A New Project: A Portuguese "Arraiolos" Rug

I'm starting a new project that is a new "Arraiolos" rug. It will be the 4th rug I will make. 

This project started in a very funny way, as an American lady contacted me, because she had seen some "Arraiolos" rugs in my blog. She needed some help to be confident how the stitches should be made. She needed help from someone who was experienced in making the rugs and also spoke English.

As a result of our contact we have decided to embark on the same project (to create identical rugs). I have sent to her the materials required for this design, because at least the wool must be a very specific type and quality. 

We chose a classical design that is called "Good Fountain" and was inspired from the Portuguese tiles manufactured after the 17th century. 

The dimensions of the rug are 165 cm x 115 cm.

Here is a photo of the rug and the pallette of colours we have chosen:

"Fonte Boa" (Good Fountain)

 

Here is a detail from a part of the railway station of Santarém (my nearest town), showing some of those typical tiles.

 

Here are some old photos from the rugs I have previously made, myself. The design of this last one was created by me.

Here you can see how the back of the rugs should look like.

I hope I can show some progress soon.

Until then...