News from Sievers School

There’s been a lot of knitting going on here at Sievers in October.  Carol Anderson’s Scandinavian Caps were being worn both in progress and finished…

                                   and then the weekend Knitting on Location class came in and took their projects on the road, including this stop at the Red Cup Coffee House:

Meanwhile, Ken Workowski was working with his students on their Bent Willow Loveseats so that by Sunday afternoon, porches were adorned with the finished products.

Today, Sandy De Master and Mary Germain will welcome a group of knitters who will be working on projects of their own choice, with Mary and Sandy assisting with new techniques, trouble spots, re-working a pattern to customize it and more.  On Saturday night as a group, the knitters have already made a reservation for the Harvest Dinner (a turkey dinner with the trimmings) sponsored annually by the Women of Trinity Lutheran Church.  Many Island homes will be filled with the aroma of turkey, rolls, squash or pumpkin pies being baked this Friday in preparation for the dinner.  Some may also be preparing chili or caramel apples for Saturday’s annual Farm Museum Cider Pressing Party or the Fire Department’s Open House.  Sunshine and fall colors have been ordered for the weekend!

  Weavers in Rita Hagenbruch’s Overshot Odyssey class are finishing up their work in time for tomorrow’s graduation, while Anita Mayer began her class in Explorations in Embellishment this morning.  On Sunday, we will continue weaving with Nancy Adams’ Beyond Beginning class and Daryl Lancaster’s A Wearable Extravaganza, where we’re looking forward to seeing the fabrics and then later the jacket or vest students will be making from their handwovens (or specialty fabrics). 

Rita’s overshot samples are wonderful, as you can see, as well as the projects students have been working on.

We just finished a busy week with three classes in session at one time, Jeanne Pfister’s Quilt Embellishment class in the Sophie Studio, Chad Hagen’s Fabulous “Bark” Felted Scarves and then her Felt, Resist, Bead class in the Walter Studio and Jo Campbell-Amsler’s Step-By-Step Willow Basketry class in the Barn Studio.  Between the three classes, students (and teachers) came from Florida, Missouri, Nebraska, Indiana, California, Iowa, North Carolina, Ontario, Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. 

        Quilt Embellishment  

            Felt, Resist, Bead!    

        Step-By-Step Willow Basketry  

Last Friday afternoon, soon after Deb Jones began her “Yarns to Dye For” class, it began to rain…in torrents.  The official Island measurement was 5.53″ of rain, mostly within a span of two hours. For the first time in anyone’s memory, a flash flood warning was issued for the Island.  Students had been winding lengths of yarn to dye (for the self-patterning socks) on the split rail fence in front of the barn when it started to rain.  They quickly worked to finish winding and went back to the Walter Studio to begin dyeing their yarns. 

In the meantime, Lynn Schuster’s “Coiled Basketry” class was working on their baskets in the Sophie Studio.    

On the weekend of September 4-6, we look forward to Ken Workowski’s “Bent Willow Chair” class.  This student (from last year’s class) is shown putting the seat and back pieces on her chair.  This is definitely a noticeable take-home project!

Only photos can best describe the landscape quilts made in Natalie Sewell’s class last week and even then, they can’t come close to the real thing.  Again this year, the projects were stunning and ranged from desert scenes to woodland glades.  

Upcoming classes include Inkle Weaving with Christi Eales Ehler, August 7 – 9; Refresher Weaving with Nancy Frantz, August 16- 21; Antler Basketry with Rich Prange, August 21 – 23; New Ways in Polymer Clay with Judie Yamamoto, August 23 – 26 and Felt, Resist, Bead! with Chad Hagen, August 30 – September 4, and in the words of Walter Schutz, “much, much more”!