Holiday Penny Rug Ornament Workshop, Sunday, September 25
Please call to reserve your space.
Learn to make a Holiday Penny Rug Ornament with rug maker Sandy Rolewicz at the Madison County Historical Society’s Heritage Handicrafts: Penny Rug Workshop on Sunday, September 25 from 1 pm - 3 pm. In the 1800s women would repurpose worn textiles, saving wool scraps to create colorful fabric home décor. A penny rug is made by layering circles of wool, using a coin as a template to trace the circular shape, hence the term penny rug. The penny rug was not necessarily used as a rug in the home. It was quite often created to be used as a decorative piece for a shelf, wall hanging, or used as a table runner.
Madison County Historical Society’s Heritage Handicrafts: Holiday Penny Rug Ornament Workshop is part of a series of leisure arts workshops designed to engage and involve participants in Fine Arts and Crafts activities common in the 19th century, with a focus on making cultural connections to creative pastimes, which are still relevant today. The Madison County Historical Society is collaborating with the Historical Society of Early American Decoration (HSEAD) member artists who will be leading a series of workshops at the Madison County Historical Society. HSEAD is a not-for-profit national organization whose mission is to perpetuate and expand the unique skills and knowledge of Early American Decoration through educational workshops, research, publishing, and exhibitions. To learn more about the Historical Society of Early American Decoration, visit their website at www.hsead.org.
Sandy Rolewicz is an associate member of the Historical Society of Early American Decoration who teaches workshops around the region. She has been sewing since the 7th grade, creating her first penny rug in 1993 from a pattern in the Early American Life Magazine. She devotes much of her time to braiding rugs and woolen mittens from upcycled wool sweaters. She exhibits her work throughout the region and has been recognized for her artistry, winning several blue ribbons at the NY State Fair in the penny rug class and has been awarded best in the show for two of her penny rugs. She is a member of the James Dean Chapter of Questers, serving for many years as program chairwoman, past president, secretary, and treasurer. She is also a member of the Westmoreland Historical Society, presently serving as secretary on the board. Sandy opened her own antique shop, Just Like Grandma’s, in Lairdsville in 1991 where she specializes in chair seating-cane, rush, shaker tape, and reed seats. Sandy is also politically active in her community, as an election inspector.
The Penny Rug workshop will be held at the Madison County Historical Society on Sunday, September 25 from 1 pm- 3 pm. The cost for the workshop is $25 for Madison County Historical Society members and $30 for nonmembers. Become a member of the Madison County Historical Society to receive the special workshop rate. All materials will be provided. This workshop is for adults and children aged 13 years and up with basic knowledge of sewing. Space is limited to 15 participants and registration is required. To register for the workshop, please contact the Madison County Historical Society at 315-363-4136, history@mchs1900.org, or www.mchs1900.org. Prepackaged, single-serve, light refreshments will be offered.
Holiday Penny Rug Ornament Workshop, Sunday, September 25 at theMadison County Historical Society from 1:00- 3:00 pm. Artwork created by Sandy Rolewicz, art instructor for the Penny Rug Workshop.
