Rug Braiding workshop with Adirondack Rug Braider, Helen Condon

The Schoharie River Center, located in Burtonsville near Esperance, NY, announces a two-day workshop with Master Rug Braider, Helen Condon on Saturday and Sunday, October 2 and 3, 2021. 

Over the space of a weekend (12 hours), participants will complete a Braided Herb Gathering Basket Workshop with instruction provided by Adirondack Rug Braider,  Helen Condon.  She will teach the traditional method of making a braided rag rug out of recycled materials.  Participants will learn how to take apart old woolen clothes and blankets and recycle them into beautiful handmade colorful traditional braided rugs and other items, including the completion of a braided basket. 

Pre-registration is required: $75.00 SRC members, $100 for non-members of the Schoharie River Center.  There will be a materials cost of $25.00 which includes all materials and equipment (twine, clamp, needle, and instruction booklet). Register on-line www.schoharierivercenter.org or call 518-875-6230.  The workshop is limited to eight participants. 

Helen Condon learned the art of rag rug braiding over fifty years ago from her grandmother, Sarah Campbell Taylor, who taught her how to make braided rugs using discarded, wool clothing. Using the skills in braiding and matching colors learned at thirteen years old, (combined with a better way of joining the braids learned from Sally Cheney in Hebron, Connecticut), Helen has honed these skills to form her life work. Well-known throughout the Northeast, Helen Condon teaches rug braiding workshops in her studio and at such premier establishments as the Farmer's Museum in Cooperstown and the Sagamore Institute. From her studio in Parishville, NY, (a re-purposed Grange Hall) Helen continues to teach and to sell her work. Always a “hit,” SHE IS RETURNING TO THE SCHOHARIE RIVER CENTER BY POPULAR REQUEST.

The Schoharie River Center is a non-profit environmental and cultural organization, located in Burtonsville, New York.  Funding for this series of Folk Arts workshops was provided by the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.  Burtonsville lies on the Schoharie Creek just north of the Village of Esperance.   To reach the workshop site, take Burtonsville Road from Esperance and travel approximately four miles to the hamlet of Burtonsville.  For event details and directions, consult the website of the Schoharie River Center, www.schoharierivercenter.org.