Fiber artists can be found around the world, using all kinds of fibers from wool to silk to bamboo and hemp, just to name a few. The styles of items produced are as varied as the artists themselves, from elaborate fabric designs, baskets to complex hand knotted rugs. It is an ancient skill that was very useful for clothing, coverings for tents, ship sails and more.

My first experience with weaving came in the form of a Christmas gift from my parents—a Lionel Porter Science kit of a loom modeled by those used in the industrial revolution. So I put the loom together and wove runners and small rugs for my dolls.

I really did not get back into weaving again until my husband and I were doing archaeology in Tennessee and we were gifted a large barn frame loom that was literally stored in a barn.

That began my love affair with weaving that ultimately resulted in six looms. We recently downsized and I am down to one floor loom, a table loom and a journey loom. Still weaving and spinning after all these years, my upstairs loom room looks like a yarn store!

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Five quick reasons why hand knotted rugs can help you go green:

1. Buying a quality hand knotted carpet means it's lasting you for generations. Literally. No filling the landfill with cheap throw-aways that never clean up nicely and show wear and tear in two seconds.

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Look at this rug. Really look at it. What comes to your mind?

Upon discovering this rug as he checked in the new shipment, our co-worker Doug proclaimed that he was convinced that Dr. Seuss had something to do with this rug. "Look! Look at those trees! Don't they remind you of Truffula trees from The Lorax?". At first, we rolled our eyes but we then saw what he meant.

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A wonderful night celebrating rug making and the joy and relaxation of adult coloring!

Over 30 coloring fans gathered at the Bunyaad Rug Room at Ten Thousand Villages in Ephrata, PA, to learn how fairly paid adult artisans carefully color intricate graphs as part of the rug making process. After a short journey through talams, rug graphs and hand knotting rugs, each person got to color their own rug graph tile.

"I came for the coloring but I leave with a much greater appreciation for hand knotted rugs and the quality and uniqueness that fair trade produces," remarked one coloring night participant. "And I'm still in awe of how many knots are in a 9'x12' Persian rug…over seven million! Just hard to believe that that many knots are all tied by hand!"

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