The Blue Mountain Fiber Guild is gearing up for a Fiber Make and Take at 7 p.m. on Tuesdayat the Palmerton Area Library. The event and supplies are free.

Guild member Katherine Augustine said the event gives people an opportunity to try out their skills and see demonstrations of how a spinning wheel works or a drop spindle, as well as knitting and crocheting."It's not scary," she said. "You don't have to have sheep to enjoy doing this.""Although, she does," said guild member Christine DeSousa.Augustine explained that when she first started working with fibers in 1992, she only knew how to sew, but then she got hooked. It wasn't too long before she learned how to knit, spin and dye fiber, weave and make felt."It's the hands-on experience," she said that attracted her to learning more about the fiber arts. "It's not just all about weaving. It's about anything you want to create with fiber."At the Fiber Make and Take, people from 10 years old and up can give it a try.Sure there's a minimum age recommended, but "there's no limit on the end," Augustine said. "You can learn at any age."Those curious enough to try can rely on their own ideas or a provided pattern. One of those patterns is for a cellphone purse. Whatever a person makes is for them to keep."They can take directions, and take it with them to finish at home," Augustine said.Throughout July, the Blue Mountain Fiber Guild displayed its Fiber Challenge projects in the library in an effort to spin some interest in the fiber arts.Each of the guild members were given two months to turn a bag of assorted materials into something. All of the bags had exactly the same articles in it. The only requirements were: They couldn't tell each other what they were making and they had to use at least a little bit of everything in the bag. They could add items to the project, too."The moment I saw it, I knew I wanted to use the feathers as a closure," Augustine said. She made a handbag, which is also exactly what her mother made."My mom and I didn't talk, but we tend to think alike," she said."I wanted to make a headdress," DeSousa said. "Instead I made a tree sculpture. I think it was the feathers that made me want to do the headdress.""Everyone created something slightly different," Augustine said.DeSousa said she thinks the variety stems from the various backgrounds of each person. She comes from an art background, so a sculpture was the natural result. Augustine makes clothing, so the handbag was her go-to idea.The Blue Mountain Fiber Guild meets every month at 7 p.m. at the library. Many of the members will also be at the Fiber Festival at 10 a.m. Oct. 1 at the Big Creek Grange in Lehighton.For more information about the guild or their events, email them at

bluemountainfiberguild@yahoo.com.