Fiber Guild of the Blue Ridge is partnering with Mobile Hope to provide classes to the public that build skills in the textile arts. One of our first joint initiatives is a public weaving project, using a loom that has been installed at Mobile Hope’s trendy new Graffiti and Silk thrift store, where we are weaving rag rugs out of donated garments that aren’t suitable for resale. Fiber Guild of the Blue Ridge’s volunteers use the loom to further its mission of fiber arts education by demonstrating weaving to the public, as well as teaching classes on how to prepare the donated fabric, and weave with it. The loom provides an interactive centerpiece to the Graffiti & Silk experience, showcasing environmental sustainability and illustrating that donated material unable to be sold for its original purpose can still be saved from the landfill and find a new life as something useful. The resulting rugs can be auctioned or sold to fund Mobile Hope’s services, or given to Mobile Hope’s at-risk clients
