A common thread from the Open Quilt Studio week through the Japanese Temari class was…thread! As usual, quite a few quilt projects were started, finished or continued and ideas shared in the studio time. Whether it was finishing an eight-year project or experimenting with a new technique, it’s always inspiring to see the one, two (or more) pieces being worked on by each person during the week. A magazine photo was the inspiration for the start of this Landscape ‘Painting’ using fabric. The fabric artist and maker, Susan Hoffmann, will be teaching this technique in a class at Sievers in July featuring a scene with birch trees and golden leaves. Quilts blocks and tops, bright and beautiful! Some of the fabrics used in the piece on the left are from Sievers […]
First and new
The first class, many first-time weavers, a new instructor and for the first time, using the 8-shaft Baby Wolf Schacht looms in a Beginning Weaving class at Sievers were a lot of “first’s and new’s” to start our season. Besides the first project of a scarf or table runner, students finished a three-piece color gamp. Quite a lot of weaving these happy students were able to go home with! Susan Frame, the instructor, is familiar with using the 8-harness looms for beginners when teaching at The Fiber Garden so we followed suit and, as we anticipated, it all worked beautifully. One of the students attending the class had bought a Sievers loom in 1981 from Walter Schutz (we still have a record of […]
Before we begin
Before we begin our season of classes on Saturday, May 26 and welcome the first of our students and instructor Susan Frame to teach Beginning Weaving, it seemed like time to share more photos of spring on Washington Island. With the Beginning Weaving class and all the others that will follow this year, we’ll have many photos to share telling the Sievers story. Today, it’s a story in photos of our home and the simple, quiet beauty that can be found on Washington Island. Looking back to the opening sentences from the first year Sievers brochure (1979) we read, “For those of you who have visited Door County in Wisconsin we need not tell you about the exhilarating beauty of the area. Washington Island, we think, is the best…it […]
If Once You Have Slept on an Island
“If once you have slept on an island, you’ll never be quite the same;…you’ll see blue water and wheeling gulls wherever your feet may go.” “Oh! you won’t know why and you can’t say how Such a change upon you came, But once you have slept on an island, You’ll never be quite the same.” Rachel Field We can attest to that!
Local Yarn Store Day
Although Sievers will have to formally celebrate the first Local Yarn Store Day a month later on May 21st when we open our doors daily, we did want to share photos of our yarns as we are beginning to arrange everything that has come in, including the lovely work sent by many Sievers students and teachers. We hope you will be inspired this year, not only by yarn and knitting, but with any fiber art you love best. “Stairway to (Blue Sky) Heaven” “Norwegian Wood” (I mean Wool) “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” “Send in the (Knit Circus) Clowns” “Kashmir” Merino Silk DK Rowan Felted “Tweed-le Dee” “Mad (Tosh) World” “Sock It To Me Baby” Brown […]
Sievers Gathering Workshops
We are looking forward to the Sievers Gathering, Thursday, September 27 – Saturday, September 29 and are excited to share information on our two workshops! #1 Bead Embroidery Basics with a Side of Weaving – Francie Broadie, Instructor Learn the basics of bead embroidery! If you can thread a needle and sew a straight-ish line, you have what you need to succeed. Students will make a small bead embroidered pendant, then learn kumihimo, a Japanese braiding technique, to create a unique cord to display your pendant. This will be a fun class with room for personalization of the project. For all levels. Workshop Fee $200 1 1/2-Day Class September 27 – 28 (2pm Thursday – 4pm Friday) Workshop fee […]
Island Spring
How do we know it’s springtime? First, the calendar tells us it started a week ago. Second, ice is starting to break up along the shoreline. Third, even though the feet of the willow trees are still in snow and ice, their buds open in the bright blue sky. Fourth, it’s Quilts of Valor time! 2018 marks the sixth consecutive year a Washington Island Quilts of Valor event has been held in the Sophie Studio. Co-ordinated by Ellen Graf, this year six teams of two worked in the studio, along those who came for a day to make the presentation cases for the finished quilts. In addition, several individuals sewed at home and one team worked long distance from Arizona. The teams were formed using the “Under […]
March Update
Spring was showing itself (a little bit) with sightings of Sandhill Cranes and Red-Winged Blackbirds, bare patches in yards and mostly clear roads, until yesterday when we had a quick reminder of winter. We don’t mind though, as it is beautiful and the sunshine nowadays assures us it’s only temporary. From our post on March 7, 2017, “Today we counted 277 registrations.” Here we are one year later to the day and our count is…278! The last days of March have been set aside again for this year’s Quilts of Valor event, coordinated by Ellen Graf. There will be both on-site teams in the Sophie Studio and a number of off-site teams creating these special quilts. As a reminder, the application date for Sievers Scholarships is April 1. Scholarships are available for Sievers alumni or for new […]
