Mug Rugs for the YWCA Women ~

From left to right: Jo Collinge, Joyce Noordmans, Sheri Ward, Ann Suloway, and Sondra Rose gather around the gift of mugs and mug-rugs from the Whatcom Weavers Guild to the YWCA. Collinge is President of the Board of Directors at the Y, Suloway is Housing Director; Noordmans, Ward, and Rose are members of the guild.

This past Friday, the Whatcom Weavers Guild presented the YWCA with a gift of hand-made mug-rugs with coordinating coffee mugs, enough for each of its current 36 residents. Over the course of the summer, individual guild members came up with a variety of mug-rugs, some of which were woven, some felted, and some quilted.

The guild conceived the idea as a way to reach out to members of the community, specifically women living in group housing.

Joyce Noordmans, representing the guild, said, “Making these mug-rugs and giving them was a warm feeling for us.” Guild members involved in the project wanted to express their regard for women living at the YWCA. “We appreciate these women for being part of our community,” Noordmans said.

“There is so much love in this,” said Jo Collinge, the President of the Board of Directors for the YWCA, in accepting the gift.

 The mugs and mug-rugs given as gifts from guild members to residents of the Y.

The mugs and mug-rugs will be distributed to the residents of the YWCA. The Y provides transitional housing for women.

The staff at the Y and the guild look forward to other collaborations, quite possibly involving free in-house fiber-related classes for the residents.

Copies of the book, “100 Years,” which describes the history of the local Y will be available for sale at the upcoming Fibers and Beyond sale sponsored by the guild. The sale will be held at the Hampton Inn on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 16 and 17. Hours on Friday are 6 to 9 p.m., and on Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All proceeds from the book sale will go to the Y.