Making Progress

My Wild Horse Cardigan is moving right along. It seems a rumpled mess now because the fronts and neckline are gathered on my needles to work the shawl collar. I do love the soothing rhythm of many rows of garter stitch and the squish factor of the humble stitch. I have tried it on after the sleeves were done and they fit well and were the perfect length. I am pleased with the length of the body too. I haven't actually knit a sweater since the early 1980's. I am not sure why I waited so long to do such a rewarding project for myself.

The rag rug project continues too. I switch back and forth to help my hands not get so worn out and sore from repetition. Maybe I get some pictures of that next week.

Back with more again soon.

Take care and stay cozy!

Of Course I Started a New Project

I always have multiple projects going at any given time. Over the last few days after looking at my scap bins and realizing I have more than enough to make what I had in mind I got started. What I had in mind was rag rugs done with two ply fabric yarn. To make my yarn I need one inch wide strips that are at least 12 inches long to be useful. I spent time sorting scraps and piles of old sheets and other fabric given to me by my sisters. I set aside any scraps not good enough to make strips but could possibly work later in scrap quilts. 

Here's where I am so far...

A pile of fabrics waiting to be made into strips.

Strips waiting to become fabric yarn.

Yarn beginning to become a rug.

The method is simple. To start I get 2 strips and put a knot very close to the end. Remember I am left-handed for this next part. Imagine the strips being upper and lower. I twist, with my right hand, the upper strip away from me and then bring it forward and down. I now have a new upper strip and I do the same thing. Twist it away from me and then bring it forward and down. To add a new strip overlap old and new strip about 4 or 5 inches. That will make sure your yarn doesn't easily come apart. Try to stagger the joins so you don't have that double layer thickness in both your upper and lower strips at the same time. There is a lot of twist in my new yarn so after I have made several yards of yarn I stand up and run the yarn through my hands from the old to new end to get the excess twist out.

Next step is to crochet the new yarn. I use a very big hook and single crochet. I find it is easier on my hands to make some yarn and then crochet and go back and forth so my hands get a break. I have made 3 of these rugs so far and plan on making more, that is as long as I can give scrap fabric a life extension before it ends up in a land fill. In some of my first rugs I used some of Jims old shirts that were stained and frayed at collar and cuffs so they weren't donatable. Any lightweight woven fabric will work. 

I love these rugs. I kept the first on for myself and it is holding up very well after a few years of use and machine washing and drying. The rugs I make are heavy and cushion your feet very nicely when you stand on them. I plan on having a couple of these at the craft shows I will be doing with my sisters later this year. I wouldn't ever put them online because shipping would be too much.

In other crafting news I finished one sleeve and started another on a top down raglan cardigan I will be finishing to take with me to Scotland later this year. I also put some more rows on a red baby blanket.

I am looking forward to, while being a bit anxious about, the presidential debate later this week. I don't know if these things ever change minds. I know my mind can't be changed and I am now and always will be a democrat, so I am rooting for Joe. To me the choice is clear between a crazy wanna be dictator and the man who actually cares about the middle class and doesn't want it to disappear.

Back with more again soon.

Take care and stay cozy!

Finished and Happy!

First you make a pile of strips like these.

Then you turn the strips into yarn like this.

Finally grab your biggest crochet hook and finish up with something useful like this.

It is so pleasing to have this rug done! My original plan with this fabric yarn was to make tote bags. As I experimented I found the resulting fabric too thick for what I wanted. I decided to make a rug instead and it was a great choice. What I crocheted here is nice and thick and feels so good to stand on. Stirring steel cut oats for 30 minutes won't be such a chore from now on. I have grand plans to  make 3 more of these now. On will go in front of the sink, another where I stand and do chopping when cooking and the last in front of the refrigerator.

For the strips I am using old shirts mostly. I choose ones that are stained or show too much wear to go to a thrift store. I start with removing buttons and saving those and then take apart the shirt and cutting one inch strips. Other sources in the future will come as I go through my fabric stash. I am sure I have scraps from projects that will be usable as well as that occasional "why on earth did I buy this" piece of yardage.

Since discovering that this project produces a thick sturdy fabric after the rugs I may try making some bowls or baskets out of  the fabric yarn I make. Of course I will make note of these thing right here on the blog when they happen.

Projects like these rugs and the envisioned bowls all fit the intentions expressed in one of my favorite sayings. You have probably heard it yourself. "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without." That's me, using is up.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

So Handy!

My first crocheting lessons were from my mother making rag rugs. It is something I still enjoy doing and I have been saving up fabrics, old worn clothes, sheets and tablecloths to make some new ones. Some of them may show up in my shops someday and some of them will be just for me.

What I never really thought of doing was using the strips to make other things. The variety is endless. On Etsy I have seen rugs of course as well as bowls and bags. The simple little project I wish I had thought of is potholders. Some of the nicest ones I have seen are in the shop Sally Rags.She has some great colors and a hanging loop to keep it handy. Her crocheting is thick enough that these could do double duty as a pad for hot dishes too.

Prairie Roots

Each week the Etsy Bloggers Street Team does a blog carnival. A street team on Etsy is a group of members that share something in common and use team efforts to support and promote team members and their shops. There are teams for geographical locations, types of art or crafts or different social connections. As you can tell from the name you have found your way to the blog of an Etsy Blogger member. At more than 300 strong our goal is to create buzz and promote our shops, each other and Etsy.

A weekly blog carnival is one of our events. A blog carnival is a group of blog posts gathered together with links in one place and works kind of like a table of contents for the week.

The theme this week is “Cultural Leanings”. The ideas is to blog about how you integrate your own heritage into your work or how you are attracted to another culture - like Celtic knotwork, African art, island themes, renaissance, etc. Or how your culture/heritage/upbringing influence you in some way.

I did quite a bit of thinking about my post for this week. I really searched for an answer to where my influences come from. My heritage is mostly German and Irish as near as I know. Most of the family history seems to imply that my ancestors were part of the migrations from Europe to the United States in the 1800's when millions of others came to this country as well. I am grateful they came but as far as influence from them I don't think so.

I feel more connected to the pioneers in my family. Most of them loaded the wagons and came to the midwest prairies to farm. I have so much respect, awe and admiration to anyone who was able to do that. I think it is where my frugal nature comes from. I love to use things until they are worn out and then see if they can be brought to life in something new. This was a way of life on the prairies of Kansas where is could be very hard to have the cash for store bought goods. The quilt block you see here fits that theme. It is a family quilt made in Kansas possibly 70 or so years ago. I have heard that my grandmother who had 12 children and was too busy to quilt provided the print fabrics from worn out dresses and other women in the family with fewer or no children made the quilts. The entire quilt is hand pieced and hand quilted and no two flowers on it are the same. I treasure this quilt for its beauty and as an small example of the women I am descended from.

Here you can see a sample of my crafting in a rug I made for my home. I bought some polyester crochet thread one time thinking it was cheap and I would knit it into lacy washcloths. However what I found on making a sample was that the polyester thread irritated my skin so I knew I couldn't use it for that purpose and sell the cloths. I have always collected old sheets, table cloths and clothing that can no longer be worn for rag rugs. Over the years I have crocheted a lot of those and was looking for a new idea. I came up with crocheting my own rug base and then cutting bias strips to latch hook onto the base. This is what you see here. It is my new bathroom rug and I love the way it turned out. It is made from that crochet thread I couldn't use for washcloths, old sheets and some of those "I can't believe I bought this even if is was on the $1.00 a yard table" kind of fabrics that had been in my stash for years and never used. It is thick and soft and almost tickles your feet when you step on it getting out of the shower. It was one way that I was able to use things that could have been thrown away and have given them a new purpose. I get a great sense of pleasure and satisfaction from this type of project. I feel as if I am carrying on traditions by creating these kinds of things and they are worth the time and the energy to make and use every day in my home.

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