Expand your spinning with yarns that range from the smoothest worsted to the loftiest woolen yarns. One extreme creates firm, hard-wearing yarns with crisp definition and the other maximizes softness and warmth–and it feels like magic to spin! Cover a variety of drafting and fiber preparation techniques to fine-tune your yarns, work with multiple fibers, design yarns for different uses, and spin a few novelties. Best suited for those who can spin a continuous yarn.
Use simple, portable looms to weave narrow bands. Warp-faced woven bands have dozens of applications, including straps, handles, trim, and material for constructing larger items. Make coordinating bands to go with your other creations! Participants will select a pattern or design their own, warp the loom, and weave a band.
Discover the wonder of woolen spinning. Most spinners start out learning to make smooth, compact worsted yarns. Take your spinning to the other extreme with woolen long draw from hand-carded rolags. This method maximizes loft, elasticity and warmth in your yarn, and it feels like magic! We’ll cover fiber preparation and two long-draw spinning techniques, and discuss fiber selection.
Create a unique novelty yarn by recycling yarn scraps into flecks of color and texture. Garnetted yarns are a creative use for leftover yarns, weaving thrums, and jewel-toned sari silk scraps. We will prepare the add-ins, blend them with fresh wool, and spin new yarns. Once we’ve got the basic technique, we’ll explore designing garnetted yarns for color and contrast.
Expand your rigid-heddle weaving with a collection of techniques that add great texture to plain weave. Angela will introduce you to patterns that can be created with one and two pick-up sticks, as well as how to work with multiple shuttles. Honeycomb, simple twills, and textured weaves await! Pair this session with Beyond Plain Weave: Hand-Manipulated Lace for two classes on the same warp.
Have you ever thought about combining your weaving with another craft medium? Or stretching your creative boundaries by working with another artist? In this presentation, Angela will share a collection of her own multimedia works and collaborations with fellow fine craft artists, and discuss the creative and cooperative process behind them. Pieces combine fiber arts with other media including clay, glass, wood, metal, beads, paper, and painting.