As we prepare for the upcoming season of classes, we are enjoying the beauty of the quiet season that surrounds us. An all-day gentle snowfall makes for a perfect opportunity for a drive around Washington Island where you can basically stop the car in the road and walk here and there to take photos. Winter scenes also make for great views from our desks in the Sievers office (even if they’re not quite like these). Starting February 1st, it will begin to feel like spring, summer and fall combined and we will be warmed by hearing from you via our website and telephone! As Walter Schutz wrote in the very first Sievers School brochure, “You will create new friendships here […]
Downy flake
…The only other sound’s the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. Robert Frost Thank you for your friendship and for being part of the Sievers story! Our best to you from all of us at Sievers, Ann, Butch, Cindra, Carolyn, Barb, Kathleen, Patricia and Kirsten.
Washington Island fiber happenings
These snowy, windy and cold days make for some of the best times to gather and knit, quilt or sew. We know of many people who are tucked into their own Washington Island homes, weaving, spinning or stitching, too. Mondays and Tuesdays find several Island residents meeting at Trinity Lutheran Church, sharing their gift of handwork with others, like a warm shawl or a quilt to comfort those who are experiencing a loss or illness. Handmade hats, mittens and scarves might be draped on December’s “Giving Tree”, where items are collected and sent to youth in need. The Trinity quilters, besides making comfort and charity quilts distributed both on the Island and globally, create and present a quilt to each […]
It’s December
December certainly made itself known, including here on Washington Island, with at least 10″ of snow, strong winds, power outages and disrupted ferry trips. Sunday may have been the day to stay indoors, but Monday morning offered the opportunity to capture some pristine woodland scenes and evidence of continued high water levels. December finds us in the office, putting together all the details for the 2020 Schedule of Classes since in less than two months, it’s registration time!
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 […]
March Ramblings
March is proving to be contradictory, as usual. There have been snowstorms, windstorms and thunderstorms along with sunshine and alternating warm or cold temperatures. We have yet to see a herald of spring but know we’ll be hearing new birds and seeing some green in the next couple of weeks. The water and ice around the Island remind us to be patient. We are in the midst of ordering yarns, books, patterns, fabrics and more for the upcoming season, including some new yarn additions from West Yorkshire Spinners, Baa Ram Ewe and Rowan. Today we counted 277 registrations. It will be so good to see each of you and “catch up” since your last visit! The last few days of March and first few days of April have been set aside for this year’s Quilts of Valor event, coordinated by Ellen […]
Island Winter
As the thermometer is reading 42° at this afternoon and the bright sun is creating a cascade from the eaves, it seemed time to send along a few winter photos of the Island, before much of the snow is gone (temporarily, we’re sure). From the east side of Washington Island to the west side and from the harbors to the ferry passage through “the Door”, the ice will last longer than the snow but it may shift depending on wind direction. It’s not all barren landscape! Shore birds and ducks find resting places and fisherman create their own village out on Detroit Harbor. From the cold light of a February moon to the promise of warm sun for a good maple sap run, we embrace each season!
From our nest to yours
Our warmest greetings go out to you over the holidays and as winter begins. Whether you are like the winter birds, staying home and finding ways to keep warm or if you have left your nest for a southerly location, we look ahead to the day your wings bring you back to our neck of the woods. Ode to Winter …While a world drifts to sleep Leaves curl and flowers bow Birds take flight to a further place A touch of frost creeps in Stealing the landscape of its colour Soon all shall be held motionless In the still of a winters season Now in all its changing The beauty and perfection of life Is left open to be […]
