February 1st will be here soon! That day, all of our 2025 classes will be open for registration and the class descriptions, along with complete information, will be available on our website. Featured on the cover of the 2025 brochure are willow baskets made by Jo Campbell-Amsler. Jo first came to Sievers as a student in Char TerBeest-Kudla’s 1981 Willow Basketry class and began offering rib-style willow classes in 1991. This year will mark the 58th class she has offered at Sievers. Jo has also been a student here several times, coordinates the annual Willow Gathering at Sievers with Lee Zieke Lee and organizes and hosts international basketry tours. Thank you, Jo, for all you share with your students, with […]
The finishing touches
It came before we knew it…the last class of 2024, Boundweave Rugs with Lynn Stracka Schuster. What a wonderful way to put the finishing touches on this season. The week was a combination of beautifully woven rugs, meeting new-to-Sievers students, welcoming back those returning for another class, outstanding instruction and continued gorgeous fall weather. Lynn brings many of her own rugs as inspiration and displays them in the studio as students arrive. Using that inspiration, students design their own rugs, choosing from a colorful array of rug wool and a range of motifs. So many possibilities! You might think the thickness of the wool makes the shuttles fly fast, but the thoughtful color changes create a different pace of weaving, […]
September days are here
From a poem recited by our teacher in grade school days, we hold in our memories the words, “…September days are here, with summer’s best of weather and autumn’s best of cheer.” So far, this September has been exactly that. With one class in session each week this month, we’ll be sharing September studio and island views in two blogs. We begin by featuring the classes Metalwork Jewelry Boot Camp with Kay Rashka and Double Weave with Judith Yamamoto, assisted by Lynn Novotnak. From creating etched designs on metal with stamps or by hand, to cutting, forming, piercing and more, students in the Metalwork Jewelry Boot Camp made personalized textured art jewelry in this busy four-day class. Kay brings a […]
Beginning, beyond and boxes
Classes in Beginning Weaving on a Table Loom, Beyond Beginning: Weaving, and Cartonnage: Four-Drawer Tower Box have made their mark these past few weeks of August and we expect those students went home with “happiness in their hands”, as has been done many times before. Starting at the beginning, Nancy Frantz gave students the opportunity to try weaving while learning the basics of preparing a warp and dressing the loom. Students then went on to weave a sampler or a set of mug rugs, all in a matter of three days. Beyond beginning projects appropriate for those with some weaving experience was the focus of Susan Frame’s class. From scarves to rep weave to double weave wool blankets, the class […]
Making the most of June-Part 2
Continuing on with our June classes, we’ll see more from Ellen Graf’s “Your Latest, Greatest Quilt” class and the Batik Alumni Studio with Mary Jo Scandin, along with some terrific weaving done in the “Introduction to Overshot” class with Nancy Adams. Here’s where we left off, starting with the busy hum of sewing machines, creating big, beautiful designs from small pieces. Like most quilters, these ladies were an organized group! Stacks of pre-cut pieces or pre-made blocks from home were labeled carefully and kept in order, ready for precise placement. Ellen helps each student bring their ideas and vision together, making their “latest, greatest quilt” extra special. Batik alumni gather with Mary Jo (who is ever-creative and always evolving), to […]
Something old, new, borrowed and blue
This age-old proverb usually isn’t associated with classes at Sievers, but it seemed fitting for the pair of classes held last week, Beginning Weaving on a Floor Loom with Susan Frame and Shibori and Indigo Dyeing with Anne Landre. Learning to weave on a floor loom certainly represents something old, or in more meaningful words, a continuity from the past. As you probably know, Sievers all started with looms and weaving. At the start of Susan’s class, Ann shared one of the first ads for Walter Schutz’s plan sheets for a table-sized Sievers Loom from the Fall/Winter 1974-75 McCall’s Needlework & Crafts magazine. Some of the many addresses Walter used for McCall’s ads were: Box 5M, Fifth Avenue, North Bay, […]
2024 Sievers Preview
February 1st will be here in only three weeks! That day, all of our 2024 classes will be open for registration and the class descriptions, along with complete information, will be available on our website. The site will be in “maintenance mode” soon, but available again for registration on February 1. Featured on the cover of the 2024 brochure is the handweaving of Judith Yamamoto. Judie first came to Sievers as a student in Mary Sue Fenner’s 1981 Basic Weaving class and the following year, she offered a class in knitting. Since then, she’s gone on to offer another 100 classes at Sievers and has been a student here 35 times. Thank you, Judie, for being part of Sievers for […]
Weaving – Scandinavian style
Classic (and classy), with clean lines and simple designs that are visually pleasing, is what comes to mind when describing the handwovens in Connie Westbrook’s Simply Scandinavian class. Connie brings so many of her own beautifully woven pieces as samples of projects suitable for the students. We’re sure choosing just one or two to weave is not an easy decision to make! Some very fine threads go into these woven treasures, used for special occasions or everyday. We remember one of our weaving instructors saying that handwovens are meant to be used on a regular basis. Only when they’re part of the collective memory of family and friends over time, are they considered heirlooms. This is true of any work […]
