My Rag Rug

Arlie Sommer shares a portrait of her grandmother. A weaver and spinner, a fiddler, blacksmith, gardener, birder, and storyteller, Ava Lutteman grew up in the backcountry of Idaho, where her parents were outfitters. Lutteman leads an old time lifestyle. She learned to weave rag rugs in homage to her own grandmother.
With music from the Alan Lomax Collection at the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. Courtesy of the Association for Cultural Equity.

[@juliekeefe9132]

Arlie, this is an absolute treasure. You have created such a beautiful portrait of your beloved grandmother. I'm sharing this far and wide. What a delight. I can see her legacy lives on in you, my friend.

[@ArlieSommer]

Thank you Julie!

[@ClydeButler01]

Beautiful rugs! Some of the best I have ever seen! Very impressive. I hope to be able to make some rugs that are half this good someday.

[@crowznest438]

As a rug weaver, I do so appreciate this gal; we would have been friends. Her patterns, colors, craftsmanship are wonderful.

[@Mary-si5zh]

Luv rag rugs.Wish I was close to a teacher😊

[@ArlieSommer]

You may be closer than you realize! Try contacting your state's arts commission and they may be able to connect you with another traditional artist in your area, no matter how rural.

[@infinitemonica]

That was a great video! I want to see more please! She’s my great grandmother. I’m so inspired by her and I love everything she does.

[@Cellottia]

This lady knows how to handle colours! She has surrounded herself with lovely combinations of life-giving colour and lots of natural wood. An environment to feed and calm the soul 😌😌😌

[@wendydawe3874]

What a beautiful video. This is what we all should be doing….working with our hands and minds creating these gorgeous pieces of functional art. Soon all of this will be gone. So sad. Your grandmother is a talented and lovely person. How lucky you are to be able to share this with her. Love to all.

[@ArlieSommer]

Thank you Wendy! 🫶

[@dianalimbach4584]

What a wonderful story and video.❤

[@hydraxisfrimon9785]

What a beautifully rambling and picturesque home she has, such a lovely document of a snapshot in her life. This will become an important bit of folklore recording in its own right in time, showing a skilled practitioner. Delightful.

[@ArlieSommer]

Thanks so much💜

[@hydraxisfrimon9785]

@@ArlieSommer An absolute pleasure, Arlie, I just watched it again and it pleased all of my faculties, aesthetic and critical. This is a little cabochon of a film, I call it that because a cabochon is a polished but unfaceted jewel stone. You have made it beautiful because of the subject matter, but not overly produced it, just used your own good eyes and taken what is there and presented it in a clean and clear way. A delight from start to finish, and the fiddle music is a perfect framer, thanks so much for sharing this

[@ArlieSommer]

@@hydraxisfrimon9785 Tears! Thank you for your support, truly.

[@conniehusband1365]

Nooòòoo......dont stop!!!!!!! I want MORE!!!!!#

[@crunchycountrycatholic]

This is lovely. I am a young weaver in my late 20s and I hope to one day have the incredible ability to place the colors like this gorgeous woman has. For now, I weave baby blankets for women in my church

[@chantalrochon3566]

Thank you for this beautiful video, ❤❤❤

[@debraphillips8921]

I love the idea of the abacus. What a wonderful idea to keep track. I shall have to give it a whirl..

[@lezlierussell2834]

I am a weaver and teach weaving at an art school, but wasn’t aware that you could do a twill pattern when making rag rugs. Most people that I know do twinning for rag rugs. This ladies rugs are a work of art. And my gosh she plays the violin beautifully!

[@ArlieSommer]

Thanks for sharing your insight! So cool that you are passing on this beautiful traditional art. And on a side note, while Ava is an old time fiddler, I actually used archival recordings from the Smithsonian Institute for the music track.

[@janbeckwith7999]

What a fascinating tribute. Artistry obviously runs in the family.

[@ArlieSommer]

Thank you Jan!

[@mdaly23md]

Wow! Her rugs are gorgeous! I have been wanting to get into weaving for a few years now. God bless her! What talent. I wish they gave more information about this lovely lady!

[@tplayspiano]

What a fantastic video of Aunt Ava Lee. I’m glad I turned on Facebook this morning!

[@richardcox7926]

I am a weaver. I watched this video today. I am glad you made and shared it on KZbin.

[@ArlieSommer]

Thank you Richard! So neat to hear from weavers-and I share all these lovely notes with Ava, of course!

[@leewiley1944]

What a lovely person!

[@kylewilliams7769]

Loved your video. I weave rag rugs. Yours are beautiful, my next one i will use a rose pattern. Thanks from Montana.

[@Angelwool]

I watch this video over and over I love it! ❤️

[@ArlieSommer]

Thank you for your kindness

[@mariafurtado2507]

That was amazing. Thank you for posting this.

[@CherylHarpercompulsivespinner]

Loved this. Thanks for posting.

[@hjisagirl]

Her rugs are stunningly beautiful.

[@marieross]

Amazing little film would love to see your Grandmother talk about her life more. Wonderful home 😊

[@ArlieSommer]

Thank you Marie! The encouragement is appreciated. I've made another film about her and am applying for film festivals. I will likely share on KZbin after the festival run is complete next December.

[@katelovel1774]

Awesome video

[@parislady6138]

Beautiful

[@Ka-ly8oi]

So beautiful! I love rag rugs. Love from Germany.

[@ArlieSommer]

So cool! Thank you.

[@jenniferrichmond1009]

Wonderful!

[@ArlieSommer]

Thank you!

[@allenlake3272]

Loved watching this. Thanks, Arlie.

[@ArlieSommer]

Thanks for watching Allen!

[@ArlieSommer]

Mr. Lake!! I just figured it out :)

[@kashigata]

Wonderful! Thanks. ☺️

[@cajsafarlin9324]

lovely

[@carolynadams2264]

This is absolutely fantastic!! Thanks so much for introducing us to this wonderful lady.

[@sussijensen6977]

Hi from Danmark 🌏🌱🌳🐝🌬🌞🌈❤️ It is incredibly beautiful. I hope it will be learned further ❤️❤️❤️👍 And wath a cozy home

[@Gigimamapa5]

Awesome colors.

[@ArlieSommer]

Thank you!

[@starglaxner3524]

What a wonderful life! A truly talented soul shine. Thank you for sharing ❤️

[@tonirad9577]

This is a awesome skill ! Weavers are incredible .

[@debraphillips8921]

Oh how absolutely precious and perfect...

[@stormybeach5211]

I’m obsessed with making rag rugs. Thank you for your video!

[@ArlieSommer]

Thanks for your interest!

[@free2bfree583]

Wonderful video. Abacus and loom are tools grandmother has mastered. Her weaving is too wonderful (for the floor) - they are wall hanging artwork. Thank you for sharing..

[@sueheathcote8859]

Truly fascinating; thank you for sharing this.

[@brendaestes5391]

Wonderful video!

[@traceyjones9049]

Thank you for sharing

[@weatherlady9666]

What a wonderful video and a treasure for you. There are more rag weavers out there than you know. The prep work is tedious and annoying, but worth it to stand at the looms :) ~waving from Nebraska where I know of three of us within 20 miles of each other

[@ArlieSommer]

So great to hear this! It's such a special art with so many cool aspects. Thank you for watching the video and connecting.

[@WthrLdy]

@@ArlieSommer I'm primarily a tartan designer and weaver, but do rag rugs for relaxation.

[@ArlieSommer]

@@WthrLdy That is so neat!

[@KellyCasanova]

This is so lovely, I really enjoyed it! ❤

[@winnieyuensm]

thank you for the video

[@mogirl7400]

Your work is beautiful!

[@phylliscrossett5500]

Are they sold somewhere? I'D LOVE TO HAVE ONE OR TWO. LOVE THEM

[@ArlieSommer]

That’s so sweet! These rugs are not for sale-Ava has given them to us, her family, over the years.

[@phylliscrossett5500]

I believe I'm a long lost relative 😁

[@patriciajessup5275]

Arlie you are certainly a talented woman, good for you. These learned skills passed down to you are a very valuable old time one that is wonderful. Your process looks to be quite time consuming but with a beautiful outcome. I live in the West Kottenays of British Columbia, Canada where the winters are shorter then most but are mostly devoid of sunshine. This lack of sun promted me to learn how to make rag rugs and has since become a much loved meditative event for me. Thank-you for sharing your gift.

[@ArlieSommer]

Really neat to hear from you and I'm so glad to learn of others carrying on this folk art.

[@Brambletuft]

You can rip sheets and other in a straight line, you just need to get the cut started. Just mentioning in case anyone wants to save time and their hands from having to cut strips.

[@gaylescovel7308]

As i scroll down below after watching this i see so many diff techniques to make a rug, like how do you choose?! The one in danger of being forgotten, or the one you like the looks of, or the easiest to accomplish?

[@ArlieSommer]

Yeah! That’s the cool part about folk art-the diversity in practice and styles. I would choose by what you might be able to learn from a weaver in your community. ❤️

[@teresa6753]

Would love to buy one, do you sell them?

[@ArlieSommer]

Thanks Teresa! They’re not for sale but you might find one at a local farmers market or weaving shop.

[@alinahavlishyna2389]

Like!!!now work with you:)!Mersi

[@HumanFellaPerson]

This was so cool to see, but that annoying loud music that kept popping up was incredibly distracting and made the video very hard to watch!