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 […]
Winter time lapse
Winter on Washington Island has meant gentle snowfalls, zero and below temperatures, ice formations and a lake effect snow total that topped 16″ within 24 hours. Some melting happened now and then, but the ground has stayed white and the ice in the harbors thick enough for shanty fishing for some time now. From December through today, our winter time lapse looks like this… One of our favorite parts of winter is hearing from all of you on and after February 1st. As of today, we have 228 registrations. Wow, and thank you! What a wonderful response to mark our 40th season! Soon, the whites, greys and blues of winter will give way to the greens of spring and […]
Sievers Sneak Preview
The days are quickly approaching the February 1st opening of Registration Week. It is such a treat for us to hear from you in the middle of winter, anticipating the time we’ll share when you’re here for class (or for an Island visit). We will be welcoming one new teacher in 2018, Susan Frame. She will open our 40th season teaching Class 1 – Beginning Weaving on a 4-Harness Floor Loom. Susan took her first weaving class in 1982 and has continued learning since, including three classes at Sievers ( in 1988, 1989 and 2012). Since 1989, Susan has had the pleasure of teaching weaving techniques at The Fiber Garden in Black River Falls, WI. She and her husband live in Osseo, WI. Welcome, […]
