It probably comes as no surprise to you that a tradition of rag rugging can be found all across the world. For hundreds of years, different cultures have used their local materials and creativity to make distinctive rug designs, ranging from the the jewell-coloured Chindi rugs of India, to the more muted finely-woven rag rugs …
Category Archives: Inspiration
Q&A with Fibre Artist Trish Andersen
I first stumbled across Trish Andersen’s show-stopping textile installations on Instagram and was completely mesmerised and awe struck by her rainbow stair runner. Gorgeous right! Either way, it was love at first sight and I just knew that I wanted Trish to feature on the Ragged Life Blog. We’re fellow colour lovers after all! Well, …
Craft Storage Makeover – Our Wonderful Wall of Wool!
Us crafters aren’t exactly known for our minimalist living. I’m always saving and rescuing scraps of fabric, beautiful buttons or zips because I just know that they’ll come in handy… some day 🙂 Plus, it helps that you can use just about any old scrap of fabric to rag rug with! With your average crafter, …
2019 Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy
Art exhibitions can be notoriously hit and miss, but one show that never fails to deliver for me is the annual Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. This annual open-submission art exhibition takes place between June and August every year and is chock full of every kind of art you can possibly imagine. The diversity of the work makes …
Q&A with Donna Mulholland
I first came across Canadian artist, Donna Mulholland online and instantly fell in love with her bright and beautiful hooked wall art! Here is our Q&A and a selection of Donna’s beautiful and bright pieces… Hi Donna! Can you begin by telling us a little bit about yourself and your background? “I believe that a …
Pink Rag Rug Inspired by Matthew Williamson
I’ve done quite a lot of copy writing recently, what with my War and Peace length blog posts on Woolfest 2019 and The Mollie Makes Handmade Awards 2019 this month. So, on that note, this pink rag rug showcase isn’t going to be quite as wordy or flowery as normal (I’m worded out, would you …
Q&A with Allistair Covell
A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to bump into Allistair Covell while visiting his “Canvas to Carpet” exhibition at The Broadway Gallery in Letchworth. I nearly missed the exhibition entirely. Is it just me or are you far more likely to miss things on your doorstep than miles and miles away? Either way, …
Our Mondrian Inspired Rag Rug
Generally, I like to create my own rag rug designs or even improvise colours and patterns as I go along. However, from time to time, it’s nice to take inspiration from one of the greats. Our latest Ragged Life rag rug was inspired by one of the pioneers of abstract and modern art… Piet Mondrian. His …
Q&A with Textile Designer Judith Edmondson
As soon as I came across Judith Edmondson’s beautiful and unique rag rug jackets on Instagram, I knew I wanted to feature her and the rest of her amazing work on the blog. Our previous rag rugger and textile designer Q&As have all featured beautiful detailed rag rug work, but rag clothing is something I’ve …
Rag Rug Headband Kit & Hessian
For me, 2018 was all about making pretty Rag Rug Bouquets (seriously, I got well and truly addicted). Well, 2019 is the year of the Rag Rug Headband. I’ve been playing around with making rag rug headbands for quite a few years now (in fact, I think I made my first one in 2006!), but I’ve never truly …