Janet@rugbraidingSchool.com
(781) 603-7971
www.rugbraidingschool.com
Front Porch rug
Braiders meeting
Wednesdays and Thursdays
Monday Evenings for those
working during the day
Flexible Scheduling Available
Cost per Class - $30
Classes
Rug Braiding School
Janet Fitzgerald, Fiber Artist, Instructor of Rug Braiding
using Barbara Fisher’s Counted Loop Method
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aturday, 9/28/24 10:00am - 3:00pm
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LOCATION
Studio 211
The 204: Cultural Arts Municipal Building
204 Sisson Road
Harwich, MA 02645
Home Page
Saturday, 3/22/25 10:00am - 3:00pm
Classes
Wednesdays and Thursdays
Flexible scheduling available
Saturday mornings twice a month
Must register in advance
Cost per Class- $30
Classes & Events
Front Porch Rug Braiders Meetings
This is a social gathering of Like-minded rug
braiders. We meet from10am to 3pm on several
Saturdays a year. No Charge for Students and
Guests.
Lessons can also be arranged during this time
Zoom Presentation Saturday, May 31, 2025 1pm
Gallery
Ruggies
Long-SidedOctagon
Oval mat with designs
Round Mat
Oval Table Mats
SmALL RUG WITH dESIGNS
Small Heart Mat
Multi Circles
Large Basket
Round Mat with Designs
Flower Petal
Large Heart
About Braiding with Barbara ~ How it all began...
This story begins in 1956 in Holbrook Massachusetts when my Mom, Barbara Fisher needed a rug for her home. She
gathered old clothes, blankets, window coverings and began braiding her very first rug. She braided and laced and
laced and braided and finally the rug was done! “Oh, my” she said “look at all those bumps and lumps.....there must
be an easier way to do this!” From that point forward her love for this traditional fiber art developed into something
she was so passionate about.
Once she started braiding she couldn’t stop. She invented methods and “Braiding with Barbara” patterns using her
Counted-Loop-Method to make rug braiding as easy as it could be for anyone to learn. In 2010 she and her
daughter Janet co-authored her first book, “Braiding with Barbara, Wool Rug Braiding” for beginners to promote
her passion for rug braiding.
Over her lifetime she taught hundreds of students, commissioned over 1,000 braided rugs and small items for
customers all over the United States and received many awards. She was a juried member of the League of NH
Craftsmen starting in 1964 and demonstrated at all there annual fairs. In 1999, Barbara was honored by being asked
to be a participant at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC as one of the artists representing the State
of New Hampshire. In 2013 she was awarded the Governor’s Arts Award by the state of New Hampshire. The
Governor’s Arts Award recognize outstanding contributions made by individuals, organizations and communities to
cultural life in New Hampshire.
Barbara began selling wool and braiding supplies which was the beginning of the Braided Rug Shop. With her
determination to make rug braiding easier for her students she would purchase wool from the Dorr Mill Store 9 yards
at a time and strip it into 1 1/2" wide strips which were then rolled by family members and sold to students saving
them time to prepare wool. Each roll was equal to 1/4 yd. Forever we had wool fuzz all over our home!
In 2005 Barbara received a Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Grant from the New Hampshire State Council on the
Arts. Sandy Luckury of Bradford, New Hampshire who was a student of Barbara’s became her apprentice who
continues to teach and promote Barbara’s work today.
Contact Janet for more information and to register
781-603-7971
Register
Wool & Supplies
Resources
Handouts - coming soon!
Sissors, needles, pins,
Stripology rulers and other
notions for sewing and
quilting
Wool Braiding Yards
Rug Braiding Supplies
Wool Yardage
About Braiding with Barbara Instructors
Sandy Luckury,Fiber Artist
Janet Fitzgerald, Fiber Artist
Sandy began braiding rugs in 1985 for her home taking lessons from Master Braider Barbara Fisher and soon discovered
that it was more than just a hobby for her.
Sandy apprenticed with Barbara through a grant from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and became a Certified
Braiding with Barbara rug braiding instructor of the Counted-Loop Method. She conducts classes at the Dorr Mill Store in
Guild, NH for all levels of braiders and uses this method for custom orders. She enjoys making unusual shapes such as
rectangles, hexagon and octagons and working with color and designing a rug to customize each piece to her clients’ taste.
Sandy became a juried member of the League of NH Craftsmen in the spring of 2004, and in 2007 was awarded Best in Fiber
for a rectangle rug displayed in Living With Crafts at the annual Craftsman’s Fair held each year in Sunapee, NH. Sandy can
be reached at sluckury@tds.net to register for classes and custom orders.
Janet is an accomplished rug braider and daughter of well-known Master Fiber Artist, Barbara Fisher. She grew up with rug
braiding and was always involved with her Mom’s shop the Braided Rug Shop which is now the Rug Braiding School. She
always said that her Mom was the Master and she was the facilitator as she was always stripping wool, sewing strips
together organizing a retreat, doing bookkeeping...the list goes on. In 2010 Janet and Barbara co-authored “Wool Rug
Braiding With a Contemporary Flair” which is a beginners guide to the Counted-Loop Method that Barbara invented in
1965.
Barbara, Janet and Sandy
Demonstrating at the
NH Craftsmens Fair
Today Janet is enjoying her love of teaching and promoting her Mother’s accomplishments in her studio at The 204
Cultural Arts Municipal Building, Harwich, MA. In 2024 Janet was awarded a grant from the Mass Cultural Council to
promote the traditional fiber art of rug braiding which is being put to good use. Janet is always looking for an apprentice
to carry on this wonderful fiber art.