for them in the front room when they arrived, his mother preceding him into the room with three of his sisters in a cloud of French perfume and accompanied by the subdued jingle of heavy gold bracelets and necklaces, and the twinkle of diamond earrings.
After handshakes and greetings all round, everybody sat down on the gilt and velvet imitation Louis Quinze furniture, and the usual polite enquiries were made about the health and general wellbeing of various members of both families. So far, Nury had not seen the girl, Fatma, but her mother was there, dressed for visitors in a rather bosomy dark blue dress and a grey scarf. Like his mother, she was wearing generous amounts of both jewellery and perfume. One of her rings particularly caught his eye, it was a big solitaire diamond which picked up gleams of light from the enormous, sparkling crystal chandelier whenever its wearer moved her hand. The effect was as if its size were changing according to the angle, which he found mildly hypnotic.
About fifteen minutes later, Fatma, whom he mentally tabulated as Candidate A, brought in a large, heavily ornamented silver tray loaded with cups of Turkish coffee. As she went carefully around the room, serving Nury's mother and then him and his sisters before her own family, he had time to notice that she was quite pretty. Her hair was very long and dark, falling far below the scarf with which, like most of the other women in the room, she at least conveyed the idea that she was covering her hair. As soon as the coffee was served she sat down and Nury's mother attempted to put her at her ease by asking her how her studies were going, (she was somewhat unsuccessfully trying to study Maths at the local university). However the poor girl was so embarrassed at being the centre of attention, and at knowing herself to be 'on trial', that she made little sense.
Very soon the conversation settled into the usual topics of the marriages or deaths of various neighbours (the women not knowing each other well enough to share scandal), and the price and availability of various items in the shops, so Nury was free to let his mind wander. He watched Fatma as discreetly as he could as he sipped his coffee, and tried to imagine her face at the breakfast table, the way he often remembered Sarah. It was impossible. He couldn't do it. He wondered what their faces would be like if he stood up and said, "I'm sorry, but Fatma can't possibly replace the girl I used to live with. Goodbye."
His mother spoke his name quite sharply, and he realised he had not been listening, so he quickly pulled his face into a suitable expression because goodbyes were being said. He joined in correctly, not forgetting to invite the whole party to their house at some unspecified time in the future, as etiquette demanded.
As they went down in the lift his mother told him off for daydreaming, but before they had reached the main door of the building she and his sisters had turned to the much more entertaining task of discussing the occasion. They dissected Fatma (a nice girl with a good reputation, but so dark, poor thing), her mother, her sisters (one of them looks like a troublemaker to me, don't you think so?), and every one of her relations that anyone had ever met or heard of. Now the ordeal was over, Nury felt sufficiently detached to wonder what Fatma's family were saying about him.

It's that time of year...

Big Brother has landed on our screens in the UK and the house is as amazing as ever! Custom made wallpaper, whirl pools, chill out areas with custom made upholstery and a nest, this place is so cool everyone should envy the big brother house mates.

This house is going to be the last Big Brother house ever in the UK, or so they say, 10 years of the big brother house and UK television audiences have seen some of the most outrageous and crazy interior design as of yet.

It's colourful and bright with a carnival/ circus theme. And as it's the last ever series the producers have paid tribute to stars of the show from the last 10 years.

Painted on the bathroom wallpaper and on plates on the kitchen are images of host Davina McCall, 42, interviewing a housemate.
There are also drawings of Orlaith McAllister, 31, and Craig Coates, 26, kissing in the pool for a dare on BB6 as well as BB7 lovebirds Mikey Dalton, 27, and Grace Adams Short, 24.
There are also plenty of pictures of chickens, homage to birds that housemates looked after in the first few series'.

For the first time since the Big Brother phenomenon started, housemates can see people coming and going from the Diary Room also heading up to the outside world once evicted.

The interior of the house is almost completely perspex, making the house so public that no one can hide, the only place to not include prespex in it, is the toilets. The floors are all custom made for the house, all of which feature intricately designed rugs and carpets. In previous years rug companies such as Amazed and Woven Ground have been given the responsibility and honour to design for the BB house.

Greek Flokati Rugs

Flokati rugs have been around since the fifth century, originating in a Vlach village in the Pindos mountains of Greece. Shepherds raised the sheep in these mountain regions and the women weaved the wool into sensuous, elegant, handwoven rugs. The Vlachs perfected the process, and over time created a worldwide market for these traditionally made products. After a surge in popularity during the late sixties and seventies, the Flokati rug is once again emerging as a product for the modern home, dorm room or even as wall decor.

Shag rugs are made of a variety of materials, both natural and synthetic. Wool, nylon and cotton are among the most common materials, but others are frequently used as well. One famous kind of shag rug is the, Greek Flokati which is made of goat's fur. Other varieties are made of leather or angora, but these are less common because of the immense difficulty of cleaning them.

flokati rug is a handmade shag wool rug. Making flokatis is a long-time tradition of the Vlachs in the Pindus mountains. The natural color of a flokati rug is off-white, but they may be dyed different colors. The entire rug is wool, including the backing from which the tapered shag emerges. After the rug is woven, it is placed in the cold water of a river to fluff the shag. They continue to be handmade in the mountains of Greece and are desirable in American modern decor and children's rooms.

Rug Manufacturing Methods, Chapter 2

Needlepunch
Using either strips of cloth or yarn, you work from the back side of the pattern with the punch tool. The Monk's cloth backing is stretched on to a frame tightly. Every time you punch the needle down through the backing, on the right side of the rug it makes a long thread. Then, as the needle is lifted, it automatically makes it into a loop. These loops pack together to create a rug so solid that clawing cats and chewing dogs are its only enemy. As long as you use the tool correctly, it will automatically make all the loops the same length.

Often referred to as "speed hooking", this method of rug hooking is loved for its ease and speed.

Prodded
Proddy rugs are made, as the name implies, by poking or prodding strips of fabric through linen or burlap from the back side. Rag rugs made this way have many names; stobbies, pricked, clippies, proddies, in Scotland they are called clootie mats and in Northumberland they are called proggy mats,. They were often made for more utilitarian use such as by the backdoor; their pile hiding dirt well.

Woven
Machine-made and hand made. Woven rugs include both flat rugs (for example kilims) and pile rugs.

A really old Oriental rug

The oldest oriental rug found is a Pazyryk carpet, encased in a solid block of ice, the rug was melted out of a burial tomb of a Scythian Royal. Carbon dating has shown that the the rug is over 2000 years old.

Little known factual evidence can show rug weaving existed in Pazyryk in the 14th century, albeit some small remains and fragments of different rugs can be dated to be from around the 3rd, 6th and 11th century.

Western nations have taken interest in oriental carpets for several hundred years, there is very good evidence to suggest popular Western interest in oriental rugs for example, one early painting from 15th century depicts the Virgin Mary seated upon a throne above a rug. Several other paintings, particularly of royalty from this period onwards show a similar use of rugs.

Rug Smuggler? Sounds like one of Hugh Grants movie plots

So I was flicking through news articles last week (which happened to be pretty much all pointless celebrity gossip) when I saw this one about Hugh Grant- apparently he smuggled rugs from Turkey.

The washed up Four Weddings and a Funeral star was returning from a holiday in Turkey and stupidly tried to  sneak 4 oriental rugs through customs. To be far I wouldn't of known to have declared the rugs so it could of been an honest mistake. But Grant knew otherwise

But they were quizzed for being suspicious. The officer who found the rugs promptly and probably happily arrested Grant for trying to dupe the duty on the imported rugs.

Grant once said to a glossy magazine- "I've been arrested... for smuggling. I smuggled. It was a very long time ago. I was coming back from Turkey with a girlfriend with a few rugs. We were such idiots (and still are). We came through an airport in the middle of the night and thought no one would check. So we went through 'nothing to declare', but we were stopped."

The airport officials pulled over the couple and asked, 'We noticed you have returned from Turkey?' The couple replied with a sheepish "yes".

They were then asked to open a "long parcel". Unfortuneately the rug shaped parcel did indeed contained a beautiful turkish rug. Grant was then asked to proceed in opening the rest of his luggage and out popped 4 large rugs. What a fool.

Next time Hugh, go through and declare your rugs, or you might have to pay another hefty fine for smuggling.

Every floor should have a bespoke rug

As I flick through many of the vogues and other fashion editorials I have sprawled in front of me I notice that every floor in every house that they feature have at least one rug on it. Many of the floors are tiled intricately with a persian, hand woven shaggy rug or sheepskin placed strategically on top. In the March 2008 edition of Vogue there is an article about a Normandy holiday home owned by Clarissa and Mike Pilkington, that was turned from rags to riches in just under 5 years.

Every one of their tiled or wooden floors is covered in one rug or even two. A top of these beautifully crafted Persian and bespoke rugs is an antique table with trinket boxes filled to the brim with rose petals and broken jewellery. Even when the family leave for the beach they pack an old rug to sit on. Most of their hand crafted rugs are found in antique stores or flea markets, though a few are made especially for their holiday home.

Ladies and Coffee

A lot of the international names in coffee shops are now on the streets of Syrian towns. You can patronize Costa, Second Cup or several Italian shops, but forty years ago there were none that welcomed women. In those days, you went shopping, walked past coffee shops full of men, and went home. Ten years later there were one or two places in Damascus and Aleppo where ladies might 'take coffee', but the rest of Syria was shocked.When I was passing through the town of Homs about twenty years ago, with another woman, we really needed somewhere to sit down and something to drink. We walked round the shopping centre in a search for somewhere not exclusively male, and were eventually desperate enough to go into a cake shop and ask;"Where do ladies go in Homs when they want to drink coffee?" The answer came back, quick as a flash,"Home!" We left.

Rugs for all ages

Is your living room looking bare and cold? Well without completely overhauling your room with new wallpaper and furniture then how about choosing a brightly colour rug or even a patterned rug to add interest to a bare wooden floor, choose art that will compliment your rug and then the rug doesn't feel like a complete anomaly. A rug is a convenient of making your room look different and also bring the attention to the floor so even if the walls are floor to ceiling magnolia the room will still feel comfortable and warm.

Are the bedrooms in your house looking like they need a make over, then choose a new rug, we have a range of children's rugs that are suitable for all ages from toddler to young adult. If your teenager is feeling more grown up there are plenty of sophisticated rugs that could suit their tastes.

You may find a rug that is the the inspiration for renovating your room, take a look at our rugs and if there is nothing you like or you have a bespoke idea in mind then please contact sales@rugdesigner.co.uk

Designing your own rug

Here at rug designer we are dedicated at making good quality rugs. If you want a rug that is completely your own then we can do that. We can now carve into your rug and make any shape you want, we can even make different pile heights. With our bespoke rug range you can design your rug and then send it to us, after we have recorded your design, we will retouch it and use our existing colour palette to make you design compatible with our rug colours. We will send the design back to you for your approval.

All of our rugs take 6-8 weeks to be made and delivered to you, for our express delivery it cost £100 more per rug, and will take 3 weeks to be made and delivered to you.

Azerbaijani rugs

Azerbaijani rugs are a product of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has been known as a place with a large variety of rug crafts. The archeological dig on the territory of Azerbaijan testifies to them having a well developed agriculture. These include, live stock raising, metal working, pottery and ceramics, and last but not least carpet-weaving that dates as far back as the 2nd millennium BC.
The most ancient carpet ever discovered was the famous Pazyryk carpet of the VI-V century BC which was found during the excavations in the Altai Mountains. The Gultapin excavations discovered carpet weaving tools which date back to the IV-III millennium BC. For many centuries during the historical existence of our nation both settled and nomadic ways of life were of importance. A carpet per se is democratic, however its real folk character is about something else. A carpet was meant to unite people, to cultivate the sense of collectivism, mutual aid, and friendly cohesion. An Azerbaijani carpet, which embodies numerous and various functions, is in fact something more that just a combination of these purposes. An Azerbaijani carpet is not only one of the most important elements in the national way of life, not only a variety of the arts and crafts, but also a key link to the ethical and moral principles and customs of the people's existence.
The carpet making was born in rural huts and with time ranked among the most essential arts. It was highly valued by the heads of states, and the gifted weavers were glorified by the greatest poets. The carpet history is assumed to be divided into the following four main periods:

If you are feeling crafty

Making rugs is a long and hard process if you are doing it by hand, but it is also very rewarding! If you fancy making something that your pet can sleep on then this is a good idea for you crafty types.

Do you have a bunch of old random socks lying around in your house / sock drawer / linen basket, that need to be thrown out? Then fear not! Grab those old socks and line the up so you can make a square, if it doesn't quite make a square then you can always chop the ends off. Slide the socks inside each other and then secure down with a pin, now you really need a sewing machine to make it sturdy but if you feel confident doing it by hand then you can do it that way.

Once you have sewn together all the seams then you are ready to

Bespoke Rug Project at Bluewater Shopping Centre

Popped into to see the guys at Bluewater the other day and to take a look at some of the rugs we did for them over a year ago on a bespoke rug project. These modern rugs we delivered still look in good condition and can most probably last another 3 or 4 years. They are roughly 5 x 3 meter oval moder rugs, with a sloped edge to prevent trip hazard. They have outlasted all the other rugs that went down at the same time and still going strong...

Rug art

We often put paintings on our walls, well why not put a Dali or a Picasso on the floor!
Yes, we’ve noticed a trend in business where customers are wanting modern art pictures made into modern rugs, take a look at the following 3 rugs which where bought for an art company in Paris.

My thoughts on rugs, rug companies, blogs, life...

I have the job of updating the rugdesigner.co.uk blog (hi there readers!). The purpose of our blog is not for people to read but to show that our website seems as though someone is updating information, this means that our Google rankings go up. Therefore we should hopefully get to the front page of Google soon!

As I have trolled through the many UK rug company websites, I find my self looking at many designs of the same rug. Thick pile, plain, sometimes a funky design and rectangular. Occasionally there are rug companies that bring in designers to create something new and cool for their company, The Rug Company is one and Woven Ground is another. I haven't seen many in the United Kingdom that provide bespoke rugs to order on their websites, except us and some of the bigger companies. We can design and make any shape and design, with any thickness pile within limit.

In my personal opinion I believe that the thicker the pile the better. I like a rug that is nice to lie on and watch television, read a book, relax. I personally love shaggy rugs and sheepskin rugs.

Aleppo Wedding, Chapter 8

They carried on the awkward small talk for a while, until Sarah was given her key and found her room-mate, a tall brunette of about the same age and talking about the lunch arranged for the party. This forced Nury to be more assertive, and he invited Sarah to eat at another restaurant with him. For politeness' sake he also invited the other girl, Jane, to go with them, but she had the sense to refuse.  Sarah was pleased, and hurried away to shower and change so it was only quite a short time later that she reappeared and they set off for a very late lunch - Nury had used the time to book a table at a restaurant made from a beautiful old Arabic house not too far away. Her high-heeled sandals dictated a taxi for the trip, and they were dropped only a few steps from the restaurant - just as well, thought Nury, or she would have broken her ankle on the wet cobbles, ancient, but recently restored.
The area was charming with narrow passages running off between high stone walls. One of the big, studded doors led to the restaurant, also a small hotel, and it stood a little open. Sarah looked around and said all the right things as she walked through the door, but inside she just stopped and stared. The restaurant was in the old courtyard of what had been a very grand house. The entrance was through one side, and the courtyard was glass-covered for the winter. All the window cases looking onto it from the surrounding three floors were decorated with carved stone, mostly flowers and geometric shapes, and the coloured-tile floor was broken in the middle by a fountain and a lemon tree with two resident doves.
"Nury, it's lovely." She gave him a delighted smile as they were led to a table in the raised area like an open room at one side. He ordered food which he had tried to cook for her in England, so she could find out what it really tasted like, and she enjoyed it all, though she ate very little of any of the dishes. Two hours passed quickly in eating, catching up and reminiscing. She was having a fascinating holiday and made him laugh at her surprise at things she had seen so far. He heard all about the friend she was travelling with, whom she had met after he had left and who now worked with her, until she looked at her watch and discovered it was getting late.
"There is a concert at seven, and we are all getting a bus at half past six. It's some sort of religious thing, I think. It's in a very old building. Do you know it?" Nury did, it was an exhibition by the 'whirling dervishes', an Islamic sect who aim to achieve a trance-like state by spinning around. They wear long white robes and spin to the rhythm of drums, and Nury knew she would enjoy the spectacle. "There's just one thing, though," he offered, "I think you had better put something warm on. These historic spots tend to be really cold at night." She was dressed in a very pretty light dress with a summer jacket. Like many another, she had been fooled by the words 'Middle East' into expecting endless warm days, but the nights in Aleppo in February are usually cold, especially after rain.

Create your own blended modern rug

If you'd like your rug to be a blend of 2 or 3 colours then Rug Designer has been offering this service within shaggy rugs, however just recently we've trialed some samples on normal rugs and discovered some beautiful blends we're able to do. The hand tufting gun can carry upto 3 strands of yarn at a time, so by having 3 separate colours each colour will have 33.3% mix of the colours. Or you can have a 2 colour rug where one colour represents 66.6% of the overall colour and second colour represents 33.3%. Or you can thread the hand tufting gun by only using 2 yarns and therefore on 2 colours we can achieve a 50%, 50% per colour mix.

Local Cuisine 2

It's almost the end of February, and I'm glad I've finished one of the Good Housewife's jobs - making the fruit syrup for the summer. Other (better) housewives make these syrups of almost anything sweet that comes along - oranges, mulberries, sour cherries and rose petals are some - but I only do lemons, and this is how: Take as many lemons as you have patience for, sugar, a plastic bowl, a grater and a juicer.

Wash and dry the lemons. If they aren't waxed a rinse will do, if waxed it's up to you how keen you are, but don't kill yourself.

Separate out one third of the lemons and juice the rest, then carefully grate off as much of the zest as you easily can from the remaining lemons and put it into a separate bowl, ideally one with a lid if you happen to have one.

Juice these lemons as well.

Measure the total juice, then use some of it to soak the lemon zest, just make sure it is well covered. Put a lid on the zest and juice and store it in the fridge for now.Pour the rest of the juice into your plastic bowl and add sugar. The quantity is one and a half times sugar to juice, i.e. one jug of lemon needs one and a half jugs of sugar (remembering to count in the amount you took off for the zest).

Put in a warm place and stir every time you pass it, the warmer the place, the quicker it will work, over a radiator or in a airing cupboard would be good.

When all the sugar has dissolved, take the juice plus zest from the fridge and squeeze the oil from the zest. This is a lovely, aromatic job, and I always pour the mixture through a fine sieve and squeeze the residue dry once or twice.Take your lovely, lemony juice and swirl it into the finished syrup.

Test by putting about two fingers of syrup into an ordinary water glass, filling with water and drinking. You can serve it as strong as you like, and ice is good.Put it into bottles.Store it in a cool place.

Christmas rugs

Celebrating Christmas is something that millions of people around the world do. It is a time of year to give presents and what better then giving a christmas rug? A rug that you could have all year round or bring out when it is the christmas period. There are some really crazy rugs out there but you could design your own on our website.

Even though christmas has passed there is no excuse not to think about want you want to get your family and friends next year, especially if it is something as large as a rug. There are plenty of rugs on our website so if you didn't want to give a Christmas inspired rug then you could always give another one that would suit the persons taste.

Please keep in mind that there are always delays with the post in December, so think about ordering a little sooner and possibly having it delivered to the person who is receiving it as it is hard to transport rugs in small cars.

I hope that everyone reading this has had a wonderful christmas and best wishes for the new year.

The things we put on the floor

So I went to a dance show recently which feature lecturers at my University in London. They were pretty contemporary dances. Some of them were quite boring and went on for too long. One of the solos was about "the things we walk on and sit on". These "things" were rugs mainly, sheep skins, and hippy rugs. When I walked into the performance space, which is a dance studio with the windows covered so the space was dark, although the space was darkened there was no atmosphere.

The floor was covered in rugs, some of them were not very nice. They smelt like incense and had holes in, most of the rugs were borrowed from friends and students, so it was expected that some of them had holes in. Some of the rugs were sheep skin, some were thin and some were thick and shaggy.

The piece featured multimedia with a film being played at the beginning, the dancer was lying in the position that she was in wen we all walked into the space. I thought she would do the movements on the screen at the same time as being played. She didn't which was a shame because this would have had a nice continuation between media and live action.

Modern rugs as wall hangings?

The rug has always traditionally sat on the floor but it could also look great as a piece of art on a wall. Many rugs that are mounted on the wall are hand woven tapestries, normally very intricate and have delicate designs woven in. Many tapestries are hung in museums or churches due to their religious and historical natures. A 'tapestry' is woven on a vertical loom. It is composed of two sets of intertwining threads, those running parallel to the length, the warp and those parallel to the width, the weft.

Unlike tapestries that are woven and are usually rather thin due to the use of cotton or silk threads, there are other types of rugs that can be hung onto walls. Amazed Ltd use wool rugs with thick pile for their wall hangings, using this type of rug can bring a contemporary feel into any room. Most of their rugs are indented with interesting patterns and designs, they are also oddly shaped and can be designed and made in many different styles and colours.

Maybe the future of large rugs is not on the floor but on the wall...

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