A class specifically to study the wool of different sheep breeds and their characteristics as they apply to spinning (and more) made for a wonderful woolly week. As always, instructor Deb Jones brought a wide variety of wools and other fibers for use in class. Some of the spikiest of tools are used for carding, combing and blending the softest of wools. Putting the fibers to work, the spinners had their wheels in motion, interspersed occasionally with faraway looks, contemplating which blends to combine next. Swooning over all the wools and yarns from class! Cindy R. shared her “Sievers Story” with us: “What a wonderful experience. The bunk house was fun and the class was out of this world. Deb […]
Taking the plunge
It is an Island tradition for some to run down the rocks from the top of Schoolhouse Beach and dive into the clear, cold water. You can imagine how invigorating and refreshing that would be. This year, Sievers “took the plunge” on a new class, Rigid Heddle Weaving. We wonder now why we waited so long. When Deb Jones offered this class for our 2019 season, we knew immediately that it was the right time with the right instructor. Like Schoolhouse Beach, this new class was invigorating and refreshing! Everyone started with a simple scarf. Learning to warp the loom and seeing their scarves take shape on the loom happened in only a couple of hours. The scarves on the […]
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”. […]
