Category: floors

July 13, 2020

Summer Project x

Every summer needs a project. Something that requires learning a skill, but nothing so taxing the chances of success always remain a once wished dream. I also believe tools and ingredients matter – low cost, simple and preferably eco friendly; I think this one gets A stars in all the right boxes – a crocheted rag rug.

The best instructions and most of these pics come from this brilliant website – My Poppet, and this youtube channel has easy crochet instructions. But the necessary bits are easy to gather – you need a good supply a jute string (you can you wool, I just believe the jute gives it a unifying look as well as being strong and sturdy), a crochet hook and lots of unwanted clothes and material scraps.

The idea of cutting up unwanted clothes, particularly the things the children have grown out of really appeals. It’s that feeling of history and memories and life continuing on. The aim is to cut the cloth into one inch strips, then roll them into useable balls. There’s different ideas about how to attach different strips together, some people like to sew the strips together, others just overlap the strips and crochet them together as and when.

The crochet required to make the rug is literally the most basic stitch you’ll ever need – this isn’t about doing anything complicated, but more about time and care and working in slow time.

The size you go is totally up to you. The one tip I’ve read over and over again, is when it starts getting big, crochet on a flat surface to keep the rug flat.

(pics from My Poppet and instructions here)

Circles of life.

Love it.

Laters, Kate x

June 26, 2020

Shagged x

Needing a natural rug? One with a bit of an edge? Something a little different?

Well, hold the doors, because when it comes to floors, Tate and Darby are a little treasure trove: A design-led ethical brand, they believe in finding the balance between design being accessible to all against ensuring all their artisans are fairly paid. Their rugs are designed in the UK and then woven by skilled craftsmen and women in Morocco and India, which means a further flavour of marrying contemporary and traditional that touches everything they do and makes them quietly sing like a beautifully rung handmade bell.

(All pics Tate and Darby and Pinterest)

Ding. Dong.

Laters, Kate x

September 9, 2019

Re-entry x

I made a discovery yesterday. In fact I made several. Firstly, I am genuinely getting old – the proof came in an unexpected moment when I found myself looking for and using a different attachment for the hoover.

Afterwards I needed a full fat caffeine filled coffee to recover: I’d taken it upon myself to have an autumn-clean; a cathartic move to put away the summer and embrace the coming cold. Part of this meant pulling everything out from under the bed and doing a proper job, because our bedroom has exposed floorboards and the brass bed sits on a vintage rug, provided as a welcome mat to any hungry moths in the neighbourhood. Discovery no.2: There is a Dust Monster, and this is where he lives, along with his neighbour, the Sock Monster. (I believe these are the protectors of said moths)

But none of the negatives will stop my meshed love and appreciation of the aesthetic quality of a perfectly placed rug, whether in a bedroom or partnered with a sofa.

(All pics Pinterest)

There’s something about a rug that pulls a room together, anchors the furniture and solidifies all the opposing elements. I was reminded of this whilst watching the latest interior design competition (Interior Design Masters) on the BBC. The joy of these programmes is considering what you’d do in their position. And often I find myself shouting ‘rug’, and sometimes other words, at the screen. But the truth is, seeing where contestants go wrong is easy, particularly with the addition of retrospect. The hardest thing is always to narrow the choices and come up with original ideas in the first place. And that’s without cameras and a time limit.

Laters, Kate x

July 27, 2019

Patios x

(Still away – another re-post – because the summer should be about creativity)

Saw this on Pinterest and thought, what a brilliant idea for a Garden Patio, particularly when the budget doesn’t stretch to tiles, but even when it does – because tiles crack and fashions change but paint is cheap and cheerful.

Particularly like the white on dark..

And you can even make your own..

Laters, Kate x

May 16, 2019

Update x

The crochet is going great guns, particularly as we’ve come up with the perfect project to encourage repetition, practise and ideal tension: We’re making what can only be called ‘little socks’ for my dining rooms chairs to replace those sticky pads that only work to gather dog hair.

We did experiment with a garden string and twine, but for ease of make we’re going with a thick grey wool, though we’re both anxious about longevity – time will tell.