ABC MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

This month's topics are:  

AREA & ORIENTAL RUGS

                      Kars Oriental Rugs

INSECT PESTS

Carpet Beetles

MISCELLANEOUS

Veterans Day - November 11

The Mother of Thanksgiving

SPECIALS

November Cleaning Specials

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 KARS ORIENTAL RUGS

LOCATION and HISTORHY

Kars Oriental rugs are woven in the city of Kars and surrounding areas in the far northeast corner of Turkey, approximately 45 miles from the border of Armenia. The weaving of rugs has been a tradition in the area from as early as the 16^th century. 

The city of Kars is the capital of the province of Kars and it has played an important role in Turkish history. It was at the very center of the Turkish-Russian War between 1877 and 1878.

The word 'Kars' comes from the name of the Turkish/Bulgarian tribe of 'Karzak' living in the area around 130 AD. It was founded in the 8^th century by Armenians. In the 9^th and 10^th century, Kars was the capital of an independent Armenian kingdom. 

The area has had a long history of sieges and conflicts. It was captured by the Seljuks in the 11^th century and by the Ottomans in 1514. At the end of the war with Turkey in 1878, Kars remained under Russian rule for approximately 40 years. 

After the Russian Revolution in 1918, Kars was taken by Turkey and from 1919-1920 was part of the short-lived Republic of Armenia. A peace treaty in 1921 between the Turkish government and the USSR, ceded Kars and Ardahan to Turkey. In 1945, the Soviet Union again laid claim to the Turkish provinces of Kars, Atvin and Ardahan. 

In 1953, Russia renounced its territorial claims on Kars. In 1993, the border between Turkey and Russia was closed until at least 2021.   

CONSTRUCTION OF KARS ORIENTAL RUGS

Both pile rugs and pileless or kilim rugs are produced in the Kars region.

KILIM KARS ORIENTAL RUGS

A kilim is also known as a flatweave, distinguishing it from a rug that is knotted and has a pile. The kilim Kars oriental rugs generally have a loose slitweave construction. The slit refers to the gap left between two blocks of color. It is created by returning the weft (side to side cords) around the last warp in a color area, and the weft of the adjacent color is later returned around the adjacent warp. The weavers work on one color block at a time. 

The advantage to using the slit weave technique is that it produces bold, sharp patterns allowing the weavers more freedom than the plainweave technique. The result is a smooth kilim that, in most cases, is reversible.

Natural brown wool warps (up and down cords) which form the fringes are characteristic, as are the braids at the ends. 

The Kilims of Kars and nearby Kagizman are usually cut up into bags or pillow covers, which are more marketable than the Kilims themselves. Most of the kilims are long and narrow with small prayer kilims with triangular mihrabs also woven. 

The antique Kars kilims usually had dark colors probably influenced by their hard lives but they have lightened considerably to a softer palette in recent times with light browns, pinks, orange and white.

PILE KARS ORIENTAL RUGS

The Knot is the Turkish Symmetrical knot.

Warps (up and down cords) are wool, though cotton has been used in recently woven rugs.

Wefts (side to side cords) are usually 2 or more shoots of wool with cotton to be found in more recent rugs.

The Pile is wool, is usually high, and is loosely knotted. The wool is more coarse and dull than the quality used in the Caucasus area.

The Ends typically have a wide kilim (flat area) with plain fringe at both ends.

The Sides have 2 or more cords that are weft overcast.

The majority of Kars oriental rugs are woven in small Sizes up to 5x8 feet.

THE DESIGN OF KARS ORIENTAL RUGS 

Please continue reading here for more information and photos of Kars Oriental Rugs.

CARPET BEETLES

WHAT ARE THEY?

Carpet beetles technically belong to the order of Coleoptera (Beetles) and the Family Dermestidae. 

The word dermestidae comes from the Greek 'derm' meaning skin and 'edmenai' to eat, literally a skin eater. They are small pests that can cause a large amount of damage if left unattended.

WHY ARE THEY CALLED CARPET BEETLES?

Carpet Beetles got their name because years ago most carpeting was made of wool and was the most common food source for the beetles. Today, most wall-to-wall carpets are made of synthetic fibers and carpet beetles will not feed off fibers which are not natural. (They can, however, cause damage when eating food sources on a synthetic fiber such as urine, sweat, food particles, etc.)

ADULT CARPET BEETLES

Adult carpet beetles themselves feed on pollen from garden plants with white or cream flowers such as Spiraea and Viburnum, as well as Crepe Myrtle and Buckwheat. After mating, the females require the nectar and pollen of these flowers in order to lay eggs.

Adult carpet beetles do not bite and are harmless. They are most often seen in the summer months as they seek sites for egg laying. After she lays her eggs, the female will die.

CARPET BEETLE LARVAE

It is the larvae which causes the damage inside buildings when the adult females seek sites to lay their eggs on likely food sources for their larvae. The larvae are most active in the fall before they hibernate for the winter.

HOW DO THEY GET IN THE HOME?

Although the female beetles will often lay eggs outside in abandoned bee, wasp, and bird nests, they are able to fly well and will come into the home through doors, windows, air vents or cracks and can be brought in accidentally on cut flowers. It is also possible for them to cling to pet hair and your own clothing as well. They have no problem coming down through chimneys, plumbing openings, and electrical conduits as well.

Once in the home, they like dark areas such as closets, behind baseboards, under furniture, under area rugs, and along the edges of wall-to-wall carpet, etc. 

The larvae will feed on any natural fabrics, such as wool carpets and rugs, wool fibers of any kind, skins, furs, feathers, silk, leather bindings of books, stuffed animals, and more.

DO THE LARVAE BITE?

The larvae of the different types of carpet beetles have long, hard hairs. If contact occurs, a susceptible human could feel as if he or she were bitten. A reaction is usually not serious but can actually build up over time. If the larvae crawl across a person, the marks the hairs leave will usually appear in a line. 

The larvae are sometimes known as 'woolly bears' (not the caterpillar) and even their shed hair can occasionally lead to a severe human skin irritation known as Carpet Beetle Dermatitis. The hair can also cause reactions in the respiratory tract of some people.

TYPES OF CARPET BEETLES

There are several types of adult carpet beetles. They are oval shaped with 6 legs and 2 antennae. They have rounded, hard bodies and wings beneath their shells. Some have scales of different colors on their wing covers and these can wear off over time. 

The larvae of most look like fuzzy worms with bands across their bodies and long hair-like extensions on either one or both ends of their bodies.

The four most prevalent types are found all over the world: 

Varied Carpet Beetle-Anthrenus verbasci. This is the most common beetle pest in Europe.

Black Carpet Beetle-Attagenus unicolor.This is the most common and most destructive in the U.S.

Furniture Carpet Beetle-Anthrenus Flavipes.This beetle is very similar to the Varied Carpet Beetle.

Common Carpet Beetle-Anthrenus scrophulariae.This beetle is similar to the Varied Carpet Beetle.

LIFE CYCLE OF CARPET BEETLES

Carpet beetles go through a complete metamorphosis. There are 4 stages of development involved:

1. Egg
2. Immature Larva
3. Pupa - Transition Stage from Larva to Adult
4. Adult emerging from Pupa

As the larvae grow, as with all insects, they will shed their exoskeletons (skins). This can happen a dozen times or more. The larvae feed in limited areas and these skins, which resemble the larva, will accumulate and may often be one of the more noticeable signs of an infestation. 

Beetle larvae resemble millipedes but the distinguishing characteristic is the beetle larvae have only 3 pairs of legs.

The life cycle of a carpet beetle is usually completed within a year, especially with the black and varied beetles, though others can have 3 or four generations per year. 

Depending on the species, the female can lay 40 to 90 eggs in her lifetime. These eggs will hatch into larvae in 10 to 20 days. The larvae may spend 2 months to a year or more in the larval stage, depending on the beetle species, the type and amount of food available, and the temperature. Indoors in warm areas leads to a shorter life cycle than in unheated portions of a home during the winter. The adults will emerge from the pupal stage in the spring.

WHAT DO CARPET BEETLES LOOK LIKE?

To find out what carpet beetles look like, how to eliminate them if you find them, how to avoid them, and how they are different from moths and bedbugs, please continue reading here.

VETERANS DAY- NOVEMBER 11

Did you know that Veterans Day is always written without an apostrophe? That is because it is a day that belongs not to just one veteran or multiple veterans, as an apostrophe implies, but a day for honoring all veterans.  

SOME VETERANS DAY FACTS...

What is the Difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day? 

Memorial Day is when we remember those who died while fighting for our country.

Veterans Day honors ALL those, dead or alive, who have served in war OR peace.

Veterans Day is actually intended to thank all living veterans for the sacrifices they have made for us.

When Did Veterans Day Originate?

Veterans Day commemorated the official end of World War I with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. 

It was originally called 'Armistice Day.' 

Why Was the Date November 11th Rather Than June 28^th 1919?

Seven months before the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, an armistice between the Allies and Germany had already been declared on the 'eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month' on November 11, 1918.

Why Did Armistice Day Become Veterans Day?

Unfortunately, World War II and the Korean War occurred after WW I. Service organizations for veterans urged Congress to amend the holiday again by changing the word 'armistice' to 'veterans.' It was a day intended to honor American veterans of all wars.

Has This Holiday Always Been Celebrated on November 11th of Each Year?

In 1968, Congress signed the Uniform Holiday Bill stating that certain federal holidays would be celebrated on a Monday. It was meant to allow families to extend holiday activities for a long weekend which in turn might encourage travel and spur the economy.

The result was the Veterans Day holiday was set to be celebrated on the fourth Monday of every October. 

It took 3 years to establish the first Veterans Day for October 25, 1971, under the new bill because there had been a lot of confusion over the date change. Additionally, many states had continued to celebrate the holiday on November 11^th.

When and Why Did the Date Change Back to November 11?

To find the answer to this question and for more information about Veterans Day, please continue reading here. 

THE MOTHER OF THANKSGIVING

The Mother of Thanksgiving was a woman of her time and ahead of her time.

Her name was Sarah Josepha Hale. She was born in 1788 and, in spite of the era, she was ahead of her time by becoming a self-taught professional woman, a writer, poet and editor, advocating education and professional work for women. It was she who wrote the nursery rhyme, Mary had a Little Lamb.'

But Mrs. Hale was also a woman of her own time. When her husband died at age 34, just two months before the birth of their fifth child, she donned mourning black and never again took it off.

She didn't believe women should have the vote but should remain the secret and silent influencer of the male vote.

Fortunately, her influence on culture was far from secret or silent. In fact, Hale became a vocal supporter of a national Thanksgiving. For 17 years she wrote letters to five presidents about the idea. She wrote books and articles recounting New England Thanksgivings.

In 1863, she finally caught the ear of President Abraham Lincoln, convincing him that a National Day of Thanks might bring the war-torn country together.

Besides writing books and editing an influential women's magazine, Hale also promoted Thanksgiving through cookbooks.

SARAH HALE'S THANKSGIVING APPLE PUDDING PIE RECIPE 

For this recipe and more information on Sarah Josepha Hale, please continue reading here.

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