The past couple of months have been pretty busy ones here at the Ragged Life HQ. Not only because I finally got around to finishing the final projects for my new book, but also because my mum and I have been renovating her cottage in the Lake District. Below you can find a brief overview of what creative bits we’ve been up to.

July Flower Tree Cottage:

It may seem a little odd to include this on a rag rug blog, but it has been such a big part of what my mum and I have been up to over the past few months that now it would seem strange not to share it with you.

My mum inherited a small, 17th century cottage in the South Lakes from her parents. For the past ten years she has rented it out unfurnished but after some pretty terrible tenants who left the place in a terrible state, last year she decided to renovate the cottage into a colourful holiday rental.

Here are a couple of before photos after the last tenants…

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And here’s how it now looks after my mum and I have fixed it up. You’ll notice that there are quite a few rag rugs scattered about, even including a twined one 🙂

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We were pretty chuffed with how it turned out. If you’d like to see more photos or read more about the history of the cottage, you can do so here.

Rag Rugs, Pillows & More Revamp:

After some proper supply issues, we have now finally got my first book Rag Rugs, Pillows and More back in stock on the Ragged Life Shop. What’s more, the book has a brand new front cover. Below is the old front cover (left) and new cover (right). You can buy a signed copy here.

Final Round of Projects for the New Book :

Last week, I got through some photos from the final round of photography for the new book. I have now submitted all thirty rag rug projects that will be going into the book and it feels great! Below is a little sneak peek at a Swedish-style “Klackmatta” rag rug I made for the book. It was a lot of fun to make, even for a non-sewer like me!

Right, that’s it for this week everyone. Stay tuned for more Behind the Scenes at Ragged Life and thanks for reading.

Elspeth x