Things to learn....
We've got some fab offerings the next couple of days so I thought I'd just write a little about what's on the docket. While it may be nine millions degrees with a thousand percent humidity, we are blissfully cool with our air conditioning, so it's not ridiculous to think about playing with yarn, or fabric or printing.
Tomorrow evening Jerusha Robinson will be leading a workshop that gives curious souls a quick, but in-depth, view into the world of hand knitting. She will teach you how to cast on (the foundation for knitting) how to actually make a knit stitch, how to bind of, or complete, a piece of fabric and how to sew it together to create an object. You'll be working with bulky yarn so by the end of the workshop you will have a cup cosy to take home with you! And in that concise round up you will have all the basic skills of knitting. It's really that simple! And with those basic skills you can go on to create so many cool projects! If you get hooked, like Jerusha and I are, we have other workshops to expand your skills, as well as Stitch-In's where you can commune with other knitters. The knitting world is a great place to hang out, I can vouch for that, having been a abashed member of the community for many decades. Jerusha is a very cool example, she works for Quince & Co. the magnificent local yarn company started by Pam Allen, and she's a cellist and a singer, and the sweetest person you ever will meet....! Come join us! If you want to register for this workshop, just click on the name to the right!
Over the weekend we have three different workshops going on! Whew.... Lots to choose from for you fiber folks.
Eliza Jane Curtis will be teaching a two day intensive workshop in Screen Printing on Saturday and Sunday. If you have tried Screen Printing before but need a deep refresher, this is the workshop for you. You'll spend part of the first day going over the basics of screen and image preparation, inks and how to best work with them, and a discussion of what types of imagery work best. Then you'll make your own screen image. On the second day you'll print for a couple of hours. Just think of the possibilities! You can print for two full hours, and then at the end of the session you'll sit down and talk through any issues that arose during printing. Bring a tote bag, an apron or a T Shirt (no pockets, please) and print your image on that too! What a great way to spend a weekend. Screen printing opens a whole world of fabric manipulation that can lead to all sorts of creative projects. Eliza has the best smile and her enthusiasm is infectious. You can tell she truly loves what she does. Go to her website www.morrisessex.com to see her work. And then tell me you don't want to learn from her....Click though on the workshop name to the left for all the details and to register.
Saturday afternoon Jody Meredith, our color guru, will guide some lucky souls through the process of making your dyeing practice more predictable. While it can fun to throw your dyeing up to chance, there are times when you really want to reproduce a particular shade. Jody will help you learn how to take more control over your dyeing. She is a wizard with color and will bring her samples of yarns, dyed a million shades, that she has formulas for. It is quite a remarkable sight to see, her color cards! At the end of the workshop you will leave with your very own color sample book with recipes to use at home. Jody has been surrounded by wool all her life and you can tell. She makes some truly beautiful and unique wool garments that you can see on her website Hardboileddesigns.com. Wool takes color quite unlike any other fiber, a fact you will get first hand experience with if you take this workshop. It will meet for two Saturdays in a row so you'll get a good opportunity to dive deeply into color. Ahhhh....
(click on the title at right for more details and to register...)
Yes, it is 98 degrees in Portland, Maine today, but this is what is charmingly referred to as an Indian Summer day. By Sunday the temps will go back down to normal and it will be gorgeous and dry, back to the 60's. Just about the right temperature to start learning to make a nice knit hat! Melinda Titus, she of the beautiful wardrobe who has been our cheery front door face for the past couple of events, will be leading a lucky group through the joys of knitting in the round. I know, for some of you this seems like a truly terrifying practice, I mean how do you take string and make it into a tube? But honestly it's not that tricky, and once you get the hang of it you feel like a magician! Check it out, I made a hat! Living here in the Northeast knowing how to keep your head warm is an occupational necessity. Wouldn't it be nice to make some stylish warmth? Once you master the techniques of casting on in the round, keeping your stitches from twisting, and then decreasing in a nice progression, the hats will just fly off your needles. Do not fear the circular needle, the double points, they are your friends! Did I hear anyone say gifts...? Melinda is one of the most charming and patient souls, she will guide you gently and constructively through this process, all the while improving your skills, and your ability to stay warm. Once you've made a couple of dozen hats, you'll start itching to make socks, we just know you will..... Same idea just with thinner yarn!
Click on the workshop title on the left for more details and to register.
If you have any trouble registering for any of these workshops online give us a call and we can do it over the phone, easy peasy, lemon squeezy..... Hope we see you this weekend!