A space is waiting for YOU in this class! Plying sometimes comes as an afterthought to the spinner. It’s just “what we do” to our singles. However, plying is a specific skill set for the handspinner and an important tool in the design and construction of handspun yarns. We can ply for a specific yarn structure, to create a unique yarn design, to blend fibers and to build color. But this class is a two-fer! If you want to get … Continue reading →
Experience our recent week of rigid heddle weaving exploring color at Sievers on beautiful Washington Island in Door County, Wisconsin. Weaving, dinners together at quaint Island restaurants, and even daily calisthenics (memories from the 1960’s!) left us with many special memories! Enjoy!
Our story in photos of our week spent spinning at The Clearing Folk School in Ellison Bay in Door County, Wisconsin. June 18-24, 2023. Spinners Boot Camp focused on skills in drafting fibers, understanding ratios, spinning fine and bulky yarns, and fiber preparation and spinning techniques for woolen and worsted style yarns. Armed with their new knowledge and skills, spinners designed and spun yarn for their selected knitting and weaving projects. View another fun video of our boot camp “drills” … Continue reading →
July 25-30, 2022 at Sievers School of Fiber Arts! Rigid heddle weaving. Five beginners; five “beyonders”. Lots of weaving…lots of learning…lots of good evening dinners together…lots of memories made. Thank you to the ten weavers who spent their week inspiring me with all of the beautiful pieces they created at this wonderful place on Washington Island, WI!
Ten weavers, most new to the rigid heddle loom, spent a week with me on beautiful Washington Island in Door County, Wisconsin in July! All I can say is WOW! These weavers took full advantage of their five days. Beginning with a simple scarf to learn the basics of warping and weaving on a rigid heddle loom, they went on to weave samplers to learn pick-up and various hand-manipulated laces and embellishments. And then they were unleashed to weave projects of their own choosing. And weave they did!!! Enjoy these photos of their Sievers weaving retreat…
For more information on Sievers School of Fiber Arts, visit their website and become inspired!
It was a “first” for Sievers and a “first” for many in the class. The rigid heddle Sievers class of 2019 has concluded and everyone was a “Sievers Achiever”! We pushed the limits of this loom to the max with plain weave, pick-up, lace, krokbragd, double heddles, clasped warp and more! Enjoy this video review of our week and plan to join us next year on inspiring Washington Island, Door County, Wisconsin. This year was the first…of many…for rigid heddle on the Island!
Color was everywhere! Every step on every path throughout The Clearing (Ellison Bay, Door County, WI) and on every table and spinning wheel in the inspiring schoolhouse. We carded and hackled and blended and spun and plyed every color of the rainbow! Take a look at our week together…
Whether on the road teaching; traveling the lowlands, highlands, and islands of Scotland; or welcoming people to the home of the Fiber Garden here in Black River Falls, Wisconsin, 2018 was a year to remember! I am constantly reminded of the good people and the spectacular places I experienced throughout the year. I hope you enjoy watching some of the memories we made and the faces and spaces that were 2018. I hope that the new year of 2019 will be a landscape for many more extraordinary moments together!
It is rare in these days of too much stress, packed schedules, increasing workloads and pushing to do more, faster, with less, that we take the time to retreat. To slow down, breathe deeply, really “see” the amazing world that surrounds us. To reflect, refresh, and renew our minds and our hearts. To spend the time doing the things that we love. The Clearing Folk School in Door County, Wisconsin, is one place that allows us this space to “be”. I have … Continue reading →
It’s time to update the blog…there is so much to talk about when it comes to fibers! And I have a story to tell about a magical place that I visited recently during one of my trips to teach a spinning class. It seems that everything happens as it should and this is no exception. The place? The Clearing in Ellison Bay, Wisconsin (in beautiful Door County). The Clearing is a residential folk school offering week-long classes throughout the summer as well … Continue reading →
