First Friday: Variations on the "braided" rug

It's a good thing these First Fridays come once a month, because it forces me to get my butt in gear and  finish projects that I start.  I have actually finished a lot of projects, but I give them away as gifts, forget to take pictures and/or don't want to write about them until after the recipient receives them.

How many of us grew up in a home that had at least one braided rug?  When settling down in my own home, I started pricing these out and they are not cheap. I was fortunate to inherit two large rugs from my parents as well as a smaller one.

When I was faced with 35+ pounds of wool roving last year, I was trying to think of ways to use the stuff up quickly!  Spinning all of it would take forever (and indeed, it is a slow process...a 100 yard skein of yarn is about 3 oz--you do the math).  Mother K from my spinning group had actually crocheted a "braided" rug out of roving and it was beautiful, and used a lot of roving!  I am no expert crocheter but I know how to make a simple chain.  So I set about making a rug for a wedding gift for my brother and now sister-in-law.    It turned out well, and after a washing, felted a little bit to make it hold together more.  Unfortunately, I have no pictures. To get the shape for an oval rug, you increase on the ends every 5 loops.

Another method that I have discovered involves making i-cords (shown above).  Again, this is not technically a "braided" rug, but it has the same type of appearance.  Another spinning group member showed her finished project last month.  This method does require the use of spun yarn, so it doesn't use as much wool as the previous method.  However, it is a great way to use old yarn left-overs, particularly if you are not too concerned about colors.  Since we moved the inherited braided rug from our bedroom to the kitchen, we only have bare floor to place our feet upon in the morning. There is no way I will be able to construct a 8x10 oval rug with this method, but I can construct two smaller rugs.

There are plenty of videos on the web for how to make i-cords.  Below are two different methods (if you don't have double pointed needles, you don't want to use the first method).

 

 The second method can be done with regular needles.  On every row, you want to knit the 1st, 3rd, and 5th stitches and slip the 2nd, 4th, and 6th stitches onto the other needle as if you were going to purl.   The video below demonstrates.

Once you have your i-cords, you simply have to stitch them together with carpet thread. 

 

I'm in the middle of stitching this round rug that I made with homespun yarn. As you can see, it is slow progress (hence the wine). 

 

I wanted to make a more oval shaped rug for my bedroom. Just from trial and error, it seems you have to be very exaggerated in the shape of your oval when you start.  The brown and white round rug actually started out more oval-ish, but I only started with about four inches of straight cord before I turned the first corner.  In the purple and gray one, I have a 12-inch straight cord before I turned the cord.  This rug will be made up of various scraps of yarn I have lying around (some of it, like the purple is homespun and dyed (with Kool-Aid!), alternating between lighter and darker shades. 

So happy rug making.  Hopefully, by April's First Friday I will have an update on the finished products!

First Fridays: December wreath making

Where has the time gone?  I have two posts in my mind (one is on the kitchen floor, the other concerning turkeys and toilets) but obviously have not written or published them.  And, right now, it is December 2nd, which means it's  First Friday post time!

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to go help a neighbor make wreaths to support our sustainable living group (and to learn how to make a wreath).  The wreaths were going to be auctioned off in the annual village "Adorn-a-dore" contest which supports our local community art gallery in town.  So, it had to be at least a decent looking wreath.

What I discovered, is that using grape vine as a frame is the BEST THING EVER (well, at least when it comes to making wreaths).  It is the most forgiving natural material I have ever met.  You can use it dry or wet, and you just keep twisting the vine upon itself until you have the shape you want.  Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of the wreaths we constructed for the auction, which had a high bid of at least $75 (our informant left before the auction ended), but this morning (when I should have been studying pathophysiology) I spent about 45 minutes making a wreath for our household. 

The options for materials are endless, but I used evergreens, rose hips (holly or winterberry would also obviously work), some sort of dried seed pods, and white wool.  Here's are some photos to inspire you.  And I do want to remind everyone that I have ZERO creative or artistic talent.  I am an analytical, in-the-box thinker, and this was actually not that difficult to do, thanks to the grapevine. Also, the only "non-natural" part of the wreath is the little loop of wire attaching it to the nail.  There are no plastic or metal frames, wires or ties.  Again, thanks to the grapevine.

You can twist the grapevine into a variety of shapes.






Adding some greens.  I used two varieties from evergreen trees we have, but don't ask me what varieties.  One was more prickly than the other, that's about all I can say!  I just sort of wove them into the grapevine.





Adding rosehips and some seed pods. 





I added sheep's wool to add some white to the red, white and green.  Not sure what I think of it though. 

Happy wreath making!