The title expresses the sentiment; the process proves it valid.

Nothing says love like a braided rug.

I’ve created many at the behest of family and friends, or for clients that needed a spot to fill a memory. They always speak of the devotion that goes into such a thing. Unlike many cherished items, a handmade braided rug evolves from a plan. An idea that starts in the center and works outward to create a masterpiece to fill a spot in someone’s home and heart. Not unlike one’s own heart, beating on the inside, expressing emotion on the outside.

Love: My mother-in-law (and braiding mentor) configured a stockpile of wool for me to make my first living room rug for my home. I can still see the blues and reds that I madly laced together to finish before the arrival of my son. My son arrived, my daughter a few years later, and the rug was our centerpiece for 20 years. 20 years of Dad wrestling with the kids on the rug, the dog trying to be part of the action, and oh-so-many walk throughs to the beds and bath upstairs. The kids departed -and the dog ): – and I switched from oval to round, making a rug with wool inherited from a neighbor. Love: she was moving on, had filled her home with rugs and had to reduce to condo living. She gave me her stockpile of wool.

Love: I braided a living room rug for my dad’s 75th birthday. He had always wanted something under his feet, but Mom never consented to carpet or a floor covering. Too much to clean after seven children trampling and spilling? But this was the kidless era when bedrooms were now offices and libraries, and the main living area needed color and comfort.

Until this year I didn’t complete another full size rug, but I crafted hundreds for sale to others, smaller but unique. Love: an apple for the teacher, a heart for my sister, an oval made with wool given to me by Judith who needed me to make a rug her now departed mother-in-law never did. A bedtime surprise for my mother-in-law (and braiding mentor) who decided her braiding days are over. I created rugs to sell, watching them grow and change and become art you could walk upon. I sold them at craft fairs and then in 2013 moved on to Etsy SoundStyleRugs

There were a few for my daughter’s apartments and some wedding gifts or housewarmings.

With my helper and braided rug lover

Red delicious apple SOLD

Enjoying the process.

My reviews are 5-star.  Etsy rugs How can you go wrong when the effort is filled with the heart on the inside?

Then my son bought a house. He sprinkled his estate with the small ones I gave him for apartments. But he wanted a centerpiece. Love: how can you say no when your son asks for a rug? For him, a house just wouldn’t be home without the big living room braided rug.

So I set sail and used my stash of wool purchased from an estate sale to create a vibrant 8 x 10 oval for his 1903 hardwood floors. He was so excited – Mom had made him a rug for his house. Love given, love returned.♥♥