Local rug maker makes list of artisans in American magazine

“It was just a couple days before my birthday, I got a letter in the mail saying I was chosen,” said Carolyn “Cee” Rafuse.

The magazines judges, select artisans who create art and artifacts by hand, just as they did in the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries.

The magazine’s Directory of Traditional American Crafts, published every year, lists 179 entries in 23 categories for 2008.

Rafuse’s interest in rug work began eight years ago after viewing a magazine article about penny rugs.

The rugs are originally from the 1800’s.

She makes penny rugs using “circles cut from wool and originally they were cut from large coins,” she explained.

Sometimes to keep children busy they would cut circles around a penny of wool, she noted.

“Because I make them (penny rugs) as they made 100 years ago,” she was selected for the magazine, noted Rafuse.

She dyes her own string, “I make them all by hand, no machine, no glue, nothing bought.”

A Mill Village resident for the past 20 years, she has recently moved to Bridgewater.

Rafuse appears under the textiles or needlework category on page 79.

The magazine is on sale at Macpherson’s.

Visit her website for penny rug stories and more information at www.earlystylepennyrugs.com.