Two classes bridged the gap from summer to fall last week. To begin with, what a pleasure it was to watch new weavers create a finished piece, placing thread by thread through the loom. In our last Beginning Weaving on a Floor Loom class of 2023, taught by Nancy Adams and her assistant, Susan Johnson, some students went beyond the expected by weaving as many as three projects, including table runners and scarves. So many lovely choices, suitable for beginners, were on display for students to choose from. The looms were in motion from the very start. And so were the instructors! There’s an extra level of patience and helpfulness in all of our beginning weaving teachers. Nancy and Susan […]
A trio of classes
A trio of classes certainly set a lively tempo in the first two weeks of September! Kay Rashka’s Metalwork Jewelry Boot Camp, Susan Frame’s Portable Weaving: Inkle/Kumihimo and Splint-Woven Basketry with Jeanette Biederman comprised quite a medley of materials, equipment and techniques. One word comes to mind for each piece of finished work done by the students… brava! The “brass section” of this trio was definitely the Metalwork Jewelry class. By applying patterns freehand or by etching them using textured mats on various metals (copper, silver, nickel and brass), imaginative, meaningful and playful designs emerge. Then the pieces are fabricated by cutting, sawing, filing, piercing, soldering and more, to create one-of-a-kind art jewelry. Representing the “strings” was the Portable Weaving […]
Sharing Sievers and Washington Island
Sievers and Washington Island have recently been mentioned in several media formats, starting with this book, Small-Town Wisconsin. The book covers towns and villiages with populations of under 5,000 and twenty of the fifty places featured have a population of under 1,000. In the introduction, the author writes, “This book features fifty examples of destinations with something significant in their character that defines and enriches their location.” We were pleasantly surprised to see Sievers as the featured story for the piece about Washington Island. The 195-page book has lots of interesting stories and many color photos. We have this book for sale in our shop at $27.95. If you would like a copy, please use our Contact Us page to […]
Spinning and weaving rainbows
We set aside this photo of a rainbow taken in early summer just to mark the occasion of two of our most recent classes, Beginning Spinning and Rainbow Dyeing with Deb Jones and Weaving the Rainbow with Judith Yamamoto. A real rainbow is always a treat and so were the rainbow of colors in the studios, as was the work students did in class. It’s been a few years since we’ve had a Beginning Spinning and Rainbow Dyeing class in session, making it especially exciting to see new and beyond beginning students learn the art of spinning and hear the the soft click of the wheels at the start of the day! Spinning, dyeing, carding, blending and plying were all […]
Ways of weaving
There are many ways of weaving and many types of looms. Last week in one class, upright frame looms were used to teach the ways of Navajo weaving, and in another class, students learned the basics of weaving on a table loom. Although geared for beginners, each class could be used as a refresher, too. In the Navajo Weaving Techniques class taught by Betty Glynn Carlson, the looms are warped with one continuous warp and authentic Navajo wool yarns are used to create the designs. There are no mechanical parts involved in Navajo weaving, it’s just the wool placed in the warp and tamped down with a comb-type beater in the hands of the weaver. Betty has offered Navajo weaving […]
Come…enjoy, share, & learn
“Come…enjoy, share & learn” were words used many times over in past Sievers School brochures. Since then, we’ve incorporated the statement, “An experience awaits you…”. Both of these sayings could apply to any Sievers class, but none more so than two recent ones, Rigid Heddle Weaving with Deb Jones and our second Open Quilt Studio of the season. Deb Jones of The Fiber Garden, makes every class she teaches an experience. From the outstanding instruction, to the personal attention given to each student, to the full array of equipment and tools she brings (which she magically packs into her “Mary Poppins” van), to joining students together for dinners out and about on the Island, she brings all of it together […]
Evolutions
When Sievers first offered fiber arts courses in the summer of1979, fifteen classes were scheduled. There were seven weaving, six spinning, one stitchery and one textile printing class listed in the brochure. The following year, quilting, basketry and dyeing were added. Fast forward 45 years and you’ll find those subjects (and many more) included in the 2023 list of classes. The three most recent classes show an evolution in the subjects of stitchery, basketry and weaving as compared to those very early classes at Sievers. Japanese Temari, taught by Kathy Broer and Judith Yamamoto, is an example of a stitchery class that’s evolved beyond “the basic embroidery stitches applied to a pillow or tote bag, trapunto wall hanging or stuffed, […]
A great start
The first three of our 2023 classes, Open Quilt Studio, Shibori & Indigo Dyeing with Anne Landre and Weaving: Four Shafts or Less with Nancy Adams were a great start to the season! To begin the Sievers year, 14 quilters, some in each studio, spent five days pressing, piecing and ultimately producing a number of beautiful quilt tops and works of art in fabric. After several months of unoccupied studio space, what a treat to have it filled again with the creativity and talent of our Sievers friends! The Shibori and Indigo Dyeing class could be considered epic in the amount of techniques the students experiemented with as well as the resulting fabrics and garments each took home. It was […]
