Comfort Food for Your Feet

It started decades ago, without me consciously realizing it, this love of creating beauty, and it certainly was not something I spent time contemplating. Especially a favorite was taking something that was intended for one thing and using it for another. I firmly believe my mother instilled this in me by example: she could, and still does today, create something out of practically nothing - in home decor and food.

The creative side of me was not born, it was developed; cultivated, coerced, bribed, and given an ultimatum: Create or be "normal." This flower of ingenuity did not begin to bloom until the year 2007 and has not stopped since. Oh, sure, there have been quiet spells, busy spells and "normal" spells - but there is always this need to create something.

farmhousewife rag-rugs of yester-year

One summer, about five years ago, my mom came to visit and stayed for a couple weeks. She taught me how to make a crocheted rag-rug.

The Three Original Rugs that Mom and I made.

Vivid in my memory bank is the red crocheted rag-rug she had for many years. Easily washed, re-shaped and laid flat - it was ready for duty of any kind. Kitchen duty, bath duty, or "let the kitten play underneath and peek through the holes" duty.

Most Recent: currently in a lovely little shop called LaLa & Co in Troy, NC

We made three rugs and a basket that visit, and I kept all three of them. Most of the ones I've made since then have been bartered, sold or given away as gifts. They're time consuming - mostly the prep work - yet very satisfying to create with endless color combination possibilities.

"Prairie Pink" completed yesterday....so sweet!

Easy to care for, these rugs can be washed on gentle cycle, line dried and re-shaped to enjoy over and over again. They can be used as a bed-side rug, accent, baby's room, basket-liner, RV door mat, and more. Durable, soft, and oh-so-cute they are sure to serve as comfort food for your feet. Each one a farmhousewife original, made from up-cycled sheets, pillow-cases and various other materials, they put good use to these items that might have otherwise been discarded. The materials are laundered and line-dried before the creativity begins

If you're looking for something handmade, unique, no-two-alike for yourself or a loved one - let me know how I can create something for you. Have a look at my in-stock rugs in my Etsy store and tell me what you think! As always, let me know if I can answer any questions. Ordering is easy, secure and, also, I'm happy to deliver if you are local to Montgomery and Stanly Counties in North Carolina.

Happy Creating, y'all!

December-ful

Sometimes, it's nice to see the faces behind the computer screen...

Some friends from Farm Chick Chit Chat recommended THIS SITE for putting some photos together in a collage format, and I sorta had way too much fun.  Give it a try - you might like it and make a photo collage of your own! Be sure to come back and tell me what you think!

Hope your December is full of love, peace, mercy, and grace.

Love, 

Ed, Sheila, & Eddie Jr. of

'Tis The Season To......Dry Apples!

Apples are in season in many places, and they are beautiful this year. I had no idea up until about 5 years ago that the southern Piedmont of North Carolina had such wonderful apples.  In my farmhousewife head, I thought they all had to come from cold climates....

Of the many ways to enjoy apples, besides fresh, in pies and applesauce, one of my favorites is dried apples.

Golden Delicious Apples - from a local grower

A terrific snack for on-the-go, they fit nicely in a school lunch, backpack, pocket book or for a long car trip.

First, get some apples - for dehydrating, cooking apples are best.  Next, gather some supplies and tools.  You'll need:

• peeler-corer
• knife
• cutting board or mat
• fruit fresh, lemon, orange or pineapple juice (to prevent browning)
• couple quarts of water (2 quarts of water to about 1/2 to 1 cup of juice)
• dehydrator

A peeler-corer makes short work of slicing apples.  It's way too much fun!

So, after you get an apple peeled, cored, and sliced - cut the stack of apple in half.  Then place the pieces in your water with juice or fruit fresh (to prevent browning).

At this point, there is some snacking going on!

Let the apples get thoroughly coated in the solution while you peel/core several more.

I wish I could tell you that I have the manual to this.  I do not.
So, I did what I do best; I WINGED IT!

So, yeah, I had no real idea of the temperature of this dehydrator since it was a second hand gift.  And, I was too lazy busy at work to look up the manual online.  This one rotates and I left it on pretty much all night because I like a more firm, chewy apple slice - almost crispy.

They are so good, naturally sweet and can be used to make APPLE PIE!
Just reconstitute them with some boiling water and you can have seasonal goodness all year long.
Check out this recipe for further details.

Just one more thing - this book comes highly recommended.  I like to collect them every year just for their pretty covers.  It's how I followed the steps to dehydrate the apples.

 Keep calm and preserve your own food!

p.s. one really cool way to save energy by doing this is to hook it to the solar power!  I do this with my crock pot also.

a rug of many colors

Molly Alexi of the NC Cooperative Extension holds my pink basket liner rag rug~would be cute in a baby girls room, yes?

Blueberries & Cream (near) and Sunflower (far).  

I love the different hues of blues together.

They make great conversation pieces....I make them and put them on the table at the Farmers' Market, offered up for sale.  I try to take photographs of them before they go to new homes....

Imagine, something plain and boring and folded up on a shelf - turned into something colorful, useful and beautiful.

And they're comfortable to stand on - like comfort food for the feet.

I'm grateful to my Mom for teaching me how to make them.

Handmade by me, Farmhousewife, especially for you, with love.