15 October 2015

Norwegian Wood

Tromso Rug by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
Wooden floors are such a feature of Scandinavian homes and are easy to sweep clean, which is a real bonus when you have a spinner in the house. I have a constant circle of fluff around my wheel when I am spinning yarn, but a quick whisk around afterwards and it's all clean and tidy again (or so my husband tells me – housework is not one of my strong points...)

In the summer‐time wooden floors are cool to the touch and wonderfully pleasing to look at. However, when the winter comes along then you see one of the drawbacks of this type of flooring… it can be very chilly underfoot! You can wear socks and slippers in the house to keep yourself a bit cosier, but even that doesn't seem to really help.

What you need is an extra layer underfoot such as a lovely thick rug. Of course you could go out and buy all the rugs you need from a carpet store. However, it is much more satisfying to make your own so you can choose your own colours and sizes. So here's this week's “Knitting Ahead” idea: make some extra rugs to keep you warm as the winter weather really starts to take hold.

There are lots of areas where a rug or two would make a big impact:

Kitchen: Make one rug so you can stand on it while stirring a steaming pot of winter vegetables, then another in front of the sink.

Bedroom: I've written before about the joys of stepping onto a cozy rug as you get out of bed first thing in the morning. It really does allow you to wake up slowly rather than with a shock of cold as your feet touch the chilly floor. It would be great to have another right by your dressing table, too.

Basement: A large rug by the sofa would be so welcoming when you settle down to watch the next big game on TV.

Sitting Room: And don't neglect your knitting area! Make another rug to keep you comfortable when you sit in your favourite chair. Now your feet will stay warm while you knit your next creation, gazing out at the beautiful fall foliage outside (aren't those colours wonderful right now...)

Did you also know that if you have lots of nice rugs around your home you can reduce your winter heating bills? Yes it's true – you feel warmer so you can turn your thermostat down a degree of two. I read that every 3 degrees less on the thermostat saves you about 10% on your heating bills, so that's a really good incentive.

Im my next blogpost I will include lots of details about the rug you can see at the top of this page. This is the Tromso Rug and features a lovely reversible stitch from our Reversible Knitting Stitches book. So please be sure to click the link at the bottom of this page to read all about that.

Until then, wrap yourself up warm – some places have already had their first snows of the year!

Happy Rug Knitting!

Moira
Reversible Knitting Stitches by Moira Ravenscroft & Anna Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs

Last Blogpost: New pattern – Winsford Stroller Blanket
"Knitting Ahead" Series Introduction: Autumn is coming!
​Next Up: 
New pattern – the Tromso Rug

​​Our book: Reversible Knitting Stitches
My Website: www.wyndlestrawdesigns.com
Keywords: Series/Knitting Ahead, Patterns/Rugs,
#knittingahead, autumn, winter, rug, rugs, mat, carpet, wool, reversible rug, knitted rug, reversible stitch, knitting stitch,

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