2013 Rita's Random Rags

Here's the thing about sewing. More than any other hobby  -- it is different things to different people.

My sister Deb makes extraordinary embroidered quilts, garments, jackets, etc. My sister Ronda almost exclusively sews ragged edge flannel quilts.  My cousin Jackie recently sewed some home dec projects for a winter lift. Sandy spent weeks working on a memory t-shirt quilt for her son Dave. Many women sew because they enjoy making gifts for other people. Some of us sew because we can't buy clothes that fit or we simply NEED to be creative.

AND -- every now and then -- depending on circumstances -- some of us sew to relieve stress.

For all those reasons -- I think sewing is the best hobby anybody can have.  Because your sewing can morph and change...as your needs or interests change.  Last year, I made dozens t-shirt maxi dresses.  And this year -- I am hooked on RAGS.

Yes.  You heard me.  Rags. I'm actually calling them "Rita's Random Rags". I love making them. Seriously...I am addicted.  It is mindless, tedious sewing.  WHICH IS WHY I LOVE IT.   I've made hundreds of rags -- and I have given away boxes and bags of rags, yet my supply keeps growing...

We all know the benefits of 100% cotton. Absorbent, washable old terry towels make GREAT rags. But, you seldom need a rag as big as a bathtowel.  But if you cut the towel into smaller pieces, the edges will fray like crazy.  Every time you put them in your washing machine, the bits of rogue terry will cover your other clothes -- and the rag becomes smaller with every wash...

It started with a single old, tattered bath towel....I cut it up into 16 pieces...

 I sat down in front of my serger and zipped around the outside edges...

At first, I made only rectangles or square corners...then I figured out it would be quicker to round the corners...

As I whittled down my pile of worn out bath towels -- creating a drawer chock-full of hand-sized terry cloth rags...

Of course, no one person actually NEEDS hundreds of rags....

And it was Christmas. It's nice to have a little gift to give to somebody. Maybe my friends and family would enjoy some new rags in their lives. So -- THAT'S HOW IT HAPPENED.

Rita's Random Rags....became my 2013 GIFT.

Who got them?  Well, my Tuesday-morning-breakfast-sisters...Sandy, Lin and Linda.  A breakfast guest -- Sharalan.  My real sisters -- Ronda and Deena.  My boss, Rhonda Pierce (when I went to Chicago to help her sort out 30 dynamite jam-packed GIFT TOTES -- she and her husband Dick got the gift of RAGS.)  My friend Bert, and also Marion (I delivered hers when we finally arrived in Florida!), and my friend Jeff, who was visiting from New York City, and my cousins Kim and Chris, and my Aunt Ada, and my Uncle Melvin and his wife Kathy, and of course, Emily and Elliott.  To make him feel special, I packed John's rags into a small cooler....

Actually -- anybody who visited me during the holidays GOT A BAG 'O RAGS.  It is surprising how good it feels to have a big box of rags sitting at the ready -- because whether they know it or not -- absolutely everybody CAN USE SOME NEW RAGS....