Last night was spent enjoying the company of my friends Lesley and Jo.  The evening was fairly typical for when we get together and was spent discussing animals and hobbies etc.  This evening was slightly different as Jo has just bought a new house so much of the discussions we around what needed to be done to new house.  These conversations lead onto crafts that can make something nice for the house while occupying your mind for long periods of time.  Personally I have alway sound knitting to be perfect for this as I can do it without thinking, while talking to friends or watching the TV and it keeps my hands busy so I am not tempted to bite my nails.  Unfortunately in this case knitting was not suitable as the project may need to be left at short notice.

This brought us onto making Latch Hook rugs.  This is a very old skill which like so many handicrafts as recently become very popular again.  The rugs are made using a latch hook to thread yarn though a squared canvas and to knot it in place.  

Rug making is quite a simple but time consuming technique as every thread has to be attached separately.  These rugs can be made completely from scratch in your own choice of colours or patterns or for convenience kits can be purchased which contain the canvas and pre-cut yarns to use.  The results can be pretty amazing particularly when viewed from a distance.  Generally the longer the length of yarn used for the rug the softer the edges of the lines are.

Alternatively see Marty's Opinions on Spring in the Crafty Pet Blog.