Linen’s Journey - What’s Old is New Again

GOAL - The oldest known human spun fiber is Flax. This presentation will explore the history of the “most useful plant” - Linum usitissimum. We will explore the history of flax; the planting, cultivation, and harvesting of the plant; its morphology; the steps and tools of extracting the fibers; how it is spun into yarn; and discuss its utilities and impacts on the environment.

COST- $40

TIME- 9am-11pm

CLASS INSTRUCTOR- Tom and Joanne began raising flax, demonstrating fiber extraction, and lecturing on the history, anatomy, and uses of flax ad linen since the early 1980s. Tom has a BS in Interpretive work and 2 master's degrees in education; Joanne has a BA in Clothing and Textiles.

“Breaking, Scutching, Hackling” … OH, my. Processing Flax into Linen

GOAL- This workshop will inform participants about processing the harvested flax plant to extract the fibers for spinning and other uses. Participants will ripple and break the plant, then scutch and hackle the fiber producing a strict of fiber flax while using traditional tools. Time permitting, instruction on spinning, and using a drop spindle to produce linen yarn, will be available.

COST- $40

TIME- 1PM-3PM

CLASS INSTRUCTOR- Tom and Joanne have been raising, processing, and teaching and demonstrating flax fiber extraction, spinning and weaving for 40+ years. Tom has a B.Sci. degree in Natural Resources - Interpretation, and two master's degrees in secondary education; Joanne has a B.A. in Clothing and Textiles.

PLEASE BRING- Outerwear for working outside.

Nuno Felted Japanese Knot Bag

GOAL- In this workshop students will learn how to make a nuno felted Japanese knot bag with wet felting techniques. This course is beginner friendly. The Japanese Knot Bag is a very popular style of project bag that is often used by crafters while they are on the move. It has a long strap on one side and a short strap on the other, and the long strap is slipped through the short strap to form a handle and close the bag. In the workshop students will make a knot bag using the template (resist) from merino wool, silk fabric, pieces of recycled sari silk fabric, sari silk yarn, viscose fiber and wool nepps. Students will learn how to use resist to make a volumetric object (bag) without seams. In this workshop students will learn the nuno felting technique using different types of silk. Nuno felting is the process of bonds loose fiber (usually sheep's wool) into a sheer fabric, such as silk gauze, creating a felt. "Nuno" is a Japanese word for cloth or fabric. Our accent will be on how to create a beautiful texture in nuno felting. Each student will have their own unique Japanese knot bag as a result.

COST- $95

TIME- 9am-4pm (this may not take the full day)

CLASS INSTRUCTOR- My name is Mariya Gerhardt. I am a fiber artist – felt maker and knitter. When I discovered wet felting I was hooked by its magic when a fabric, a living image, is born from a bunch of scattered fibers of wool, silk and other fibers. I have doing wet felting over 6 years and still a lot of experimenting and discovery for me. I like to work with natural fiber, raw fleeces, use a lot of recycled material like - silk, cotton and viscose fabric and fiber. I have been obsessed with exploring the possibilities of felting and would love to share the joy of creating with others. I am teaching the wet felting and nuno felting classes on the various fiber show.

PLEASE BRING- One or two old towels, scissors, plastic bag to take wet project home.

Knitting 101: Knitting for Beginners

GOAL- . Do you want to learn to knit, or simply need a refresher? In this workshop, you will learn the basics of knitting, including needle and yarn selection. You will learn how to cast on, create basic stitches, and cast off. No previous experience is required.

COST- $80

TIME- 9am-12pm

CLASS INSTRUCTOR- Billie Theide chaired the Crafts Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she is Professor Emerita. Theide is a fiber artist, metalsmith, jeweler, and ceramicist. Her work is in public art collections around the world including the Smithsonian, Museum of Arts & Design in New York City, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, and the Racine Art Museum. She is the recipient of a Visual Arts Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and five Artists Fellowship Grants from the Illinois Arts Council. Theide has been recognized for her excellence in teaching. She is a Distinguished Member and Past-President of the Society of North American Goldsmiths.

PLEASE BRING-
2 skeins Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick solid color yarn. Avoid choosing a dark hue. Select skeins with the same dye lot. This is classified as a Super Bulky 6 yarn made of 80 percent acrylic and 20 percent wool. There are 106 yards per skein. It is machine washable and can also be dry cleaned.

1 pair of 9” long #13 (9.0 mm) Clover brand straight bamboo knitting needles

Granny Squares 101: Crochet for Beginners

GOAL- Do you want to learn to crochet granny squares? In this workshop, you will learn the basics of crochet, including hook and yarn selection. You will learn how to chain, create basic stitches, change colors, and bind off. No previous experience is required.

COST- $80

TIME- 1pm-4pm

CLASS INSTRUCTOR- Billie Theide chaired the Crafts Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she is Professor Emerita. Theide is a fiber artist, metalsmith, jeweler, and ceramicist. Her work is in public art collections around the world including the Smithsonian, Museum of Arts & Design in New York City, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, and the Racine Art Museum. She is the recipient of a Visual Arts Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and five Artists Fellowship Grants from the Illinois Arts Council. Theide has been recognized for her excellence in teaching. She is a Distinguished Member and Past-President of the Society of North American Goldsmiths.

PLEASE BRING-

2 skeins Lily Sugar’n Cream 100% cotton yarn (1 each of two different contrasting solid colors)

1 U.S. H/8 crochet hook

1 small sharp scissors