As we prepare for the upcoming season of classes, we are enjoying the beauty of the quiet season that surrounds us. An all-day gentle snowfall makes for a perfect opportunity for a drive around Washington Island where you can basically stop the car in the road and walk here and there to take photos. Winter scenes also make for great views from our desks in the Sievers office (even if they’re not quite like these). Starting February 1st, it will begin to feel like spring, summer and fall combined and we will be warmed by hearing from you via our website and telephone! As Walter Schutz wrote in the very first Sievers School brochure, “You will create new friendships here […]
2020 Sievers Preview
February 1st is approaching quickly! That day, all of our 2020 classes will be open for registration. Descriptions along with complete information will be available on our website, https://sieversschool.com. The site will be in “maintenance mode” soon, but available again for registration on February 1st. Note: The tabs and links you see now on this site are from last season. Featured on the cover of this year’s brochure are handwovens by Nancy Adams which were on display during her “Four Shafts or Less” weaving class in 2019. It has been many years since weaving was featured on the Sievers brochure cover. Thank you, Nancy! Many of the same instructors from 2019 will be returning to teach in 2020 and we welcome […]
Downy flake
…The only other sound’s the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. Robert Frost Thank you for your friendship and for being part of the Sievers story! Our best to you from all of us at Sievers, Ann, Butch, Cindra, Carolyn, Barb, Kathleen, Patricia and Kirsten.
Washington Island fiber happenings
These snowy, windy and cold days make for some of the best times to gather and knit, quilt or sew. We know of many people who are tucked into their own Washington Island homes, weaving, spinning or stitching, too. Mondays and Tuesdays find several Island residents meeting at Trinity Lutheran Church, sharing their gift of handwork with others, like a warm shawl or a quilt to comfort those who are experiencing a loss or illness. Handmade hats, mittens and scarves might be draped on December’s “Giving Tree”, where items are collected and sent to youth in need. The Trinity quilters, besides making comfort and charity quilts distributed both on the Island and globally, create and present a quilt to each […]
It’s December
December certainly made itself known, including here on Washington Island, with at least 10″ of snow, strong winds, power outages and disrupted ferry trips. Sunday may have been the day to stay indoors, but Monday morning offered the opportunity to capture some pristine woodland scenes and evidence of continued high water levels. December finds us in the office, putting together all the details for the 2020 Schedule of Classes since in less than two months, it’s registration time!
Sievers stories
We have included a number of Sievers stories here during this past year. Thank you to everyone who shared their story with us as part of our 40th anniversary season! As part of the early Sievers School story, we found this in a 1981 flyer written by Walter Schutz. He begins, “Be the one…in your group of friends who can show off exquisite, one-of-a-kind hand woven jackets, scarfs, table linens, rugs, wall hangings. Be the one who is admired and perhaps envied for the skill of her hands. Be the one who has found contentment and happiness by doing something just for yourself for once. Be the one who has taken advantage of the joys and fulfillment that has come […]
Forty and forty-one
These were two of our favorite numbers this year! Forty for Sievers School’s 40th anniversary year and forty-one for our 41st season of teaching classes. With the origin of Sievers based on weaving, it was very appropriate that our last two classes were #40, Beginning Weaving with Nancy Adams and assistant, Susan Johnson and #41, Magic Carpet Ride:Rag Rug Weaving with Deb Sharpee. It was the perfect way to finish our 2019 season and mark those two milestones. From a variety of samples, perfect for beginning weavers, students learned the basics of weaving on a floor loom and were able to finish their first project and then go on to dress the loom and weave a second piece. Most of […]
Sunrise to sunset
Daryl Lancaster’s class, “Garment Construction Intensive” allows students to transform their hand-dyed, handwoven or other special fabrics into outstanding wearables. In order, it was Garment/s (yes!), Construction (yes!) and Intensive (yes!), with the students taking all three words to heart, working day and night. Each time we visited the studio it seemed as if everyone was either cutting, pinning, sewing, pressing or modeling. And why not, when the results are worth every minute! It starts with planning where the pattern pieces should be placed on the fabric, especially if you want to capture certain features of special yardage. All the fabrics and new skills learned come together through the week, resulting in creative, custom results. Besides spending time sewing, one […]
