Gail, in south Florida says "We sold our house in northern Maine AS IS,
and someone up there is ShiRReTing !"
Everyone will love it. It has the feeling of a quilt!
––– Sue Schwartz, Crochet Guild of America
"I'll ShiRRéT with all my old dance costumes from the Royal Ballet and Ballet Rambert in London while I sit outside my daughter's ballet class. I'm making her leg warmers.
––Terry Cain, Yale dept of Liturgical Music"I have a red Miata with black leather interior and bucket seats. In that little sportscar I need a booster seat ! so I made a red and black ShiRRéT two inches thick! My husband's the practical one - he drives a Forrester. I made him a ShiRRéT car seat and after that packed down, I made it into a 3 x 5 foot rug." ––Lois McAnally, Whitney Island WA
"I've been looking for 43 years
for the needle and directions, as my husband's grandmother made many of these rugs. When I found your website, I screamed !"
Now after studying the video and reading the book I have a beautiful 30 inch round rug of wool. I am having the time of my life. It is especially gratifying since I'm the only one to carry on the Family Tradition."
––Ann SaxtonLinda Little was discovered at a holiday festival on Fronadina Beach, Amelia Island Florida, with peppermint ShiRRéT squares made of red and white cotton ticking.
Gail Sapp couldn't resist, at $12 each.
WHERE IDEAS COME FROM
"If
I've got an idea, I hate to put my ShiRRéT down. The ideas are there
and they've got to come out."
–– Marilyn Mitts, Northeast Washington
" It's just double crochet! You only think about relating the colors" ––Steph White, architect, publisher of OnSite Magazine and professor U. Calgary, awarded Canada Council for the Arts grant."I deliver Meals on Wheels. There was a really old lady in her 80's and her floor was covered with ShiRRéT. My friend Jan Bond, who got me into doing Meals on Wheels, dyed a blanket and started doing ShiRRéT! My daughter gets old coats at the Goodwill and sends them to me. I tell her which colors, and I make ovals and rounds. We have a circle of family that taught one another. It's so neat that you're doing this. You feel a connection to a whole line of your family - your mother and your daughter. Parents don't take the time to teach their children the things they know. Everyone's so busy. It's neat when your mom and grandma did the same thing you're doing."
––– Kay, Eugene Oregon, learned ShiRRéT in the midwest
I am so excited about learning your craft. Last weekend I took a crochet class so I'd be ready for the Shirrét process. Now I'm hooked on crochét as well! I wish I'd discovered it years ago - oh well. It's never too late. The extra "ShiRRéT tools" is for a friend. I'll get her hooked. Then I'll have some competition rug making!
––– Bonnie Molloy, Tucson, Arizona
"I made a ShiRRéT rug for my grandaughter's doll house and she was real tickled with it. I gave a ShiRRéT rug for a wedding shower and from the way the bride reacted you'd think it was the most precious thing she got. The kids are thrilled to get my ShiRRéT."
––– Wilma Connor, Cedar Rapids, Iowa + niece Betty Forrest
"There's a mat on the table
in historic Old Deerfield. Now I realize - it's an old ShiRRéT! And
it makes me think of rugs they made in England during the war of old nylons!"
––– Judy Croucher, Hub Mill Massachusetts, at the New England Needlework show in Sturbridge
JEWELDINE BLACK of Monpezallo AL says "buying wool for ShiRRéT has gotten to be habit forming!"She sent me a newspaper ad for MISS MARY'S ARTISAN CRAFTS in Columbia AL, in the S.E. corner by Florida near Chattahoochee Georgia.
MISS MARY, Marion Pitchford, taught rugmaking with the Rugbee needle, similar to the ShiRRéT needle, until they stopped making it.
"We can't get wool, it's so hot and there are no mills anymore. Before your ShiRRéT book, learning for the first time took persistence. You had to have individual attention. If they haven't seen the rugs they don't have a preconceived notion.
You take something somebody would throw away and you make something useful out of it. One thing I did - so many of the ladies wanted to buy the strips, so in those days I cut the fabric and sold strips for 10 cents a yard. They said "Give us the wool at a price we can stand ".
Alot of these people wouldn't be caught dead in a thrift store looking at other people's recycled garments to cut up."
She continues, "When I sell my rugs I charge 25 cents a square inch. A rug less than 30 inches takes 6 yards. I sell pine needle baskets and ShiRReT rugs. They go well together. They're HERITAGE SKILLS. Even though we may lose money on paper, it may have benefits.
I usually don't know what its going to be. It's totally mindless. It's kind of haphazard. It's a funny jumble - it makes me cheerful and happy."
"Shirley Wood's grandmother during the Depression made these rugs. Branson Missourri was a poor area, in the Ozarks. Silver Dollar City is now filled with theaters and country music. I said to Shirley "If you're ever traveling in Southern Alabama, come and teach classes", and she did. It was a huge success. She taught 3 classes a day here."
"What wonderful rugs
on your website ! They're just inspiring."
––– Kelly Towle, Wisconsin
Linda of Vachon Washington is a Lindyhop dancer who shirrets with a friend. "This is such a beautiful site and, working in html, I know how hard it is to do." - Thank you
ShiRRéTis a Proust madeleine
Reminded by Louise's colorful carpets, people talked stream-of-consciousness about their families. Louise was curious and charming. People brought her their
handwork, garden vegies, their recipes for cakes !
Sharon
Dugan, New Hampshire, buys multiple tubes of cord. She learned ShiRRéT
from Marion Woodart.
In Japan it is bad luck to waste even one grain of rice.
I make handbags from silk neckties. ––Hideko Ochiai, NYC
Please hurry - I can't wait
to start my new craft !!!
––– Sue of Bay Village, Ohio
Lois McAnally wins Best of Show ribbons at the Washington State Fair with ShiRRéT. "It's so satisfying. If I win at the Island County fair in August, I go on to the state fair in Puyallup where there's a whole building of needlework. I love ShiRRéT. Until you came around, it was a Lost Art and now it's not Lost anymore."
"I haven't had any formal instruction, the lady just showed me how to do it. I'd like the book to follow a pattern" for targets.
––Wanda Seward, Missourri
Liz Grace made ShiRRéT with a bedspread from Grandmother's house upstate, where nephew Billy August lives. "I wanted to remember the feeling", she said.
Dear Ms. McCrady:
Thank you for letting me know that my order was received
and for packing up my order on Monday. I was very
surprised and delighted to receive the e-mail from you personally. I read about you in the Shirret book and
on the website and very much appreciate the attention
you provide to your customers. Thank you for the personal touch so often missing in today's business environment.
It is a pleasure doing business with you. ––Lisa Carey
"I'm going to use the SHIRRET NEEDLE now that there are no more Rugbee needles. I'll get used to it. And the
Shirret rugs are so fantastic 'cuz you can make 'em
fit any spot you want! ––Starr Lenz, Sun City
Call me with your Shirret story.
1 (800) 4 SHIRRET, Eastern time zone.
My children at Grace Cottage, near the beach. 
Oval by Deb Boulant of Paradise California 
| HOME | INDEX | WHAT IS SHIRRET? 4 PGS | DESIGNS U CAN DO 4 PGS | SHOP | PAY W CHECK | HOW 2 PGS 3 | STORY 4 PGS | PRESS | LINKS |
Gail, in south Florida says "We sold our house in northern Maine AS IS, and someone up there is ShiRReTing !"
Everyone will love it. It has the feeling of a quilt! ––– Sue Schwartz, Crochet Guild of America
"I'll ShiRRéT with all my old
dance costumes from the Royal Ballet and Ballet Rambert in London while I sit outside my daughter's ballet class. I'm making her crochet leg warmers. ––Terry Cain, Yale dept of Liturgical Music
"I have a red Miata with black leather interior and bucket seats. In that little sportscar I need a booster seat !
so I made a red and black ShiRRéT two inches thick! My husband's the
practical one - he drives a Forrester. I made him a ShiRRéT car seat
and after that packed down, I made it into a 3 x 5 foot rug." ––Lois McAnally, Whitney Island WA
"I've been looking for 43 years for the needle and directions, as
my husband's grandmother made many of these rugs. When I found your website, I screamed !" Now after studying the video and reading the book I have a beautiful 30 inch
round rug of wool. I am having the time of my life. It is especially gratifying since I'm the
only one to carry on the Family Tradition." ––Ann Saxton
Linda Little was discovered at a holiday festival on Fronadina Beach, Amelia Island Florida, with peppermint ShiRRéT squares made of red and white cotton ticking. Gail Sapp couldn't resist, at $12 each.
WHERE IDEAS COME FROM "If I've got an idea, I hate to put my ShiRRéT down. The ideas are there and they've got to come out."–– Marilyn Mitts, Northeast Washington
"I deliver
Meals on Wheels. There was a really old lady in her 80's and her floor was
covered with ShiRRéT. My friend Jan Bond, who got me into doing
Meals on Wheels, dyed a blanket and started doing ShiRRéT! My daughter gets old coats at the Goodwill and sends
them to me. I tell her which colors, and I make ovals and rounds.
We have a circle of family that taught one another. It's so neat that
you're doing this. You feel a connection to a whole line of your family -
your mother and your daughter. Parents don't take the time to teach their
children the things they know. Everyone's so busy. It's neat when your mom
and grandma did the same thing you're doing." ––– Kay, Eugene Oregon, learned ShiRRéT in the midwest
I am so excited about learning your
craft. Last weekend I took a crochet class so I'd be ready for the Shirrét
process. Now I'm hooked on crochét as well! I wish I'd discovered it
years ago - oh well. It's never too late.
The extra "ShiRRéT tools" is for a friend. I'll get her hooked.
Then I'll have some competition rug making!
––– Bonnie Molloy, Tucson, Arizona
"I
made a ShiRRéT rug for my grandaughter's doll house and she was real
tickled with it. I gave a ShiRRéT rug for a
wedding shower and from the way the bride reacted you'd think it was the most precious
thing she got. The kids are thrilled to get my ShiRRéT." ––– Wilma
Connor, Cedar Rapids, Iowa + niece Betty Forrest
"
It's just double crochet! You only think about relating the colors" ––Steph White, architect, publisher of OnSite Magazine and professor U. Calgary, awarded Canada Council for the Arts grant.
"There's a mat on the table in historic Old Deerfield. Now I realize - it's an old ShiRRéT! And it makes me think of rugs they made in England during the war of old nylons!" ––– Judy Croucher, Hub Mill Massachusetts, at the New England Needlework show in Sturbridge
JEWELDINE
BLACK of Monpezallo AL says "buying wool for ShiRRéT has gotten
to be habit forming!"She sent
me a newspaper ad for MISS MARY'S ARTISAN CRAFTS in Columbia AL, in the S.E.
corner by Florida near Chattahoochee Georgia. MISS MARY, Marion Pitchford,
taught rugmaking with the Rugbee needle, similar to the ShiRRéT needle,
until they stopped making it. "We can't get wool, it's so hot and there
are no mills anymore. Before your ShiRRéT book, learning for the first
time took persistence. You had to have individual attention. If they haven't
seen the rugs they don't have a preconceived notion.
You take something somebody
would throw away and you make something useful out of it. One thing I did
- so many of the ladies wanted to buy the strips, so in those days I cut the
fabric and sold strips for 10 cents a yard. They said "Give us the wool
at a price we can stand ".
Alot of these people wouldn't be caught dead
in a thrift store looking at other people's recycled garments to cut up."
She continues, "When I sell my rugs I charge 25 cents a square inch.
A rug less than 30 inches takes 6 yards. I sell pine needle baskets and ShiRReT
rugs. They go well together. They're HERITAGE SKILLS. Even though we may lose
money on paper, it may have benefits.
I usually don't know what its going to be. It's totally mindless. It's kind
of haphazard. It's a funny jumble - it makes me cheerful and happy."
"Shirley Wood's grandmother during the Depression made these rugs. Branson Missourri was a poor area, in the Ozarks. Silver Dollar City is now filled with theaters and country music. I said to Shirley "If you're ever traveling in Southern Alabama, come and teach classes", and she did. It was a huge success. She taught 3 classes a day here."
"What wonderful rugs on your website ! They're just inspiring." ––– Kelly Towle, Wisconsin
Linda of Vachon Washington is a Lindyhop dancer who shirrets with a friend. "This is such a beautiful site and, working in html, I know how hard it is to do." - Thank you
ShiRRéTis a Proust madeleine . . . Reminded by Louise's colorful carpets, people talked stream-of-consciousness about their families. Louise was curious and charming. People brought her their
handwork, garden vegies, their recipes for cakes !
Sharon
Dugan, New Hampshire, buys multiple tubes of cord. She learned ShiRRéT
from Marion Woodart.
In Japan it is bad luck to waste even one grain of rice. I make handbags from silk neckties. ––Hideko Ochiai, NYC
Please hurry - I can't wait
to start my new craft !!!––– Sue of Bay Village, Ohio
Lois McAnally wins Best of Show
ribbons at the Washington State Fair with ShiRRéT.
"It's so satisfying. If I win at the Island County fair in August, I
go on to the state fair in Puyallup where there's a whole building of needlework. I love ShiRRéT. Until you came around, it was a Lost Art and now it's
not Lost anymore."
"I haven't had any formal instruction, the lady just showed me how to do it. I'd like the book to follow a pattern" for targets.
––Wanda Seward, Missourri
Susan McKearney, Colorado Springs CO made all the shirret vertical ovals here.
Liz Grace made ShiRRéT with a bedspread from Grandmother's house upstate, where nephew Billy August lives. "I wanted to remember the feeling", she said.
Dear Ms. McCrady: Thank you for letting me know that my order was received and for packing up my order on Monday. I was very surprised and delighted to receive the e-mail from you personally. I read about you in the Shirret book and on the website and very much appreciate the attention you provide to your customers. Thank you for the personal touch so often missing in today's business environment. It is a pleasure doing business with you. ––Lisa Carey
"I'm going to use the Shirret needle now that there are no more Rugbee needles. I'll get used to it. And the Shirret rugs are so fantastic 'cuz you can make 'em
fit any spot you want! ––Starr Lenz, Sun City