Braided Rag Rug

Tutorial in pictures.

 

 

   

 The elderly lady across the street, in the large old house with two big maple trees in the front yard, was affectionately called Grandma Hazel. To a little girl her house was a treasure trove. Her china cabinet held everything from antique dolls to beautiful old tea cups, saucers and dishes. She had a small antique cabinet by the front door where she kept crayons and coloring books that she let us have fun with when we came to visit her. The creaky wooden floors were covered with large old braided rugs on which it was evident that her tired, aging dog had napped many times. Wes, the man of the house, had his favorite chair and his pipe stand with pipes and fragrant tobacco in the large living room. I remember seeing him sit there calmly and contentedly smoking his pipe. The stairs to the bedrooms on the second floor always had piles of stuff going up the left side so that there was only enough room for one person at a time to walk up. I always wondered what was up there. Grandma Hazel's kitchen still had the old sink which, if I remember right, was wooden, and perhaps lined with metal. Probably the original sink when the house was built. Her kitchen counters were always-I want to say cluttered- but I don't quite remember what was on the counters. There was just a lot of stuff.  Every inch of her house was a wonder to my young eyes.
 When I look at my braided rug I think of her and the special memories she gave me.