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Saturday, February 28, 2015

Cabin Fever, A Rag Rug & 160 Meters

Well, I told you yesterday I was bored. Today the garden is still white, the pastures are still white and the road is still white, which is really odd for here. This afternoon I was looking through a bunch of links I have saved on my computer. I have a bookmark folder called research. It probably has several hundred sites saved, some with interesting articles, some with how-to stuff, some with gardening or even soap making sites. 

While I was there rummaging around I ran across a folder with information I had saved about making rag rugs. It may have been a year since I looked at this, but today it flipped my switch, as Frank likes to say. I wanted something constructive to do that I would enjoy and learn something new. I made a braided rug a number of years ago, but it kept coming apart. It was one long braid sewn together into an oval. What I liked about this rag rug technique is the way it is constructed. It's all one piece, so it can't come apart. I have lots of fabric scraps from all of the dresses I have made. By the way, I can only remember buying one dress since I graduated from high school over three decades ago. I never saw any reason to buy a dress when I could buy fabric on sale and make one the way I wanted it for around $10.00. Anyway, I have lots of fabric scraps that should work great for a rag rug.

Another great thing about making this is how simple it is. Tear the fabric, yes tear it, into long strips anywhere from one to two inches wide. I actually enjoyed tearing up this fabric, it was funny to be able to tear something constructively. So, in this case, you can rip things up and enjoy it. When you watch the videos provided at the Rag Rug Cafe, you will see the easy way this woman attaches the strips together, and constructs the rug. It is very simple and easy. No needle and thread required.

 

One thing she did have was a tool to kind of weave the fabric together. They made it out of a wire clothes hanger. I started off using a large safety pin for this tool, but it didn't work very well. We have one metal clothes hanger that is already being used as a tool of sorts, so I borrowed a few inches off of one end. Frank was busy and this is how my original version turned out. It worked okay, but the end was kind of big and sometimes hard to use. Later on, when Frank wasn't busy, he re-fabricated my rug tool. Now the 'sewing' end of it is easier to use and works great.

 
Original tool
New and improved, via Frank's fabrication.









 

So, after a few hours, here is my rug. I haven't decided how big it will be, but I'll show it to you when I get it finished. It's nice to be able to tear things up to create something useful, while learning something new, and forgetting about having cabin fever. And one good thing about this project is that you can stomp on it when it's finished, if you have anymore frustration you need to work through.

Frank has also been busy with something new lately. He has been a member of our area Communications Support Team for a couple of years. This is a way he is serving our local area by using his ham radio skills. By the way, Frank made his first contact on 160 meters today. You see this weekend there was a 160 meter contest, so there was a lot more traffic than usual. On the average day, when Frank spins the big dial, he might hear two or three folks rag chewing on 160 meters, sometimes he hears none. But tonight the band was full. It's good to know those folks are out there. And it's good to know that you can make contact on 160 meters. Frank was tickled he had his first ever contact on 160 meters. 

For the past few weeks Frank has been attending a CERT class, Community Emergency Response Team. In conjunction with that he has attended a Storm Spotters Training and become a member of
the Oklahoma Medical Reserve Corp. All of these organizations provide some excellent training dealing with disaster preparedness, fire safety, search and rescue, and disaster medical operations. Not only does volunteering for these organizations provide Frank with the opportunity to serve the people of our area in the event of a disaster, it provides him with training, and contact with a group of people that will be in charge if things ever get dicey around here. Attending the closest meetings or trainings is a 50 mile round trip, but he feels it is well worth the effort and expense to be able to serve the people in our surrounding area. Volunteering and serving is something Frank has always done, and will continue to do. It's just a big part of who he is.

So, that's what we've been up to. They've already called off church tomorrow because of the weather. I'll probably get a lot more of my rug made, make some sourdough bread, do some reading, maybe peek in the fermentation crock and see how the cabbage is doing, and read all of the comments you leave. I always get antsy and impatient for spring this time of year. Having about three inches of
Spring, 2014
snow on the ground and dark gloomy days doesn't help any. I just can't imagine the many feet of snow the folks up north are buried under. It's supposed to rain for the next number of days, so we should start off March with lots of mud. But that's okay. We'll keep learning and before you know it, it will be spring.


Until next time - Fern
 

12 comments:

  1. when I was a kid, women made rag rugs all the time.

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    1. Back then, women made a lot of stuff, Tewshooz. Like my mom making most of my clothes. Frank and I are enjoying this project. It will make good use out of the stacks of scraps I have in there and also produce something useful in a relatively short amount of time. I'm already planning to make more after this one.

      Fern

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  2. I love the new rug! I have tried making the braided rug also and wasn't satified with the results either. I am definitely looking forward to trying this style. Thank you for bringing it to your readers attentions. I learn so much from you and Frank.

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    1. I've already run into a few things I wasn't expecting. Like needing to add a number of extra knots/loops to each round to keep the rug laying flat. But it's nothing that can't be figured out. I'm going to try a rectangular one next. I don't know if it will work or not, but from what I can visualize, I think it will. Let me know how your rug turns out! Thank you for sharing.

      Fern

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  3. Really enjoyed this post, much better for my mindset than yesterdays. My grandmother made rag rugs especially on winter days when too cold/snowy to go out and those dreary rainy summer days when it was too wet to go out. She believed in the saying 'idle hands are the devil's playthings'

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    1. That's because I didn't read any new aggravating articles, Bellen. (-: And making the rug really helped. It's going very well. Just wait until you see it again! Blessings to you.

      Fern

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  4. The rag rugs are a wonder, I have made several here and have one in progress..I braid a 5 gallon pail full of braid then when I get to sewing I just take the end from the top of the pail and go. I sew my braids together with heavey yarn that fits the basic color scheme of the cloth braids.

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    1. A bucket full of rugs. That's a good idea, Fiona. I have found that I like this technique better than braiding and sewing together, though. Thank you for sharing.

      Fern

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  5. I make toothbrush rugs and use to sell them at craft fairs. The "increase stitch" will be done on the four corners and never on the straight part. Your rug looks great. I use old bedsheets to make mine. The more you make the better you get. It gets addictive!

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    1. Old bedsheets are mentioned on the Rag Rug Cafe, as well. It's a good idea. I know socks are stretchy, but now I'm wondering if I can use all of those old holey socks to make a rug....

      Thank you very much for the hint of only increasing at the corners. That will help me a lot.

      Fern

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  6. Great post Fern. I have made rag rugs in the past. Took a class at community adult night school. There I learned to use the largest crochet hook available. We tore up a pillowcase into a 1 1/2 inch wide continuous piece of fabric. Strips were joined to each other not by sewing but by looping the fabric through a hole made in the ends of each piece of fabric. Hard to explain in writing but very effective and could be done without sewing. Can't wait to see your finished project. SJ n Vancouver BC

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    1. The video link I included shows the technique you are talking about, SJ. I really like it. No sewing, easy and very effective. The internet is a great tool to learn from. I played some of these video over and over until I had everything going well. Thank you for sharing.

      Fern

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