Beginning my Nadareh Rug

As I promised myself, I have now started my newest rug project after spending several months tweaking and testing patterns I had waiting in the background for so long. With my last project (stocking 12) finally finished, I have been able to put the first few stitches into my new pattern.

This pattern is called Nadareh, a Muslim girl's name which means "Rare" in parsi. The origin is Arabic and I felt it would be the perfect name for this rug.

I designed this rug based on the oldest rug known to man. The exact origin of the rug is unknown but many feel it could be Persian or Armenian. I have chosen to lean towards Persia (Iran) in my design process. 

As you can see, I am travelling when I started this rug and only achieved a small amount, but every little bit helps!

You may be wondering about the frame for my Nadareh rug - The inside measurements are 9" x 11" (22.86cm x 27.94cm) and it was too wide to fit into my carry on without bending. I had already mounted the gauze before I realized this. To make it fit my bag better, I decided to carefully cut the frame down the center of the top and bottom, leaving the last layer of paper untouched. I glued some ribbon on either side of both cuts and sewed a button onto each one. In this fashion, I could fold the frame to fit comfortably into my carry on and tie string around the buttons to hold it together when stitching. I made a cardboard cover to protect it while in my bag. I am happy to say, it worked exactly how I wanted it to and I was able to comfortably stitch knowing I could easily stow it away when needed.