A lot of times I feel like something is not worth writing about until it’s finished. But, let’s face it: I can’t conceivably churn out several projects a week. I’m always working on something (usually several things concurrently); some projects just take a little longer. So today, I am giving myself permission to show you an unfinished project.
For those who have not been following along, my family and I moved to a log cabin at the end of October. A lot of people nod like they understand what we mean when we say, “log cabin,” and then proceed to ask us questions like, “Is it insulated?” Well… it’s a log cabin, so… it depends on how you classify 12″ diameter timbers. I guess you could say it’s naturally insulated. The floor is made of 4″ thick bridge decking planks. It’s very rustic and also very rough.
This is the good part of the floor.
Our friends already had several area rugs scattered throughout the cabin, but there are still a few areas that could stand to be covered. Not only for the splinter potential, but also because of the cold air that rushes up between those planks.
Before we moved, I was going through my sewing room and collected a huge gift sack full of fabric scraps that I was going to put up on craigslist for some quilter bored of her own scraps. I never got around to it, so the bag o’ scraps moved with us. I’m too cheap to throw stuff like that away. It could be good for something! Well, looky looky, it now has a purpose.
Have you made the connection yet? Alex, I’d like to take Rag Rugs for 200. I’ve never made one before, but I rarely let that small detail stop me. Looking at the braided rugs already in the cabin, I thought I had a fair idea of what to do and a quick search online gave me enough pointers to forge ahead.
Scraps to strips
I made zigzag cuts to get as much out of the fabric as possible. My strips average about 1.5″ in width, but I wasn’t too concerned about uniformity. After all, it’s a rag rug. Cutting the strips was made much less tedious by having a river to watch while I did it.
The next step was the most fun.
I use only the best equipment.
I safety-pinned three strips of fabric to my ironing board cover and started braiding. Whenever I got near the end of a strip, I’d knot a new one on. There was no real rhyme or reason to the color order. I’m not trying to make art here. Besides, there’s something to be said for creations that aren’t too created, you know?
The prettiest rope I've ever seen
I ended up with several yards of braided rope before I ran out of fabric strips. I could probably make a generous placemat with it right now; I’ll need several more yards to make a respectable rug. No worries, though — I have plenty more scraps to cut up!
Two Frogs and a Grasshopper 