Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of visiting the Tullie Museum in Carlisle to see their beautiful exhibition, Winifred Nicholson: Cumbrian Rag Rugs. As many of you know, I’m always on the lookout for stories and makers who’ve helped shape the rich history of rag rugging — and this exhibition did not disappoint. It …
Category Archives: Inspiration
10 Small Rag Rug Projects That Are Big on Impact (And Low on Stress!)
If you’ve ever felt daunted by the idea of starting a full-sized rag rug, you’re not alone. At Ragged Life, we hear from lots of people who love the idea of rag rugging but worry about the time and commitment involved. The good news? You don’t need to dive straight into a big project to …
Q&A with Hertfordshire Willow Weaver Hazel Godfrey
We’re thrilled to welcome talented willow weaver Hazel Godfrey to the Ragged Life Blog! Hazel specialises in basket making and stunning, handwoven willow pieces, and this Spring, she’ll be teaching two beginner willow weaving workshops at our Ragged Life Textile Studio near Hitchin. On Saturday, 12th April and Sunday, 27th April 2025, Hazel will be …
Q&A with Braid-In Rag Rug Maker Ilka White
I’ve been an admirer of Ilka’s beautiful braid-in rag rugs for many years now. In fact, she was one of the people who first inspired me to have a go! As such, it’s well overdue that we do a textile artist Q&A with the lady herself! We don’t have a Ragged Life braid-in rag rug …
My Unforgettable Trip to Rug Hooking Week at Sauder Village
Opportunity Calls! As a rag rug maker and travel enthusiast, I’ve always been curious about the difference between rug making in the UK and other countries. That curiosity was one of the inspirations behind my second book “Rag Rug Techniques for Beginners”. I wanted an excuse to travel the world hunting down obscure rug making …
My Rug Hooking Trip to the USA
Wow, what can I say… it has been an amazing last couple of weeks. At the beginning of August 2024, I had the absolute privilege of heading over to the USA in the name of spreading British rag rug cheer. What on earth does that mean you may well ask! Well, the amazing guys at …
Q&A with Natural Dye Expert Zoe Burt
Yay, it’s not long now before we have the honour of hosting expert natural dyer Zoe Burt at our Ragged Life HQ in Hertfordshire. Zoe will be running a natural dyeing workshop for us 10:00-16:00 on Saturday 14th September 2024, and personally I can’t wait to get stuck in. However, for those of you who can’t …
5 Projects from Blanket Selvedge Strips
Throughout September, four full time crafters and I each worked on a project using six balls of woollen blanket yarn (blanket selvedge strips rescued from the Yorkshire mills). We wanted to generate some fresh ideas for what could be made using this beautiful waste material and encourage people to think outside the box. The Knitting and Stitching Show …
Making a Braid-in Rag Rug: Part 1
If you’re a subscriber to the Ragged Life Inspiration Newsletter then you’ve probably heard me rabbiting on about the September Sustainability Challenge that I’m taking part in in 2023. If you haven’t then you can read a bit more about it here. Long story short, me and four other full-time crafters are each making something …
Q&A with Lucy Rowan – Maker and Weaver
Those of you who follow Ragged Life on Instagram, Facebook or subscribe to our Newsletter may have seen that we are soon starting our September Sustainability Challenge. You can read more about it here, but to briefly summarise, we’ve asked four full time crafters to join us in a friendly competition to each turn six …