Off-Color

Not this cheery rag basket - me. I woke up in the middle of the night with gastroenteritis ("stomach flu") and have, of necessity, not done much today. An in-house blip was unavoidable.

Made from recycled fabrics, this colorful little basket was among my first purchases on Etsy, "the world's handmade marketplace," a couple of years ago. I was drawn to the blue/green/yellow tones, as they are my favorite colors, and to its useful size -- 4.5in/11.5cm tall, 5.5in/14cm in diameter. It currently holds three of my favorite rocks from our trips to southern France.

Here's what the artist says about her work: One of my favorite things to do is scour thrift shops in search of fabrics to repurpose. I then bring them home, launder them and cut or tear them into strips, and crochet to my heart's content!

She lives in Salem, Oregon, and her products - bowls, baskets, rag rugs, trivets, coasters, potholders, table mats - evoke the thriftiness of earlier days in both their materials and their functions, while still being things of beauty.

(I planned to include a little information about rag rugs and related products here, but need to conserve my energy. If you'd like to know more, this link and this one are informative.)