Handmade Rag Rugs

When I was a little girl, our summer cottage was down the red dirt lane from an elderly aunt's. I think it was that early in my life that I fell in love with old furniture and antique items.  Leota (Oat for short) was widowed at a  young age and was left fairly comfortably. Her home was decorated so differently than mine, most of her furnishings came from estate sales and antique stores.  It was at her home that I remember looking at the huge rag rug.  I was only about three years old, but I remember my mother having tea, and I was set on the rug to play with lace edged hankies and little cedar box with a hinged lid and a little brass lock.  I remember the hankies smelled of lavender and cedar.  I remember laying on my belly, with sunlight shining in the picture window, while I traced the fabrics that made up the  the colourful strips in the recycled wool braids and played with the lacy bits of linen.

I have attempted braided rugs but I have never made much headway.  I have, however, made several crocheted rugs of cotton sheeting.  Crocheted rugs are instant gratification.  I made this 3’ round rug for my bathroom on a lazy Saturday, just before the new year. 

My rugs are made of cotton or poly-cotton sheets.  I keep a lookout for them at yard sales, or second hand stores. I don’t worry about patterns because they are not seen, it’s the colours and colour combinations that are important.

Rag rugs look great in any room, they wash fine.  The little ones will wash in the washing machine, the bigger rugs, I soak in the tub, scrub them with a little hand brush and let dry in the sun.  The older they get the more I like them, it is as though their colours wash out a bit, and they blend easily with my old furniture. 

Eren at Vintage Chica has a great tutorial on how to make your own rag rug.

Make your own Granola

I have been making an intentional move away from prepared foods. I certainly have not arrived, by any means, but I find myself further down the road than I was a year ago.   I really believe in my heart of hearts that what we are putting into our bodies in the name of convenience is the root cause of the nations' health problems.   On the other hand, I live in a house with two teenagers, and "slow food" is not always an option. We have to have simple to grab and go snacks.   One of our favorite homemade convenience breakfast or snack food is  is homemade granola.  I store it in large 1.5 litre mason jars and try and have a couple variations in my pantry to choose from.  Walnut/ Cranberry and Dried Apple, or  Coconut/ Almond/ Dried Apricots and Blueberries.  or just a Flax Seed/ Sunflower Seed/ and Raisins.   I use whatever combination I have on hand.  We eat granola with milk, homemade yogurt, over berries or bananas, or alone in bagged lunches.

5 c oatmeal (up to 1 ½ c can be substituted with nuts, seeds or a combination of both)
1 c whole wheat flour ( I have to admit, I have used unbleached white flour
1/3 c vegetable oil
1 t cinnamon
1 t salt
1/3   c maple syrup
1/2 c juice (orange, pineapple, or apple)
½  t  flavoring (almond or vanilla extract)
Up to 2 c of dried fruit or coconut

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, flour, cinnamon and salt; mix well. In a separate bowl, combine oil, syrup, juice and extracts. Slowly pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients, using a spatula to fold and evenly coat the dry mixture with the wet. Spread on a cookie sheet or in a shallow pan  ( I use two 9' x 11' pans) and bake. Turn granola every 15 or 20 minutes so that it toasts evenly. Bake until granola is dry and golden (45-60 minutes). Add dried fruit.   Store mixture in an air tight jar.

Knitted Dishcloths

My grandfather taught me to knit with wooden sucker sticks.  I think I was about three.  Since that time I have always been a knitter, not a fancy knitter, but a knitter nonetheless.  I tend like little simple projects; hats, mittens, socks, shawls, and dishcloths. I think always want to move on to the next project so instant gratification of small projects is good.

Right now, I am knitting a stack of dishcloths.  They are the perfect project to take with me or pick up in the evening. I make all of my cloths in an off white cotton, and vary the patterns.  Sometimes I add a bit of colour as a border, but I find that the white is easily cleaned, and I like the look of the uniform cream where the coloured dishcloths tend to fade.