A Closer Look -- Aurora Rug

This post is part of a series taking a closer look at award-winning entries from exhibits at Northern Wefts.

Aurora by Wynne Mattila

Wynne Mattila of Minneapolis earned the Handwoven magazine "Weaving For The Home" award of excellence with her handwoven rug Aurora. This entry also received the Libbie Crawford Memorial Award for Loom Controlled Weaving, and first place in the Natural Elements category Woods in the Member Exhibits.

Originally from South Range, Michigan (just a few miles from Houghton/Hancock), Wynne took her first weaving class at Suomi College, which is now Finlandia University. She wove her first rug in 1985 in a beginning rag rug class with Janet Meany and Paula Pfaff.

Wynne has lived in Minneapolis for nearly 30 years. A member of the Weavers Guild of Minnesota, Wynne teaches Scandinavian rug weaving. Her special interest is weaving rugs using Finnish cotton seine twine warp and cotton fabric strips as weft. She particularly loves designing with color by blending fabrics using an alternating 3-shuttle technique.

Aurora detail by Wynne Mattila

"My Aurora rug was inspired by the colors of the aurora borealis (the northern lights) and a Finnish Lapp weaving called a raanu," Wynne says. "Raanu are traditionally woven with wool. They are tied together to make the cover of a goati (a teepee-like structure) or for warmth as bedcovers in the Arctic climate."

Wynn says this rug can be woven on two harnesses. The warp was 8/5 wet-spun Irish linen with a sett of 10 epi. For the weft she used seven cool colors (blues and greens) and eight warm colors of Halcyon Geo singles wool yarn. The finished rug is 29 inches wide by 59 inches long plus the fringe.

At Northern Wefts, Wynne says she particularly enjoyed her pre-conference workshop on felting with Phyllis Fredendall. Very soon, she'll also be enjoying the free one-year subscription that comes with winning the Handwoven Weaving For The Home Award.

Congratulations, Wynne!