Come spend the spring solstice celebrating this time of renewal, new life, and the coming of the days of longer light and warmer air! Bunnies and chicks will be the focus of this felting class, ever the symbols of spring!

No experience in felting necessary!

Many of us have a beloved clothing item with a hole or a stain that we can’t bear to throw away and don’t know how to mend. Many of us also don’t want to create more waste and add to overflowing landfills. In the past, wearing mended clothing was not acceptable but with the right skills mended clothes can be beautiful. This class is for anyone who wants to learn the basics so they can mend their own clothing like jeans or shirts using stitching or patching. Learn to cover a hole or a stain using simple stitch techniques that can be used as the basis to learn Sashiko or Kantha or your own creative stitching.

Learn how to inspect and assess a fabric item that needs repair.

Learn how to select patch fabric, select thread, and tie a knot.Learn and practice stitches used for fabric mending: running stitch, backstitch (sesame seed). (If there is time and interest, chain stitch, stem stitch, split stitch, blanket stitch).

Learn different approaches to patch placement (under, over, quilt).Practice patching a fabric square or own item.

Materials:

Students can bring an item they would like to learn how to mend by stitching or patching.

All other materials included.

Row after row, or round after round, participants will use color, texture and material to represent people, memories and specific key events or milestones that have impacted and shaped the course of their lives.

Like an individual time capsule, the weaver will create a piece of organic art that represents facets of their unique lived experience. Making meaning and metabolizing loves and losses, heartaches and triumphs through the medium of weaving is part of the process.

No weaving experience is necessary.

** If you must miss the first class, please wait for another opportunity to register.**

This class is for those aged 60 and above.

NOTE: no class April 22

The Receiving Bowl is a sculpture brought to form by tugging, pulling, and adjusting certain threads of a woven piece. It is a project designed to invite the weaver to consider self-beliefs, personal narratives, and is an invitation to look at these themes with fresh eyes.

This is part 2 of a 4-part series that will include projects from Susan Barrett Merrill’s The Art of Weaving a Life. Bradie is a Weaving a Life leader having studied with Susan back in 2017.

Weaving the Receiving Bowl is a meaningful way to usher in spring, a time of new life, new ideas, and fresh energy to nurture ourselves with love and compassion.

Part 3 will be offered in later spring, and part 4 over the summer. They do not all need to be taken to enjoy their benefits.

No weaving experience necessary to enjoy this class.

Included

People have been spinning yarn on spinning wheels since the 11th century. It continues to be a wonderful way to dive into or more fully participate in the world of fiber art and craft.

In this workshop, students will learn how to prepare and handle fibers for spinning. Different fibers, like wool, alpaca and mohair will be available to spin. Controlling twist, plying, and other details of making yarn will be covered, especially the mechanics of a spinning wheel and how to keep it in perfect running order.

This class can be taken repeatedly, to practice and hone spinning skills.

Materials fee: $10 included in cost of class. Students are welcome to bring their own wheels and the school will have wheels available for use.

In this 4 week introductory class we will create a chair pad or pillow using the Oxford Punch Needle and colorful yarn! No experience is necessary! You can choose to create your own pillow or follow a pattern from an Oxford Punch Needle kit. In class we will explore various punch needle techniques along with options for finishing your piece.

Pictured: personal design example

The materials fee will include yarn and monks cloth. Tools, such as Oxford punch Needles and Frame are provided to use during the sessions with an option to buy at the end of class.

In this 4 week introductory class we will create a chair pad or pillow using the Oxford Punch Needle and colorful yarn! No experience is necessary! You can choose to create your own pillow or follow a pattern from an Oxford Punch Needle kit. In class we will explore various punch needle techniques along with options for finishing your piece.

Pictured: personal design example

The materials fee will include yarn and monks cloth. Tools, such as Oxford punch Needles and Frame are provided to use during the sessions with an option to buy at the end of class.

Once a weaver has learned the basics in tapestry weaving, it’s a natural next step to learn how to apply them to designs. Project planning, yarn choice, technique application… all of this and more will be covered in this class.

Each week a different weaving topic will be covered, and each student will have the opportunity to explore their weaving plans with the instructor and their group. In addition, small projects will be suggested for students to practice techniques that will take their weaving to a new level.

This is a class that can be taken as many times as one wants, as new issues and questions arise with any tapestry project a weaver takes on. There is also great camaraderie that forms amongst weavers as we expand into this art form.

Pre-requisite: Introductory to Tapestry Weaving or commensurate experience.

Materials needed for this class:

Tapestry loomPreferred warp yarnPreferred weft yarnWeaving tools

If you are building your supplies stash and would like some suggestions on what to purchase, please reach out to fiber@shelburnecraftschool.org

Borrowing from the studio is also an option depending on availability.

NOTE: no class May 25