It’s time to catch up on the two classes that took place before the Gathering, Beyond Beginning Weaving with Nancy Adams and Garment Construction Intensive with Daryl Lancaster. The beautiful handwovens as well as the exceptional garments created went well beyond anything either class description could convey. Nancy guided her students through weave structures such as shadow weave, overshot and log cabin for shawls and elegant home handwovens. This class was woven together in other ways, with friendships formed at Sievers. One of the students celebrated her 80th birthday during the week. What an inspiration! Daryl brings so much to her class…her treasure trove of garments, skills and positive energy. New students work on the tailored “Daryl Jacket” and returning […]
In contrast
There’s been a definite contrast this past week between Kay Rashka’s Metalwork Jewelry Boot Camp with students using hammers, drills, motorized hand tools, torches and all sorts of shiny and possibly even sharp-edged components for fabricating jewelry and Betty Glynn Carlson’s Navajo Rug Weaving class where students quietly and reflectively place each strand of authentic wool yarn within the warp. Come along for a tour! With Kay Rashka’s instruction, each student leaves with a collection of interesting, personalized and textured art jewelry. Navajo Weaving in itself is a journey, using unbroken warp threads and meaningful designs woven out of (often) specific naturally dyed wool. To finish one piece in this 5-day class is a real accomplishment. Some of the students had started a rug in a prior year […]
Be All You Can Be
Attention!! The recruits in Deb Jones’ Spinner’s Boot Camp grant permission for you to inspect their field of operations (aka the Walter Studio). Deb brings so much for the students to experiment with, from wheels to blending and carding tools to an amazing array of fleece. It certainly allowed them to be all they can be! In this class, the boot camp atmosphere began with each student receiving a fatigue hat to form a spinning squad. Daily training in techniques and challenges were part of the week’s wooly “obstacle course”. To become a more intentional spinner along with instilling more skills and confidence were the goals of these training exercises. At the end of the first day, the comments were, “I’ve learned so much already”. […]
Summertime
For us, Batik with Mary Jo Scandin and Thom Scott together with their students means summertime! Like all of our classes, it’s one we look forward to long in advance and then while here, the time goes by too fast. So much is accomplished in those five or seven days. In some cases, clothing is brought to class, ready to wax and dye. Other projects are created from start to finish in the studio. A design challenge is part of the week, too, as is the delicious smell of beeswax and freshly ground gourmet coffee! A puzzle, perhaps, to read this in reverse, but the message is worth the effort. I think it’s fair to say the subject was found this week in the Batik studio. A mix of […]
Three classes and one message
We’ve had the joy of seeing all the students and their wonderful work in Marbling on Paper and Fabric with Nancy Akerly, Beginning Weaving with Nancy Adams and Susan Johnson and Independent Study: Splint-Woven Basketry with Jeanette Biederman all within this past week! Looking back, it was 1999 when we last held a class in marbling. After 19 years, new were so many detailed designs. The options of printing on paper (from plain to pages from books, sheet music, maps and more) or fabric gave great options for students. This was the first time marbling has been held in the Walter Studio as 19 years ago, it was about a month away from being finished. As you can imagine, we could share dozens of photos from each […]
First and new
The first class, many first-time weavers, a new instructor and for the first time, using the 8-shaft Baby Wolf Schacht looms in a Beginning Weaving class at Sievers were a lot of “first’s and new’s” to start our season. Besides the first project of a scarf or table runner, students finished a three-piece color gamp. Quite a lot of weaving these happy students were able to go home with! Susan Frame, the instructor, is familiar with using the 8-harness looms for beginners when teaching at The Fiber Garden so we followed suit and, as we anticipated, it all worked beautifully. One of the students attending the class had bought a Sievers loom in 1981 from Walter Schutz (we still have a record of […]
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, […]
