Procrastinating -- the eco conscious way

I should be working on an application which is due tomorrow, but I want the offered position so much it's scary to actually apply. Even to start writing the letter as once it's sent you can't go back and chance anything, can't regret anything, and it's so daunting. I want it so much -- and therefore I'll also be so sad if I don't get picked (no, I'm not telling just, not just because the odds are against me!).

Anyway, the way a creative person deals with these problems is... yes, of cause, by procrastinating! In this case, I'm sorting old clothes for my rag rug project. The clothes have already been culled when I did a wardrobe spring clean, basically it's clothes that are in too bad a condition to mend in a good way. Cheap clothes aren't always as easy to mend as the quality of the fabric is so bad and some of my clothes are so old, the fabric is worn down too much by now.

I sort them into four piles: t-shirt materials, cotton, cat prints and the rest. The t-shirts will become tarn for a crochet rug and the cotton might be used for locker hooking as it's a technique I want to try. When it comes to cat fabrics and cat prints, I want to save at least a few scraps as, you know... cats. The rest, I don't know what to do with yet.

As for why I'm making a rug, it's mainly because I don't want to spend money on bedroom rugs as they will inevitably be peed or barfed on by the cats. We have even had poo accidents. And I don't want to pay money for a rug that'll might end up being ruined in a few weeks. This way, I get the material free and I don't pay myself for labour. Sure, it won't be fun seeing a cat puking on a rug I've spent days making, but better than than seeing it happen to a rug that cost me hard-earned cash.

Also, recycling is green. I mean, mending clothes so you don't have to buy new ones are greener, but once you can't do that anymore you must of cause put the rags to use somewhere. Some rags I use for cleaning my floor, others become craft materials -- these rags will become rugs.


The application? Don't worry, there's still time -- there's a reason I sat down today like it was deadline day and not tomorrow. I'll finish it in time, I just wish I could feel as confident that I have a chance at the position... *sigh* I really want this, but there are so many talanted people I'm competing with... It's better to focus on the rug for a while, try to forget worrying.

Yes, that is a cat in a night cap in the middle.

Lost and found

Some times you put things in storage and forget about them. It wasn't until today I was made aware of some such things that I had forgotten about. The reason for those bags my sis found was forgotten was one many probably are familiar with: moving. When I first moved out at age 18 to go to uni, I took loads of unnecessary things with me to fill my small student flat. Other things stayed behind, such as a bunch of repurposed knitting yarns I never used after becoming old enough for find finger knitting to be too childish. One thing I took with me was a bag of fabrics and yarns.

Some of the fabrics are leftovers from stuff we made in school (the blue, floral bag with my name on it was the one we used in syslöjden to store our WIPs, pincushions etc in) or scraps I bought way back in the early 90's with my pocket money. I can even remember exactly when and where I got some of them! There's one cat fabric I found after digging through a huge pile of scraps in a fabric shop. There are even a few pieces from the fabric I sewed my ball gown in when we were having the end of school ball in 9th grade (=last mandatory year in the swedish school system and last year in högstadiet). The crochet yarns are remants from a time when I was fond of crochet as a kid. Some are yarn I bought, but most of the stash are yarns I got from mom and a few are old yarns that's been lying on a shelf in the house since my grandma and aunt died in the 70's.

When moving back after uni to attend another uni closer to home, a lot of stuff just stayed in the moving boxes and bags as it wasn't my plan to stay for long. I wanted to have another flat of my own, as any young adult would want, but with the housing situation around Lund being what it was and what with being able to save a lot of money by living at home and commute to uni I stayed. Then I found it hard to get a job and was forced to stay as there was no choice. Still, most of the stuff stayed in the boxes and bags as I either didn't need them (no need for an additional set of drinking glasses and cutlery) or still nurtured a hope to move out soon, making unpacking a waste of time. The bags and boxes where stuffed away here and there. In fact, it wasn't until my sis found the bag of fabric and yarn today that I knew some of the bags were put away in that particular storage space where she eventually found it as part of the big clean out.

It's a big nostalgic, finding many scraps of fabric that I bought 20 years ago. After finding some of my old stash in my personal storage, I sort of thought that was all I had left. Despite still missing the blue bag (see above), which I sort of knew still was filled with fabric or yarn, it seems like I accepted that what I'd found was everything. That the rest was somehow just dreamt up or that I forgot using it for sometimes years ago.

But now it's all here, out in the open and accounted for. It's really high time to use them now. Surely they can't just go back in storage another 10 or 20 years! Ok, some fabrics are no longer to my taste, but others are still as good as when first bought. Can't wait to come up with an idea for them...

I've been wanting to do a rag rug for some time now and because of that lamented not having enough rags. Well, it looks like I can find some more rags now. Not the cat fabric, of cause, and there are other nice, large pieces of fabric that are too good to be torn into rags, but there seems to be scraps I could sacrifice for a rug.

My main reason for doing a rag rug isn't my green background, actually -- nor that I've found some inspiring rag rugs online. It's simply that I want to make a rug or two for my bedroom, but with all the cats that treat rugs like the perfect place to barf -- or, worse, pee or poo in protest of the sub-par litter box cleaning -- I don't want to spend much money on it. None, really. And making my own rag rugs could both a fun and economical option.

Just need to find enough useful rags -- and pick a techniques as there are many fun ones to choose between: crochet, knotting, weaving, locker hooking, tambour, braiding etc.