use it up

Use it up
Wear it out
Make it do
Do without.

This maxim certainly would have applied to the early settlers.

One of my recent finds at a barn sale was a book entitled, "This Cruel War". It's an almost complete set of letters written by a husband and wife during his service in the Civil War. Much energy and concern was spent upon the rigors of daily life. The wife would spend a large amount of time spinning and weaving. The resulting length of homespun cloth would be quite precious. They discussed at length how the fabric would be used. At first it was to become a shirt for the husband, as a Confederate soldier he complained of being poorly provisioned. But he thought to use the cloth for his children back home. After a length of fabric has served it's purpose as an article of clothing, it would have been cut into strips of cloth to construct a rag rug. Linda Saxer and one of her volunteers demonstrate the weaving of a rag rug on a small wood frame. Many thanks to Linda and other area preservationists who work hard to keep history alive.