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Workshop Descriptions

Pre-Conference Workshops designated (P) include 2 days of instruction,
August 23-24, 2006

P-1 Unlocking the Secrets of Profile Drafts by Deb Essen

Profile drafts represent blocks of woven design rather than threading sequences. Confused? In this comprehensive class, delve into the process of translating profile drafts into weave structures. Learn about block weaves and unit, tied unit and non-unit weaves in order to create your own profile designs; then work backwards constructing a profile draft from woven fabric. Weave samples in many different weave structures using the same profile draft. Weaving is in round robin format, 6 or fewer shafts required. Warping and materials lists will be mailed to participants. Intermediate. Materials fee: $1 Maximum class size: 20

P-2 Spinning Yarns that Go Bump! by Patsy Zawistoski

Constructing designer yarns can be frustrating until you understand the fundamentals of yarn structure. Design your own yarns! Learn how to spin a wide variety of yarn structures. Included are cables, knotted or wrapped yarns, novelty singles like thick and thin slub yarns, fuzzy and hairy yarns, spirals, loopy boucle and core-spun boucle. Create a notebook of yarn spinning recipes. Emphasis will be on exploration of new yarns and making notations for reproducing yarns. Advanced beginner on up. Materials fee: $15 Maximum class size: 12

P-3 Weave a Cedar Swirl & an Undercurrents Basket by Cass Schorsch

Begin Cass’ Cedar Swirl basket with spokes of Redi-splint ash in a spiraling twill pattern of white cedar. Construct the inside and outside walls in premium rattan and cedar with an overlay of birch. On day two, using wicker techniques, weave the organic, freeform Undercurrents basket. Weave using rattan and seagrass dyed in an array of colors. Embellish your showpiece basket using grasses and barks to add texture and artistry. Intermediate to advanced. Materials fee for both baskets: $140 Maximum class size: 12

P-4 Weft Ikat for Adventure & Glorious Weaving by Mary Zicafoose

Under Mary’s guidance, discover how to create dramatic, weft faced, ikat textiles. Learn to design, measure, stretch, wrap, dye, unwrap and weave unusual ikat yarns in this comprehensive class. Focus will be on rug and weft faced applications that are easily adaptable for use in weaving wearables and yardage. Emphasis is on dye procedures for the home dyer. Intermediate. Materials fee: $40 Maximum class size: 15

Conference Workshops are designated Full Day (F) and Half Day (H),
August 25-26, 2006

F-1 The Zen of Weaving by Mary Zicafoose

Are you a busy fiber artist (a.k.a. mother, wife, career woman, grandmother….hey, that’s US!) in need of a creative super charge? Mary’s introspective approach focuses on helping you identify your creative purpose, expand your goal setting, fine tune stress management, and stay in the “creative flow” each day. Food for thought to inspire and nourish you. All levels. Materials fee: $5 Maximum class size: none

F-2 Do More with Just Four! By Deb Essen

Push your four-shaft loom to the limits! Explore new possibilities and options on “just 4” using color and texture, twills, overshot, lace, bound weave, summer and winter, double weave and more. Then weave samples, on four shafts or fewer, in round robin format. Warping and material requirements will be mailed to participants. Beginning to intermediate. Materials fee: $1 Maximum class size: 24

F-3 Bump it up a Notch! Perfecting Your Spinning by Judie Overbeek

If you are a beginner able to spin a continuous strand Judie has designed this class to help you....Bump your spinning up a notch! Learn to spin worsted, or short draw, and woolen, or long draw, and which fibers are best for both. Develop the ability to control the diameter of your yarn whether you are spinning fine or bulky singles. Learn marling and more! Judie will provide individual help for each student. Beginner . Material fee: $12 Maximum class size: 10

F-4 Yarn Painting by Joanne Ryeburn

Paint pre-wound 6” warps or knitting skeins in this hands-on dye workshop using either Procion MX or acid dyes; dye protein and/or cellulose fibers including rayon and tencel. No pre-mordanting necessary. Handouts provided for calculating and mixing dyes. Materials fee: $10 Maximum class size: 12

F-5 Simple Steps to Complex Colors by Joan Goldstein

In this unique class, blend primary colors of wool on your drum carder to make a fiber color wheel. Use the resulting hues to create rich, complex colors of fiber suitable for spinning, felting, knitting, or weaving unspun. Learn the effects of using different blues, violets and golds, in addition to the color formats that are most successful for fiber blending. Students may work individually on their own drum carders, or in pre-arranged pairs. Dyed fiber included. Must be able to use a drum carder. Materials fee: $15 Maximum class size: 12

F-6 Weave Pique: Fabric the Goes “Poof”! by Deb Essen

Propel your weaving into the next dimension with pique, a double weave stitched cloth that is quilted in appearance. Learn the structures of six variations of the pique weave. Weave samples of all six in round robin format. Experience with double weave and supplemental warps is recommended. Eight shaft loom required; a second back beam is helpful but not required. Warping and material requirements will be mailed to participants. Intermediate to advanced. Materials fee: $1 Maximum class size: 16

F-7 The Antler Egg Basket by Margie Reck

Margie’s antler egg basket is a contemporary adaptation of the traditional Appalachian ribbed-style egg basket. A naturally shed whitetail deer antler serves as the basket handle. Weave dyed and natural reed into the body of the basket along with seagrass for accent. The antler and reed frames will be prepared by the instructor prior to class; construction of the frame will be demonstrated in class. A discussion of materials and techniques used, a history of the basket style and written instructions are also included. All Levels. Material fee: $65 Maximum class size: 12

F-8 Shibori, Stenciling and Discharge Dyeing on Fabric by Joanne Ryeburn

Begin this day of hands-on color play by dyeing a pre-purchased fine, cotton or silk scarf in the shibori resist technique. Then, using thickened dyes, add imagery onto the shibori dyed cloth with stencil patterns. Next, learn to discharge stencil images with thiourea dioxide. Detailed handouts are included. Material fee: $20 Maximum class size: 12

F-9 The Language of Art: Color! by Mary Zicafoose

Dip into a myriad of colors to enliven and refresh your fiber palette! In this hands-on workshop, create a workbook of 24 personal color studies using color-aid papers and the work of colorist, Josef Albers as a reference. Cut and paste according to the rules and then…dare to defy theory! Challenge your “color comfort zone” in this class. Material fee: $40 (includes 240 pack of color-aid papers) Maximum class size: 40

H-1 The Language of Clothing by Karin Utzinger

Adaptability! Function! Messages! Discover what secrets clothing from around the world can reveal. Study, hands-on, an extensive ethnic costume collection in this seminar. Investigate garments from a wide variety of cultures in search of clues; who was the wearer, what was the culture, what were the mores, and the times? Take inspiration from the work of fiber artists from around the world. Material fee: Maximum class size:

H-2 Holiday Cards by Jo Anne Setzer

Learn interesting ways to make fiber holiday cards in this hands-on class. Inkle, loom woven, kumihimo, felted and pin woven cards are featured with demonstrations and instructions included. Jo Anne will also demonstrate methods of cutting card stock and mounting, too. Take a finished card home. Material fee: $5 Maximum class size: 15

H-3 Using Yarns: A Look at the Creative Process by Patsy Zawistoski

Through slides and lecture, explore various ways to revitalize your creativity while using up all those handspun yarns in your stash! Material fee: none Maximum class size: none

H-4 Dealing with Downy Fibers by Patsy Zawistoski

This is your opportunity to learn to spin short, exotic fibers like angora, cashmere and camel under Patsy’s watchful eye with fiber she provides. An extensive booklet is also included with this hands-on spinning workshop. Intermediate. Material fee: $12 Maximum class size: $15

H-5 Make a Baby Chick Basket by Terri McKenna

Woven with reed and bamboo, this basket begins with a solidly woven square base. The side weaving then transforms the basket from square to round. Construct the intricate top with long ends interwoven in a swirling pattern. The Hmong people use a larger version of this basket to transport baby chicks. Basic to intermediate. Material fee: $25 Maximum class size: 12

H-6 Knit a Tiny Treasure Bag by Marilyn Pattee

An ideal project for beginning knitters, Marilyn’s tiny, sparkling treasure bag is perfect to knit…just for fun! Then embellish your bag with beads, and wear it as a necklace, or give it to a special little girl. Project can be completed during the workshop. Materials included. Bring size 3 needles. Beginner, you must be able to cast on, knit and purl. Material fee: Maximum class size: 12 

H-7 Intarsia Knitting by Barbara French

Intarsia, or “picture knitting”, is a knitting technique that enables you to knit multiple blocks of color or multicolored patterns without carrying all those yarns across the back of your work. Learn how to design your own knitting patterns especially for intarsia (Mom, knit a skateboarder on my sweater!), and then knit a sample in class under Barb’s guidance. Materials included. Bring size 7 needles. Advanced beginner. Material fee: $10 Maximum class size: 15

H-8 Appropriate Designs and Construction Techniques for Handwovens by Kerstin Seifert

Join the couture! Learn to select garment designs that will enhance your handwoven fabrics. Through lecture and demonstration, Kerstin will teach you to figure yardage requirements, use your fabric efficiently, deal with insufficient fabric, choose appropriate notions, and much more! She will demonstrate seam finishes, how to reduce bulk during construction, top stitching techniques, and alternatives to buttonholes to name a few. Finished garments will be available for you to examine. Material fee: none Maximum class size: 15

H-9 Same as above

H-10 Make Your Loom Work for You by Joanne Hall

Dream of clear sheds, relaxed treadling, perfect selvages, and a rhythmic shuttle throw? Make your loom sing for you! Loom expert, Joanne, will explain simple techniques for making shed adjustments, tieing up a loom, throwing a shuttle and using small equipment aids that, in combination, should help you better your weaving. Learn features of the looms available today and what each loom does best. New weavers welcome. Material fee: none Maximum class size: 24

H-11 3 How Many Times Must I Turn Around to be a Spinner? by Patsy Zawistoski

The Certificate of Excellence for Hand Spinning (COE) is an independent study program that has been supported by the Handweaver’s Guild of America since the 1980’s. Through a slide showing and lecture, Patsy will review her experiences, highlight recent changes in the program and answer questions from interested spinners. Material fee: none Maximum class size: none

H-12 Twist and Shout: Plying Techniques for Perfect Yarns by Judie Overbeek

Are your plied yarns sometimes a disapointment when you thought the original singles were perfect? Using proper plying techniques, you can make structurally sound and exquisite yarns that wear well, and are ideally suited for their intended use whether it be weaving or knitting. In addition, proper plying techniques are fundamental to your ability to create novelty yarns. Learn to correctly ply two, three and four-ply structures, cabled yarns, Navajo yarns, and uneven yarns in this hands on class for Intermediate spinners. Material fee: $10 Maximum class size: 15

H-13 Join the Knitting Slipsters by Joan Goldstein

Knit a multicolored carrying bag for a double point needle caddy using only one yarn at a time and …slipping stitches! Joan’s hands-on sampler includes the colorful and textural techniques of three-and-one patterning, mosaic, quilting and rib knitting using slip stitches. Choose to knit in the round or flat. Yarn and caddy provided. Participants must be able to make and recognize knit and purl stitches. Material fee: $10 Maximum class size: 12

H-14 Knitting Secrets, Tips and Tricks….Shhhh! by Marilyn Pattee

After having been a knitter for 44 years, Marilyn knows a knitting secret or two! Learn some of her tricks in this hands-on workshop: knit backwards and forwards (from the middle?!), bind off in lace, use your yarn tail as a measuring device, wrap and turn shoulders with 3 needle bind off, and more. Handouts and yarns included. Bring two sets of needles in the same size. Intermediate to advanced. Material fee: Maximum class size: 12

H-15 Make an Historic Shirret Rug by Carol Roehm

Learn to make a shirret (Sure, Ray!) rug in this hands-on workshop, just as Carol did from her 100 year old aunt who began making these rugs at age five. Shirret is made using recycled wool fabrics which are cut into strips and then gathered onto a 12 inch long crochet needle. Loops of wool are then pulled off the hook and crocheted to the body of the rug. Basic knowledge of crochet required. All materials provided. Material fee: $25 Maximum class size: 6