Fall Fiber Frolic Class Descriptions!

Registered guests & teachers will be emailed the link to sign up for classes. All class fees are INCLUDED in the $40 registration (and so is lunch)!

All-Day Activities

Spinning Circle hosted by Nicole Mork, Mork Made Fiber Co

Bring your wheel or spindles and spin! Practice, learn, or teach. Try out other wheels and spindles.

Bjeaux Tapestry

We need to finish it! Come add some stitches to our epic needlework masterpiece, showing all the parts of fiber production and embroidered in handspun, naturally dyed threads.

Bead Exchange (*NEW*)

Beads are bagged on site or in advance according to an example and every bag will earn one ticket. Beads will be collected up until the beginning of the lunch break (12p). The exchange will take place during the lunch break. For each ticket a bag with a bead can be ‘purchased’. Beads not ‘purchased’ can either be collected by the original owner or left for others if they just want them gone.

All types of beads welcome! Pony, seed, glass, handmade, whatever, plus jewelry intended for dismantling Example- a large focal bead would = 1 ticket, a broken necklace=1 ticket, a tube of seed beads=1 ticket, etc.

This is for fun and the spirit of exchange!

FREEBIE / SCHOLARSHEEP TABLE

Bring your languishing projects, supplies, or patterns from crafts done long ago – someone else can take them away! Please leave a monetary donation in our “Scholarsheep” bank if you find a treasure – all money goes towards funding a scholarship for our annual retreat!

Morning Classes (10a-12p)

Shibori Resists with Lots of Dyes by Ercil Howard

Try different types of resists with bands, clamps, threads, wooden blocks, rocks, and more! Dyepots with several natural dyes will be available for different color options.

Bring: Fabric (scarves, handkerchiefs, samples – not yardage!); roving, yarn, clothing to dye. Everything should be washed (not new). Silk Scarves and Hemp Hankies will be available for purchase from Griffin Dyeworks. An apron, a black sharpie, & a notebook, are helpful to have but not required.

Spinning on a Drop Spindle by Cat Ellen

Have you always wanted to learn to spin? Tried spinning and forgotten what you learned? Learned a bit on a wheel but really wish you had something portable? This is the class for you. No matter what your learning style is, what struggles you’ve had in the past: here’s where you can *finally get it* and understand how “Twist And Overlap” is the solution to making any yarn or thread by hand. We will focus on protein fibers, starting with wool but we can also look at blended wools (with silk, alpaca, etc.).

Loaner spindles are available, as is small amounts of fiber (sometimes spindles or fiber can be sold as discounted rates). Bring your frustrations, leave with new skills and new confidence.

Needle Tatting by Debbie Bartle

Learn to create beautiful lace edging or larger pieces with only a needle and thread!

Provided: Printed instructions, a needle, a needle threader, & a bobbin wound with 5 yards of crochet cotton. Please bring scissors.

Designing and Weaving Warp Faced Cloth (Inkle Bands) by Therese Calhoun

Learn to design and weave a warp faced cloth (also known as inkle bands). Can’t quite get the hang of card or tablet weaving? Try “inkle” bands. It’s fast and easy. Limited loaner looms will be available.

Bring: Inkle Loom, at least 2 different color yarns or cotton. Belt shuttle or old dinner knife.

Sew a Rope Basket by Amy Bingham

You will learn how to transform a length of rope into a basket using your sewing machine. No skills needed. You must bring or borrow a machine. No sewing machines will be provided. Rope is provided.

Bring: Sewing machine, thread, scissors, extension cord

Afternoon Classes (1-3pm)

Open Natural Dyeing by Ercil Howard

Surprise pots! What will we have?

(Re)Mix the Rainbow to Dye Silk by Jen Foti

Basic color mixing with acid dyes. Mix the rainbow using only the primary colors and black! Dye silk hankies. The method for spinning silk hankies will also be demonstrated. We provide 1oz of silk hankie/mawata, acid dye, applicators, mixing cups, wrap/baggies, microwave to set.

Bring: Apron, note taking materials useful but not required.

Top Class (aka Wool Combing) by Esther Benedict, Belle Estoile Handwovens

Wool top is the premier preparation of wool for spinning, yet many spinners never try it. Some people may have heard that only men can use the four and five row “English” combs – not true! While it’s true that wool combs can be a significant investment, the results can make it worthwhile. This class is an opportunity to learn about and try several different types of combs – from one or two row “viking” combs, to four and five pitch “English” combs.

Bring: If you have your own combs, and would like instruction on how to use them, feel free to bring them. Instructor will provide wool for you to use, but if you would like to provide your own fiber for combing, it should be no less than 4 inch staple length (5-6″ is better), clean and dry with lock structure in place.

Knitting Roundtable by Amy Bingham

Want to learn to knit? Confused by a pattern? Drop a stitch? Ready to learn something new? Come by the Knitting Roundtable – get some help, learn a new technique, or just visit and get some work done on a project! All skill levels welcome.

Bring: A project, pattern, question, or desire to knit with other people!

Tapestry Warping and Weaving on a Hand Loom by Debbie Coyle, Unicorn Fiber Arts

Hand Looms are very simple frames for easy warping and tapestry weaving . They are perfect for doing tests for how various yarns or threads look together when woven before you warp your large floor or table loom. They are also perfect for weaving small pieces. A pattern can be placed behind the warp threads to let the weaver create a woven image. Come learn how to warp the loom, and do tapestry weaving! No weaving experience is necessary. Yarn will be provided. **Looms will be available for use during the class and for sale at a discount if you are part of the class**

Bring: Pen and Paper can be useful. A loom and tools if you have them.

Painted Pebbles by Bjo Trimble, Ancient Earth Pigments

From cave art to river pebbles, painted rocks are a 12,000 year old art. Back then, artists used colored earths, soot and tar. Today, painted pebbles are a popular garden decoration, as well as a means of sending a message. Contemporary pigments used are usually acrylics or enamel paints. For this class, we will revert back a few centuries to paint our stones with egg tempera paint: colored earth pigments with egg yolk, gum Arabic and water. Choice of subject is up to each student: animals, sea life, flowers, leaves, fruit, abstract designs, message, etc. Student takes their rocks home. We provide Pebbles, egg yolk, gum Arabic, earth pigments, handout.

Bring: Apron, hair tie-back, 1 or more designs, your own rock(s) if desired.

Afternoon Class (3-5p)

Indigo Dyeing by Jessie Brannan

Indigo Crystals! Great on cotton, silk, and wool. The bluest blue to ever blue. Overdye your yellow and red items to green and purple!

Shuttle Tatting by Annie To

Have you every been curious about tatting? nows your chance to make your very own tatted butterfly! No prior experience necessary. We will be going over all aspects of tatting including choosing tools and supplies, the basic knot, making chains and rings, joining and pattern reading. I will be walking you step by step through how to make your very own project. Shuttle, thread, and pattern provided.

Make a Gradient From (Almost) Any Handpainted Roving by Anne Schwarz

This is a class for any level of spinner. You have probably admired beautiful multicolored braids of hand-painted roving or top, and maybe spun with them. We’re going to take some of these colorful rovings apart and put them back together in new ways, exploring creative possibilities, including the suggested project which is to create a gradient with gradual color shifts. You can also combine fiber from different braids to create new colorways, or do some blending to create subtle color shifts. I hope we’ll have time to start spinning some of our samples, but the main focus of the class will be playing around with the fiber.

A variety of hand-painted fiber will be provided in sample amounts for students to work with and take away. Carders and other fiber prep tools will be available for those who would like to try blending colors or making rolags.

Bring: Optional – bring a drop spindle or wheel if you’d like to try spinning samples during class. You can bring your own hand-painted roving or top if you like, but it isn’t necessary. Carders or other fiber prep tools also welcome.

Easy Polymer Clay Buttons by Becky Acosta, Bliss Point Creations

Learn to make your own buttons out of polymer clay to match all of your creations. No previous polymer clay experience needed. All skill levels. Clay, pasta machines, cutters, rollers, mica, glitter, and oven provided. Pieces may need 30 minutes to cure, or take them home to bake them yourself.

Bring – optional: Clay tools, pasta machines, a container to keep your items in for transport.

Creating Your Own Inkle Patterns by Debbie Coyle, Unicorn Fiber Arts

If you’ve been getting all your inkle warp patterns from books, the internet, or friends … come on down and learn to create your own patterns. You can warp in lines, chains, bars, piano keys, and more. This will be a lecture class, so your level of inkle weaving abilities do not matter. Beginner or expert weavers are all welcome.