Friday, July 16, 2010

Raggedy Anne - that's me!

These are all the strips I have left and I'm starting to worry that I won't have enough to finish my rug. I made my first rug from cotton SIL Rochelle gave me. She said it had all been given to her by well-meaning people who knew she was a quilter but it was just too ugly to quilt with. I need to meet more of those people she knows! I knew I didn't have enough for a second rug so purchase four or five yards of the cheapest cotton at Hancock's, which kinda negates the idea of "rag" rugs.
Once the strips are stitched together, I have to wind them into balls, folding them in half as I go. There are five balls-worth of strips in the bag. Compare that to the wound ball on the table. I don't know how you production rag rug weavers do it, weaving three rugs a day. I'll be lucky if I finish my rug this week!
This shuttle is awe-
some! I recently found it amongst the stuff that came with Goldie. She's in mothballs right now, stuffed in the dormer. I really do need to get her back to work. I was surprised when DS Matty hinted that he would like dish towels or place mats. Gender presumption on my part!
I've got all kinds of warp colors going on this rug because this rug warp also came with Goldie. If traffic round-abouts were in place where her owner lived, she would not have been killed, t-boned in an intersection where someone couldn't read "stop." Maybe that explains my fascination with Bend's rotaries.

Quick trip to town today, returning Ian's sample to the lab. By quick, I mean the usual two hours but with an extra treat - lunch with DD Chrissie!!

7 comments:

Theresa said...

If you ever get to Ashland, I have some rolled cotton selvage ends that I got from Crazy as a Loom that I won't be using. You can have them.
Rotaries huh? Well, growing up in MA, the rotary state I would bet, I hate them. They work great in normal traffic, in heavy commuter traffic, the ones at least there, are a nightmare. Route 2 by the Concord Prison,
Route 1 I think heading north out of Logan, and a dozens of others, for you reading New Englanders, need I say more. I think most states now do clover leafs which can be a little tricky in traffic but feel far safer. Texas likes feeder roads. Texas has a lot of extra space too.
Place mats sound fun!

Hilary said...

Very nice.....you are doing a fantastic job, and it looks like you are loving it!

LA said...

Your rug looks great! Weaving with rags is a great way to use up stash, plus even ugly fabric can be beautiful in a rug or placemat!

Anonymous said...

Rug looks fantastic. Trouble with reading what everyone else is doing out there is that I want to do it all too!
Now I am curious about Goldie - sounds like a story.

re'New said...

I've found with my rugs, that sometimes the uglier the curtain, blanket, material is, the cooler the rug turns out! Keep having fun!

bspinner said...

Nice!!!!! Nice rags for the rug. Can't wait to see it off the loom.

Leigh said...

The rags look great. And what a great shuttle. One of these days I'll follow in your footsteps.