Penny Rugs

Last month a friend showed me a craft magazine, there was a beautiful picture of a
"Ring of Posies". Reading the article, it was called a "Penny Rug". I do a lot of crafting but had never heard of a Penny Rug.

Curiosity got the better of me and I started searching the internet.
"Penny rug" is a name given to a folk art style of appliqué. Dating from the mid 19th century, they were traditionally made from felted wool (i.e. the wool was washed to shrink it). And despite their name, they were not used on the floor,
but as decorative table rugs or wall hangings. Fabric was just too
precious then. The "penny" comes from the coins that were used as
templates for the circles. Most of the penny rugs had simple shapes of
flowers or animals, usually layered and appliquéd on the rug with
blanket stitch embroidery in contrasting colors. Their simple,
primitive style gives them a charm that has continued through the
years. (http://www.patchpieces.com/pennyruginfo.html)

The pattern called for "Felted Wool", being too anxious to get started I
used a double thickness of wool felt for the base and wool felt for the
flower and leave pieces. This project was so much fun, cutting
everything out was the most time consuming but once everything was in
place the stitching was a "breeze".