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, […]
Blessings
Once each week for the past several months, we’ve been sharing Sievers history, in words and photos on our Facebook page. We will continue these posts in 2018, but on a more intermittent basis. As we come to the end of the year, this blessing of Jackson Studio and Tomson Hall given in 1981 soon after Tomson Hall (the barn) was completed, seemed appropriate. Within the walls of Jackson Studio and Tomson Hall one feels a center of breathless activities and hears a restful breathing Surrounded by hours of moving one finds a moment of quiet stillness In the heart of much involvement one feels the words of withdrawal In the midst of the action of the day there is contemplation And […]
Sixty days and counting?
The first of the month and a new, fresh page on the calendar makes us realize that time will go by quickly as we approach February 1, 2018 and registration week at Sievers. Our schedule of classes is not set yet, but it will be soon. Many of the instructors that have been teaching at Sievers will be returning. Some have decided to be on sabbatical in 2018 and return in a future year. They are: Judy Hasheider, Ruth Manning and Karen Tembreull. Retiring from teaching (but not from taking classes or making baskets) are Beginning Basket Weaving teachers Kay Normann and Drew Tibbetts. Returning to Sievers in 2018 are: Betty Glynn Carlson (Navajo Weaving) Chad Alice Hagen (Sketchbooks and Miniature Book Necklaces), Mary Hettmansperger (Expressions in Jewelry) […]
Between seasons
After holding on for so long, the last of the fall leaves are on the ground and signs of the transition into winter are beginning to appear. We now see a few snow flurries in the air and ice forming on the ponds and shoreline. There’s not much color in the landscape, but it is November, a month when you have to appreciate the subtleties of nature. Island life becomes quieter now. A few more of the seasonal businesses are closing their doors for the winter and will take some time to enjoy hearth and home. Sievers is quiet and busy at the same time as we’re preparing for our 2018 season. Between this season and then, we wish you some quiet time with all […]
