Fiber artists make rugs from wool.
They intertwine the fabric to create decorative wall hangings or functional floor coverings for the home.
Three women from across the country are fashioning them — not only for a house’s décor — but to help put food on someone’s table.
RFL or “Rugs = Food = Love” is a project where people can buy a raffle ticket to win a handmade rug and also donate money to food banks.
Christine Manges of Edgewood, Dianne Tobias of Davis, Calif., and Kris McDermet, of Dummerston, Vt. met through a rug braiding conference in Massachusetts.
They’ve organized the raffle to benefit food banks across the U.S. and Canada in collaboration with Groundworks, a nonprofit based in Vermont.
People can buy a ticket or also make a monetary donation here.
Winners will be announced on Facebook Live at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Dec. 14.
Rugs will be sent to winners in January and they who can choose the beneficial local food bank.
“Part of the motivation was seeing the long car lines outside Pittsburgh food banks on the news every night back in March and April,” Manges said. “It turns out those Pittsburgh images were shown on news programs across the country, making Pittsburgh the image of people jobless and hungry. I wondered, ‘Where does all of the food come from?’”
McDermet, who volunteers for a local food bank in Vermont, was making something for a raffle for a scholarship for the Valley Forge Rug Braiding Guild, a group dedicated to educating others about the art of rug braiding, and mentioned what she was doing to Manges.
Manges said she liked the idea of a raffle and wanted to reach a need for people who are food insecure, especially during the pandemic.
McDermet and Manges contacted Tobias and the three began emailing friends in April to enlist their aid to make nine-inch circles. Examples include the “Queen Bee’s Realm,” which has a Queen Bee with her golden crown, worker bees, a hive and flowers and “Give Peace a Chance” has a dove of peace surrounded by love hearts and stars. All of the wool and time was donated by the makers.
“Everyone we asked to help, said yes,” McDermet said. “The response has been tremendous. During the pandemic people really want to do something for others in need.”
In the first six weeks, they received more than 100 contributions of circles made from rug hooking or rug braiding. Rug hooking is pulling loops of wool through fabric to create a picture. Rug braiding is folding strips of fabric and braiding or lacing the braids together.
The circles were used to make 28 one-of-a-kind rugs in various colors and sizes. Some have pandemic images such as masks, advice to stay home, and coronavirus shapes. Others have decorative shapes and patterns.
Eleven people, including Manges, McDermet and Tobias, created the rugs — all by hand.
“We are really happy with the support this project has gotten,” Manges said.
Raffle tickets can be purchased for specific rugs.
“The winners will not only get a beautiful, hand-crafted rug, they will help out their community by getting money for a local food bank,” Manges said.
The trio had began by making face masks and wanted to do something more.
“My role was the harness their creativity and put it into a workable project,” Tobias said. “They have been amazing partners to work with on this. There is pride in the beauty of these rugs.”
This isn’t the first time the trio has collaborated while living across the U.S. They teamed to write a book, “Combining Rug Hooking & Braiding: Basics, Borders & Beyond.”
