Looking thru old Woolley Fox camp photos has been bitter sweet. It has been a couple years since enjoying a class with friends and icon Barb Carroll. The last time was perhaps a year or so before she sold the Ligonier estate with the cottages.
My friends and I were fortunate to say in either the Woolley Cottage or Guest House with classes just a scenic walk away. Both building had their wonderful antique decor, lots of hooked rugs, books and magazines to read AND a gas fireplace for ambiance.
The kitchen was stocked with coffee/tea/ sodas, breakfast cereals and always a fridge full of snacks and other breakfast items. While that was wonderful in itself, the cherry on top was having a class with Barb.
It was 2008 the first year Deb and I attended rug camp at Woolley Fox and we stayed in Barb's Guest House on Barb's property.
The other four students/friends were staying in the Woolley Cottage, also on the premises. In this photo is looks like the Cottage is way down the road.
But actually, it is just beyond where we were staying. You can see in the photo below that it is closer.
Sweet Barb would take us on a guided tour of her home each year we visited. There would be new rugs she hooked or antique ones purchased, rugs and antiques we'd seen before would have been rearranged so looked different than the year previous. Always a wonderful treat.
Would you believe the first year I actually took a photo of Barb's hands? For years I'd admired her and didn't think it possible I'd ever be in a class with her ~ my celebrity idol. So I had to have a photo of those creative hands. She is showing us her next rug project.
Now to the classroom in Barb's home ~ In red is Char, to the right is Bonnie and foreground is friend Deb.
Below is Barb (and moi) color planning my rug.
After class we would relax back at either the Guest House or Cottage, usually with a glass of vino. When Deb and I stayed at the GH this would be our view from the deck.
And, we stayed at the Woolley Cottage this would be our view on the deck. A couple times we saw deer grazing in that field.
Perhaps there will be another rug camp with BARB CARROLL in my future. We would need to sleep at another location and drive to her classes, which wouldn't be quite the same as we'd enjoyed before.
There are a couple hotels and B&Bs in Ligonier and heard from another friend who said their group was lucky enough to find a family with accommodations and stayed there. If you are interested in taking a memorable class with Barb, click on her name above and you will find information.
Saundra
