Wool Rug and Mini Rag Rug

THE RUGBEE RUG

My basket buddy, Teresa, and I were teaching basket weaving class at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri, in 2000, when I happened upon a lady demonstrating making wool rugs.  She told the crowd that her grandmother had someone make the special crochet needle with a small hook on one end and a tappered blunt point at the other end.  It is ~8" long  Then she started creating lovely oval or square rugs.  

 

Wool strips, 1/2" to 5/8" wide, are cut and can be any length, from as small as 1" to as long as a yard.  There is no wool wasted when making this type of rug.  The width of your strips determine the thickness of the rug.  Woven wool has to be cut on the bias to prevent unraveling. I had this navy blue and red check wool from a box of fabric/notions that my grandmother gave me.

Once the strips are cut, you load the needle by pushing through the middle of the strip onto the needle with a 1/2" space between folds.  When you come to the end of one strip, you begin another strip, as if it was one continuous strip .  It is not necessary to sew these strips together because as you begin to crochet the rug they will stay in place.

Using carpet warp,  you begin to crochet between the loops, then pull off one fold, crochet, pull off a fold and repeat around the rug.  When you get to the curve part, you pull off two folds to increase the size of the rug.  This keeps it from rolling up and allows it to lay flat.    







The folds lay close together and this is the depth of the rug.  While I was watching that first demonstration, if there was a strip a bit taller that the rest, the lady took her scissors and trimmed it to be even.  I was amazed!




You can see when I separate the folds, the crotchet part is well hid.




I added a few extra colors of green and gold here and there and added a strip of black to break it up.  Notice how small the extra green and gold are.  This was my first rug and I didn't know how big it was going to be so I thought that adding extra colors would help make it a decent size.

This rug has a dreamy, fuzzy look to it and is soft to stand on.  If I had to do it over, I would not have added the extra color wool.  It was kind of hard to guess what the rug was going to look like.  From a distance it doesn't look too bad.  The size is 1.5'x2.5', not very big, but that was all the navy/red wool I had.

You can make chair cushions with this technique, rugs and hot pads to use in the kitchen.  The size depends on how much wool you have and what you are making.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BUTTERCUP IS MAD!

When Buttercup found out that I made a small rug for Sherri's doll house, she would not talk to me. 

All she has for a rug is a worn out doily!

So I went to work on a colorful area rug for her.  I choose matching colors of her furniture that had some dynamic patterns to them.

 

I wove it on my small metal pot holder loom.  It matches well 

and she can place it anywhere in her 'room'.

Buttercup is soooo happy, she jumping on the bed!

(sorry for the blurry pictures.  Not sure what went wrong there.  Must be operator error!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Thanks for visiting,
Cinder

SUMMER FUN

This year was the first year that our Cinnamon Magnolia tree bloomed.  It didn't have lots of blooms, but they were the size of a dinner plate, with snowy white petals against the lush green leaves.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIRLFRIEND WEEKEND

This year the girls arrived at my house on Father's day weekend.  It turned out to be an unusually planned, ah, not so planned, get

together we've had so far.  Everyone arriving at different time, but we still had fun.  Lots of talking, laughing and all round good time.  I gave out Strawberry Jam to very one.

Beth gave us all a box full of herbs:  Chives, Garlic Chives, Greek Oregano, Sage, French Tarragon, Thyme and Skewer Rosemary.

  They have a home in my herb bed.

Teresa gave us each a Whirlygig.  Sherri chose the Cardinal, Beth a Hummingbird, and I got the lovely green and yellow Duck!  What fun to watch his 'wings' fly around, and fly he does!  We have lots of wind here!

Sherri was our designated driver, or at least my driver.  My car was in the shop for a day and she was the first to arrive, so guess what?  She had to be the chauffeuted.  Thank you Sherri!

One of our destinations was to take a walk through The Minature and Toy Museum in Kansas City.  Amazing!  The workmanship was incredible.  Beautiful doll houses, a fully functional harpsichord, smaller than the size of a cereal bowl, and ships in bottles.  In one display there was a working loom, making a small rug.  

Hummm, that got me to thinking and Tada - I made my own 'loom'.

I used the metal frame from my vintage Loop Craft kit.  Adding Kabob Skewers and twisty ties, I strung upholstery thread over the pegs.

I cut 1/4" strips of grey wool.

Weaving was trying and I felt I was all thumbs.  Occassionally I would pull too hard and break my wool strip.  I just sewed it back together and continued on.

  

 It measures 3" by 7".  This petite rug will have a home with Sherri in one of her doll houses.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

GRANDDAUGHTER PROJECT

My seven year old granddaughter was staying with us a couple of weekends ago, and I felt it was time to 'introduce' her to sewing.  So I cut a square out of cardboard and cut slits along all the sides.  I gave her some blue yard and showed her how to weave around the slits.  After a few minutes she says, 

"Grandma, I'm going to make a cat.  Can you cut me some ears?"

  "Of course."  So I cut out 2 small ears.

"Those are to small."  So I cut bigger ones.

"Now I need a round head."  So I cut a oval head.

"How are we going to stick them together?" I ask.

"Gorilla Glue!"  Oh, yes.  Grandpa has a bottle sitting in the window ledge.  

After picking some button eyes, I went upstairs (we're in the basement) and glued on the ears and eyes, then clamped them with clothes pins.  In the meantime, she cut out cardboard for the tail and arms, adding sparkly stickers from another project.

"Now I need to make legs."

"But you already have legs."  I'm not quite seeing her full concept.

"Those are arms, Grandma!"

"Ok, ok."  I cut some legs.

Then it was assembly time. 

Her Cat!

PROJECT #2

This weekend we worked on her next project, a gift for her father birthday.  I thought we could make him a small basket to hold his remotes.

We used plastic grid and blue yarn, (the same yarn in the above project.  I have a lot of it!).  Cutting the grid to the size we wanted and with lots of encouragement, we managed to get it done in one day!

She completed the 2 small sided and helped with the bottom.  I did the long sides, bottom and lashed it all together.  I know he will enjoy it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope all our projects are this much fun!

Thanks for visiting,

Cinder

Table Runner and Wool Rug

FUNNY THING HAPPENED WHEN 

VISITING THE NEIGHBORS!

We popped by the neighbors house a few weeks ago when we were taking an evening stroll.  They have a beautiful log cabin, which they furnished in a wonderful western theme.  They have 2 horses and an mule in the pasture and a hitching post in their front yard with a saddle on it.  Looks really cool.  Anyway...as I was looking around I noticed that a number of their fabrics:  curtains, lamp shade...that I have in my stash of fabrics.  

I also had a vintage quilt block left over from a quilt (that I never finished.  That's a story for another time, yikes).  It got me to thinking and TADA I made them a table runner.  (It's also pay back for all the wonderful horse poop I get from them!)  

The flower garden block was surrounded by white and was poorly made.  I took all the white off and blanket stitched it to a matching red square of fabric. 

 

 It was fun to make and I hope they enjoy it because I sure do enjoy the horse poop! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WOOL RUG

 

I used the same frame that I've been making the rag rugs with but instead used wool stripes instead of cotton.  I went to 2 fabric stores to buy wool and neither one of them sell wool or wool blend.  So it was off to the thrift store for 100% wool jackets and skirts, navy, light brown, gray and light blue.  The navy in the picture looks black.

I worked this one slow as I wanted to make sure that the weavers were folded as I was weaving them.  I used hemp string as the vertical weavers.  I had wool lint all over but it was fun to do.  

 

 This one goes to my son.  I may start on another braided rug.  Hummm

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The garden is going great, our best looking one so far since we've lived here, which is 4 years this month.  Not a weed in sight and already we've been eating lettuce, radishes and strawberries, with cabbage and peas almost ready.  Can't wait!

 

Thanks for visiting,

Cinder

Braided Rug, Garden

WOOL BRAIDED RUG

 

This rug I made from several wool skirts and jackets.  I loved the red plaid skirt when I saw it and worked the other colors around it. 

I'm still new at making rugs and don't quite know how much fabric it will take.  So this rug measures 3 ft x 2 1/2 ft.

Again, I cut the strips 3 inches wide, sewed them together, then folded them over.  When I had 3 long lengths done, I braided them and hand sewed it on the bottom to keep it secure.  My rugs tend to be wavy, so I vacuum them and it really helps to make them lay flat.  After a few time walking on them with an anti skip pad underneath, the rug lays perfect. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GARDENING

What a spring I am having with my garden, or lack of!  It has been raining every few days so we are unable to till the plot and its been so cold at nights.  Needless to say, I have nothing planted at all!!!!! 

 

I bought a 4 shelf greenhouse, not very large or sturdy, but it came with a clear plastic covering to protect the plants.  I had some tomatoes, cabbage, lettuce, and radishes started.  But disaster hit and the wind knocked it over.  I lost most of my seedling and had to start over.  Ugh!  Now the greenhouse is secured to the garden shed.  I reset the plants and they are doing ok.  Nothing to brag about.   

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PILLOW PROJECT

My sister bought some fabric to recover the seat of her rocking chair.  With the left over fabric I took over the task of recovering 2 feather pillows.  As you can see by the photo, feathers are sticking out all over the pillows, so I bought some light brown bed ticking to cover them before making the outside covering.

I think they turned out nicely.

I even used the old zippers so that the covers can be removed and washed, if needed.

 
Here are the original covers. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MUSHROOMS

Morel mushrooms are popping up all over the place this year.  I tried my hand at drying some and here they are.  I made a pot of beef stew and added a few an hour before serving to hydrate them and allow the flavors to blend.  They turned out pretty good.  I was afraid that the mushrooms would disintegrate, but they held their shape.  I look forward to using them in the middle of the winter to capture that spring flavor.





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BUSY DAYS

I've been busy at work lately.  Working almost 8 hours a day!  OMG, I'm a good 6 to 6 1/2 hours a day worker.  What's happening is that work in interfering with my sewing time!!!!  Also I recently got back into bike riding and upgraded my old el cheapo bike for a cadillac model.  Cherry apple red and rides like a dream!  My goal:  get healthier, loose weight and get outdoors.  So far it all is working.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm still working on my project list.  I can check off the braided rug and I'm working on hand quilting 2 quilts.  Here's a preview of one of them....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for visiting
Cinder

Scrappy Wool Rug and Iris Wall Hanging

SCRAPPY WOOL RUG

What an interesting rug this turned out to be.  I was working on the braided rug, when I looked down in the trash and saw many small triangles.   These were trimmed from the stripes that I sewed together.   I had a brilliant idea and pulled them all out of the trash.  (Well, maybe not brilliant.)

I overlapped them and sewed them on denim.  Then I trimmed the rug edges with left over black wool.

 Here it is!  My 3 foot by 1 1/2 foot Scrappy Wool Rug.  It looks like mountain peaks.  I have it by the back door and it matches the large braided rug, two rugs in one!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IRIS WALL HANGING 

I was given this unfinished, beautiful hand stitched wall hanging from my friend Sherri.  It was made by her mother.  Her fine needle work amazed me and I was honored to work on it and give it a place in my home.

I tried to get a close up picture of the small, neat stitches that were done, but the picture doesn't do it justice.  I added batting and plain white fabric for the back and hand quilted around the flower and leaves to give them more dimension.  Then I finished the background by quilting a diamond background.

It is so pretty hanging on my white wall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy New Year to one and all!
may you sort of, kind of, get close to, it's almost possible, meet one of your resolutions.   
And be sure to have fun too!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Thanks for visiting,

Cinder

Wool Braided Rug and Willow Basket

WOOL BRAIDED RUG

My first braided rug turned out nicely.  I purchased all the wool at my favorite thrift store:  jackets, slacks, coats, skirts and a few pieces of misc fabric.  I was delighted to find 7 yards of a lovely tan (and cheap) and it is what I based one whole braid on.  The other 2 braids I grouped various colors together and then sewed them into long strips. I love the plaids!

 Then the fun began!  I folded the strips, then braided them together using a blunt needle with heavy duty thread, double stranded.

 After that, I used the same thread and tightly hand sewed each row to make a more secured rug.

 Then, voila, I made a rug!  What surprised me was how soft it is to stand on.  It took me about 6 weeks to make and here's the best part, I can enjoy it for many years!

I bought some anti skid to put it under it to make it more secure.  The rug measures 5  1/2' x 4'.  Now its time to start another one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


WILLOW BASKET

Sometimes when working with natural supplies, as it dries, it has a tendency to occasionally warp out of shape.  That's what happened to this small egg basket.  I gathered grapevine and make several handles at one time and let them dry.  The willow I work while it is green, as it needs to be pliable.  Everything was going well, then oops, after it dried it would not sit up straight, so I make a kick stand for it.  Perfect!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've started my holiday baking.  My goal this year to make some of the treats my mother and grandmother made for us at Christmas time.  Oh my!  First I forgot to buy all the ingredients for the fudge, so I started on the Divinity.  Holy Moly!  It doesn't quite look right, humm.  Well then I moved on to the popcorn balls.  First batch I burned the syrup coating (not sure if I had the burner up too high or that I was working on a puzzle and NOT paying attention).  Batch #2 turn out right (I never took my eyes off of it!).  Tomorrow I will make the fudge and the sugar coated dates stuffed with walnuts (if I remember to by everything!).  Keep your fingers crossed, cooking is sometimes an adventure for me.
 
Thanks for visiting,
Cinder