In 2007 it was brought to my attention that there were not enough of those “rag rug things” around to keep by the back door for when the dog came in from outside. Having sewn dozens of men’s shirts and vests over the years and never throwing out the scraps, I had lots of materials.

In researching rag rugs I stumbled across the Swedish tradition of Trasmattor (rag rugs). I built a simple wooden frame with rows of nails and some cotton string and made a couple of rugs. I got hooked and built a more complex tabletop loom. It just wasn’t heavy duty enough for the rugs I wanted to make, so I finally bought a used loom that had been rescued out of a barn.

I now have a large Swedish Öxabäch loom that I use for the rugs, and a smaller Wolf loom for other projects. I very much like the Swedish style and try to model my rugs in that tradition. There is an embarrassment of discarded textiles in this country and in my small way I try to give some of them a second chance of being used.