Our finished rug! There is still some hand felting that needs to be done as well as some finishing touches ( a border perhaps).

The boro kindly lent us the use of their little water truck and their employee to help rinse the completed rug free of the soap.

Then the rug was rolled up around the netting and rolled back and forth to harden up the felt.

Bare feet, feet with boots, feet with flip-flops, feet with shoes! All were needed to turn this pile of fluff into a respectable felted rug. Everyone helped. Some stomped, some planned out the pattern, others helped to keep the water held in by holding the edge of the tarp up. It took about 40 minutes of stomping until we were finally able to say we had pretty much fleted a rug. What a blast!!

Next, Margo, who was there to oversee the whole rug making, added goat's milk soap which she makes. The three elements needed to felt wool are hot water, soap and agitation. So far we have the first two elements. Next, it is time to add the third one.

Next we poured on hot water to soak the wool completely.

Then it was time to start the rug stomp we had planned. The part that we missed getting a picture of was the pattern which will be the top when it is finished. Once the pattern was down, we spread out the layers of carded raw wool in a criss cross pattern. Then a fine mesh screen was placed on the top of all the layers.

Bernadette was even able to do some spinning before the wind started picking up.

Alice proves that you can knit in any weather. All it takes is a great pair of knitted gloves. Anyone can do it!

Isabel and her mom, Barbara braved very chapped hands and helped people make felted soaps. A $1.00 donation for each soap was accepted which was donated to the American Cancer Society. We were able to send $23.00 to them to help with the fight against cancer.

November 3rd might have been just another Saturday to some people but, to the Collingswood Fiber Arts Guild it was our premier appearance at the Collingswood Farmers' Market. The weather was cold, damp and at times rainy but, our spirits were not. Jody brought her loom. Sandy brought her lap weaving. Bernadette's dolls made an appearance as well (and they brought donuts, imagine that). Alice, from the Groovy Knitters (also a Collingswood group) came to help us out as well.

Here is one of Sandy's finished mats done with the lap weaving loom.

Sandy's uncle got her started on lap weaving.

Here are some of our group members working on various projects at our October meeting.
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A final glimpse of the "girls". Thank you so much, Bernadette, for sharing your fascinating hobby.

My favorite, by far, is this little doll that she created to look like her niece, Lynn. Again the details are remarkable.

Bernadette has been interested and making dolls for quite some time. These little cuties were created for her daughter who is now in her 20's.

As Bernadette explored doll making more she created this lovely doll. Bernadette described how she made the joints, her nose and upper body. The detail was amazing.

Bernadette found classes in doll making on line. Her first creations are fanciful jointed spirits that just make you smile. They have quite enchanting personalities.

At our October meeting, Bernadette brought a basketful of her friends with her.