Sunsets may signify the end of a day, but at the same time hold promise for the next, new day. Monday’s sunset made us think of the new days to come as we start our season of classes and re-open the Sievers Shop. Also, this is generally the time of year when we focus on what’s new on the Island. Business that have been closed for the winter are now re-opening. That includes the Red Cup Coffee House, Island Time Essentials, Jackson Harbor Soup, Nelsen’s Hall and Bitters Pub, Fragrant Isle, Hotel Washington and Studio, The Weathered Fern and many others which will be opening later in May. At the same time, we love those who have been open year-round […]
New season news
A new season is quickly approaching with classes starting on May 28 and today was the official opening day for the Sievers Shop. This week, the Washington Island Art Association’s Spring Workshop is underway in the Walter Studio. It feels so good to be surrounded by creativity and creative people! As a little preview to summer, it’s time to share Sievers and other news. First, we’d like to introduce you to a new member of the Sievers Crew, Kerstin Ellefson. We’ve known Kerstin for a long time! She took Sievers classes in quilting with Jill Jorgenson and later Ellen Graf, and then weaving with Judith Yamamoto, starting the winter of 1996 when classes were still held where the shop is now. After […]
Spring: Inside and out
Like these smiling faces, we’re happy to see some of the changes that come with spring! Whether it’s the delightful, beautiful, elegant, unique and made-with-love handmade items arriving for the Sievers Shop, or nature adding a bit more color to the Island, it’s a refreshing change. New to the Sievers Shop this year is jewelry designed and crafted by Laura Findlay Hagen of Washington Island including these pendants of Kingman Mine Turquoise and sterling, and Labradorite with handwoven copper wire. We’ve also added a selection of hand-dyed yarn from Wisconsin-based Evergreen Fiber Works. As always, the creativity and work of over 60 other Sievers student- and teacher-artists will be featured in the shop, much being perennial favorites, popular in any […]
Last of season pop-up shop
With our regular, daily hours coming to a close in the next couple of days, we wanted to offer a last of season pop-up shop. It has been a great year and many thanks go out to the 60+ artists, students and teachers who have sent us their work. We receive so many nice comments about the quality of the items and the uniqueness of the shop, all of which we attribute to our fiber artist partners. From jewelry and wearables, to home goods and decor, to holiday ornaments and gifts, to kits for makers, we’re offering this sampling from the shop. We have several options of additional styles and colors for most of the items shown, so if you’re […]
May on the Island
On a shelf at home, we re-discovered the book, “Mama Crosses the Door” by L.A. Davison. Mr. Davison lived across the road from Sievers (in the house with the windmill) and served as both the Washington Island School principal and a high school teacher for more than 20 years, covering the time when Butch, Ann, Cindra and later, Carolyn and Barb were in school. His book of poetry and Washington Island advertisements was published in 1956 by the local Lions Club. With the delicate flowers of May blooming now, it’s the perfect time to share his poem, “May on the Island”. The month of May has been away, but now that it’s returned it has brought back to Islanders the […]
Local Yarn Store Day is everyday at Sievers!
Today is officially Local Yarn Store Day 2023. Generally held at the end of April, LYS Day is a reminder of the importance of small businesses and a celebration of brick and mortar yarn shops. It serves as a spotlight on creating an enviornment of knitting and fiber art inspiration, something we’ve enjoyed doing for 44 years. Coincidentally and with perfect timing, the Shetland Wool Week annual hat pattern was released late yesterday. The Shetland Wool Week patron for 2023 is Alison Rendall, a talented and prolific Fair Isle knitter. Alison’s hat is a distinctive design that incorporates traditional elements together with a flower motif. Two of the versions use just two colours – a design led decision by Alison, […]
The Sievers Shop
Last time we mentioned that the Sievers Shop at one point was the Jackson Harbor Store, selling groceries among other items. Since 1979, when Walter Schutz established Sievers School of Fiber Arts, the only groceries we’ve “sold” were a jar of peanut butter, a package of tuna fish and some crackers out of our staff lunch cupboard to a hiker who was on his way to Rock Island several years ago, late on a Sunday afternoon when Mann’s Store was closed. In those first years, the former coat room in the old schoolhouse was used to display Sievers Looms along with a very limited number of yarns for weaving. Visitors were greeted within the entry area (marked by the wooden […]
