WTB

That stands for Walk Through Bethlehem.

I have been weaving at this event at the Nazarene Church in Mayfield since 2008. Last year it was scheduled for 5 nights, but we only got to do one because of the weather. This year it was scheduled for 3 nights and we got to do all three. God and Mother Nature smiled on us. The temperature stayed between 45 and 55, and there was no wind or rain. (It's raining now.) During the three nights (2 hours each night), we had a total or over 1,900 visitors.

During the year 2013, I wove 500+ 'miniature rugs' (think mugrugs/coasters), 60+ 'strips of cloth' (bookmarks) and I don't remember how many 'tiny squares' on a 2" Weave-it loom. These are things for the children to 'buy' with the 'shekels' they are given when they enter the village. Since we only did one night last year, I didn't need to make more items this year. My little products are very popular with the kids - there were 18 mugrugs and 2 bookmarks left at the end of last night. I took them into the fellowship hall, where all of us 'inhabitants of Bethlehem' gathered and announced that they were up for grabs. They all disappeared in a flash! So after they bring my loom back to me, and I weave three or four more rugs to finish that 12-yard warp, I will need to start weaving mugrugs. I think I'll shoot for 500 again, plus at least 100 bookmarks. I'll also make more of the 2" squares; I can carry that little loom with me and work on them at knitting meetings.

I wove one rug each night. I'll find out how long they are when I take them off the loom. Of course, I was talking, explaining what I was doing and how the loom works, almost the whole time. I really enjoy doing that. I'm really a rather shy person, but I have no problem talking to people when I am demonstrating weaving or spinning. I guess that's because I have something specific to talk about.

Any the rugs that look good enough for human use, I think I'll donate to Bellewood in Paducah. It is an agency that helps kids who have aged out of foster care do things like set up their first apartment. I donated some things there several years ago, and I think that would be a good place to take the rugs.