It’s time for another pop-up shop! Featuring a selection of items, we enjoy sharing the variety of fiber art and fine crafts handmade by our students and teachers with you including jewelry, handwovens, wearables, gifts, baskets and more. Earrings made with a variety of materials, etched copper, birch bark, jasper, wood with pyrography, leather and glass. We hope you’ve had a chance to visit in person, but if not, we’re happy to be able to share a little of the Sievers shopping experience with you in this way. The 2022 Shetland Wool Week free hat pattern was released early this summer and this year’s design is titled “Bonnie Isle Hat”. The waves and swimming fish sure made us think of […]
Natural baskets and possibilities
“Open your eyes to the possibilities around you!” Students in Jo Campbell-Amsler’s Natural Baskets: Grow & Weave class last week did just that by starting from the ground up, exploring a variety of natural materials that could be used for basketmaking. Using willow, bark, iris and daylily leaves, roots, vines, sticks and branches, several rib-style baskets took shape in students’ hands during this four-day class. Creating a basket from gathered materials embodies mindfulness. From the harvesting to the weaving to the enjoyment of using, these baskets continue to give back to the maker. Retaining their natural colors and sweet, grown-in-the-sun scent, they hold well-cultivated memories. Taking note of what’s around you and how you can incorporate it into your art, […]
Postcards from the island
It’s time for a few postcards from the island while the summer is fully upon us! They all would read, “Having a great time…wish you were here”!
In season
Appearing in the woodlands, along the shore and even the roadsides are the lovely, delicate flowers of late spring on Washington Island. From all corners of Washington Island and within, there’s always something in season to explore!
What’s new and what’s not
The first touches of spring have arrived. Not only do the flower petals begin to open, but Washington Island begins to re-open with the change of season. Each year at this time, we like to share information about new businesses and events or changes to existing ones. Starting with what’s new, there are new owners at Deer Run Golf Resort. Their plans are to open the Washington Island Biergarten, continue operating the golf course and lodging and make improvements on the property over time. Next to the Albatross Drive-In, in a bright red building, the Island Popcorn Barn will feature gourmet popcorn this summer. At the Death’s Door Fuel gas station on the road leading to and from the ferry […]
It is April, isn’t it?
We’re only five weeks away from the start of our 2022 season, beginning with Open Quilt Studio. This spring, it can seem like it’s only been five weeks since classes ended, as we still have days that remind us more of late-November than late-April, including today. On a rare occasion, we captured some blue sky and water and know it’s still there, waiting to peek out again. We’ll be ready! In the midst of our all-day snowfall, a combination air conditioning/heating unit was installed in the Sievers Shop. April or November, it’s all the same to us!
“Our” Grocery Store
Last year we visited Walter Schutz’s Milwaukee neighborhood of the early 1900’s with descriptions from his book It Was Fun Being Young, focusing on his memories of holidays and school days. Once again, we’ll follow Walter as a young boy, this time to the grocery store. He writes, “Our grocery store, Ellenbecker’s, was the largest place of business at the corner of Holton and North. It sold only groceries. You could not buy meat or shoestrings or toothpaste or any articles of this kind – it was groceries only. Back then, there were any number of small shops and stores that served neighborhoods. At Ellenbecker’s, a long, hardwood counter extended down the left hand side of the store. In front […]
Our winter warm-up
Winter has no hold on us once February 1st arrives and we begin to hear from our many friends who have registered for a Sievers class. Thank you! Hearing from you warms our winter and we anticipate the spring, summer and fall days when classes are in session and we’re together. As enrollment continues and before our 2022 season begins, we enjoy the landscapes of a Washington Island winter.
