Knitted Mat

My mom used to make braided rugs. 

 

Source:  http://yarn14760.wordpress.com/2013/03/09/braided-rug-class/

Just small rugs to use in the kitchen.  She braided them by hand for many years by cutting up whatever scraps of woolen clothing she could from cast-offs.  She saved until she had enough for a rug, then a new rug would appear.  She never quite got the hang of making them to lie flat, but they were thick and warm on the bare floor.  All those small oval mats are gone with time now.

 

When she got a large loom and began weaving, she discovered that weaving mats worked out much better and were easier to make.  Woven mats started appearing all through the house then.

 

The two rugs on the right were made using yarn, the others were made using clothing scraps.

And once she started weaving, there were more than just clothing scraps ... now she had weaving scraps, and the rugs took on a more refined look.

 

Our house in the country was always very cold as my father liked to conserve energy.  Even on the coldest winter days, the thermostat never rose above 62'F ... I will forever remember how cold I always was in the winter and how I would have to layer two sweaters on and still feel the chill.  Dad never wavered.  So Mom made bright little rugs, and at least there was a spot of warmth under our feet in front of the kitchen sink!

 

 

She gave us all some woven rugs while she was still alive.  When she passed away, I scooped up the remaining rugs that were left kicking around their abandoned house and now use them in our camping trailer ... they make such a nice little bit of coziness when we're out in the woods. 

 

 

 

I don't have an old paper bag full of clothing scraps like Mom had, nor the inclination to make any braided rugs, and Mom's loom was sold after she passed away.  But I do have this small basket of very rough, chunky pure wool from Mom's stash.  In looking at the rugs, I can see some of this yarn was used in the making of her woven rugs.

 The colours are so rich ... jewel tones ... and they remind me of my mom and her love of rich colours.  I also have a set of very large, size 12 mm, knitting needles from Mom which I had actually put in the goodwill bag just last week (thankfully, I hadn't dropped the bag off yet).  I didn't think I would ever want to knit with such awkward-looking needles.  I dragged them out of the goodwill bag this morning ...

I started thinking about that thick yarn and those rugs Mom used to make, and I thought I could try making this stash of wool into a bright knitted rug for the bathroom.

 

I did a test swatch to see how it would look using these mammoth needles, and the result was not half bad!   I just have to get used to the size of these needles!

 

I think I'll try to mimic the braided rug effect and have long strips of colour and then knit them all together.  It would work really well if I had a circular needle in this size, but I don't, so I'll just work with what I have.  I hope this works out to what I can picture in my head.  I'm just worried the joining of the strips together might make too bulky of a seam on the underside of the rug ... we'll see.  If anyone has any suggestions, they're most welcome.

 

Temperatures are dropping outside today ... I think our late summer-like weather is moving on ... so it's a good initiative to work on some cozy knitting.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Wendy

 

 

Thanksgiving & Completed Refinishing Projects

It's been a while since I've been around blogs and in fact have been neglecting my own!  I guess I've not had much to talk about that I thought would be of interest to anyone, and with the garden dwindling, and no trips out anywhere, things have been a bit ... hmmm ... slow here.

 

 

This past weekend was our Canadian Thanksgiving.   Thanksgiving is not what it used to be in my family, and although there was no huge gathering of 25 people like there used to be (and I don't want to get all melancholy here), we did have a big dinner for my own family on Sunday.  My daughter came home from university for the weekend, so we were all together again.  My son has enjoyed helping me with these big meals the last couple of years, and this year he was again willing.  It's just a lot more fun when someone is in the kitchen helping out, and we had some laughs as we threw things together.  We cooked a nice big 15-pound turkey, homemade sausage stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, candied yams, scalloped potatoes and this year a pot of baked brown beans.   I also made a pumpkin pie for dessert to round it all off.  It was epic I tell you! 

 

Morning glories taking over the back corner ... Heavenly Blue

 

My Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas dinner don't vary much.  I kind of like it that way because it's easy to prepare all the dishes in a very streamlined way, since I prepare everything the day of (which is probably not the easiest way to get it done).   A while ago, I picked up a very nice bean pot at the thrift store, and I decided that this year I would add some old-fashioned baked brown beans to the Thanksgiving dinner.  I used a recipe that my mom used for years.  I don't believe she followed the recipe after a while ... really, it's so simple, it's barely even a recipe!  But I thought I would share it with you now, because it worked out really well. 

Here's my mom's original recipe card:

 

Bean Pot Beans

 

2 cups navy beans

1/4 lb bacon*

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/2 cup dark molasses

1/2 c chili sauce

1 tbsp. vinegar

1 medium onion, sliced

2 cups hot bean liquor

 

Cover beans with water* and soak overnight.  Add bacon** to the beans, cover and simmer (do not boil) until just tender (about 1 hour).  Drain, reserve liquor.  Remove bacon and cut into 1/2-inch cubes.  Pour beans into 2 quart bean pot or casserole.  Bury bacon cubes in beans.  Add remaining ingredients.  Cover and bake in slow oven (300'F) 6 hours.  If necessary, add bean liquor or hot water.  Serves 8

 

*NOTE: A notation on the back suggests 3 cups water/1 cup beans. 

 

**NOTE:  I used a small package of "pork bellies" and I felt it was safer to cut the bacon up into cubes & fry it up a bit first before adding to the beans.  I added it to the beans once they were well into a hot simmer.

 

So there you have it ... a very traditional Canadian winter's meal :)

 

Zinnias still out in bloom ... what a great flower this has been!

 

 

But that's not all I have to share with you today.  I also wanted to show my completed refinishing projects that I started a while ago.  I have the rocking basket all finished and with a lining that I already had made for it:

 

 

 

 

Once the second coat got on it, I was much happier with the results.  The first coat always seems to look dreadful doesn't it?

 

Next on the list was the wooden breadbox that I sanded down and painted:

 

 

It just seems sort of dull painted all white, but I can't decide what else to do with it.  Maybe just paint that front bar a different colour?  Not sure.  I sanded the entire interior as well, but didn't paint the interior.  I'm not using it as a bread box, just for storage.

 

I also finished up the little wooden stool that my great-grandfather made:

 

 

This will go back into my bathroom, but I realized afterwards that my bathroom's trim is all off-white (including the cupboard doors), so I think I have to now paint the trim & cupboards.  They're due for a bit of touching up anyway, so I don't mind doing that.  I think the stool needs a bit of a cushion on the top, and I like the look of something quilted ... what do you think?  I need a quick & easy sewing project ... I've been far too long away from my sewing machine.

 

 

The smoking table is still in the works as I haven't had time to sand down the fussy little corners yet.  My husband suggested I take the door off to sand it down quicker, but I'm afraid that if I take out all those screws, it won't go back together as snug as it is now.  These are the little indecisions that stall me for ages.  But I've got these three above projects completed, so I'm confident I'll get this last table finished up soon (at least before Christmas!!).

 

And while I was waiting for paint to dry, I decided to sand down yet another little piece ...

 

 

A small magazine holder.

 

I think I might do this one in colour.  I'm not 100% sure I like the white painted things now that they're complete, but I'm not going to do them over again (at the moment anyway).  I'm more of a colour person, as you can probably tell by my putting bursts of colour on the pieces I painted white!  So something more to ponder.  I also have two major (for me) redecorating things I have lined up and waiting.  I'll reveal more on that when I get my final ideas sorted.

 

Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful fall weather in my area.  We've had about three weeks of sunny bright days with temperatures in the high teens.  Not your typical fall days!  I've still got all my windows opened during the day and the soft breeze is blowing through the house ... so very nice!  I've spent many days out on the patio soaking in the sunshine as the winter tends to drag on a bit longer here once it starts. 

 

Thanks for stopping by, it's always so nice to hear from you!

 

Wendy

The grasses around the pond are looking so pretty!

 

Some plants have been brought in now for winter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Rare Find for an Old Fool

Yesterday it was so nice out that I took a walk around the neighbourhood in the morning.  And since it's nice to have a destination rather than wander aimlessly, I set my feet in the direction of the thrift store.  I wandered aimlessly around the store instead ;)  And I won't be back in that store for a long, long time.  I promised this to myself because yesterday my heart skipped a bit when I spied this on a shelf ...

 

Do you know how many times I've come across these wonderful old boxes?  Old empty boxes?

 

Well yesterday, I slowed my breathing, tried not to get my hopes up yet again, and raised the lid.  The angels sang, the clouds parted, and I stood and smiled at this beautiful sight ...

 

 

The box was full ... full of this wonderful antique sewing machine.  And it's in colour!!

 

Look!

 

 

It's like the fanciful scroll work you see on carousels!

 

 

And fancy engraved metals bits ...

 

 

And there's a date ... don't you love antiques with dates?

 

 

August 1, 1911 ... One Hundred and Two Years Young :)

(Okay, so maybe that's the age of the patent and not the machine, I really couldn't say)

But she's a darling.  Everyone these days are naming their vintage sewing machines.  This old girl isn't vintage, she's antique.  But I think she does deserve a name.

 

I had to leave the store empty-handed as I couldn't carry home two very heavy antique sewing machines now, could I. 

 

Oh. 

 

Yes. 

 

Two ;) 

 

Call me a fool.  No fool like an old fool.  An old fool and two old sewing machines.  Ha!

 

 

 Now I have a collection of exactly four old sewing machines.  I just need to get a sewing room again to display them.  If my husband reads this post, I've got some explaining to do.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Wendy