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Workshop Options
Saturday, April 18 - All day
Growing a Dye Garden
Learn how to cultivate a rainbow of dyes in your own back yard! Drawing on permaculture and regenerative farming practices, we will discuss how to create a local, abundant source of color for all your fiber crafts. From planning your garden and building your soil, to harvesting your plants and using their pigment, this course offers a full range of information. We will focus on the cultivation and use of the classic dye plants (indigo-bearing species, woad, madder, and weld), as well as plants suited for work with children, food coloring and more. We'll also cover dye-assist plants, useful as mordants, binders, and more. Participants will receive a dye garden handbook (20+ pages with color photos) as well as a packet of dye seeds to grow on their own.
Instructor: Bethany Hebbard
Saturday, April 18 - Morning
Simple Weave Using Diverse Equipment and Materials
This hands-on workshop will begin with a brief discussion of weaving materials: created, purchased and foraged. The session will be led by Sue Szary, owner of Twin Birch & TEASEL Fiber Studio in Siler City. Guest weaving guides will assist with the mechanics of manipulating several types of weaving looms, process and techniques. All materials are included and no weaving experience is necessary. Breathe deeply, release your fibery creativity and have fun.
Instructor: Sue Szary
Slow Stitching & Mindful Mending
Practice slow stitching to create delightful art or to mindfully mend your clothes and belongings. Simple stitches and a meditative mindset can lead you to appreciate the unique characteristics of different fabrics, understand the construction of a variety of objects, and recognize the best ways to work with a wide range of materials. This workshop will include stitching skill-sharing as well as guidance on meditation, slow living practices, and intentional sustainability practices.
Instructor: Spring Duvall
Saturday, April 18 - Afternoon
Wet Felting
Mary Longhill has been felting with the beautiful wool of her heritage breed of sheep, Leicester Longwools, for over 10 years. She loves to share the joy and creativity of felting and wants you to have fun getting your hands wet and soapy while magically turning soft wool roving into a beautiful small bowl or vessel. You will learn about the amazing qualities of wool which allow it to become felt and all the beautiful and practical things that can then be made with it. With the wool and other necessary items provided, and while learning the fundamentals of wet felting, each participant will create a beautiful small felted vessel or bowl to take home. (Each participant should bring a medium-size non-breakable bowl or similar container for holding hot water, 2 towels, & plastic bag for carrying wet towels home.)
Instructor: Mary Longhill
Sheep Shearing
In this workshop you will get to experience a glimpse of what it’s like to own sheep! We will be caring for the Gotlands, and shearing a fleece. You will meet Megyn the Gotland sheep and her pals, and you will learn about raising sheep on pasture. Oci will demonstrate some general care and maintenance for sheep. She will talk about her experience breeding and lambing. Oci will share Happy Monkey Farm’s strategy to use different parts of the wool sustainably. Then, workshop participants will learn how to use hand shears. Together we will shear the sheep and skirt the fleece, to prepare it for spinning.
Instructor: Ociane Canadas
Sunday, April 19 - Morning
Beginning Spinning with a Drop Spindle
Discover the art of hand-spinning with a drop spindle. This workshop covers basic techniques with plenty of demonstrating, hands-on practice and tech support! Participants will leave with their own spun sample and the foundational skills to continue spinning at home.
Instructor: Jennifer Lane
Raising Fiber Alpacas, From Cria to Huacaya
Alpacas are so much more than a cute face and a fluffy butt. Raising them can be so beautiful and so much fun, but it also takes a lot of real work. Are you interested in raising fiber animals? This work shop will teach you all that you need to know on what it takes to raise a fiber grade alpaca herd with specifics for the ecology of the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina.
Instructors: Grace Rector & Stella Nelson
Sunday, April 19 - Afternoon
Colors from the Kitchen: Sourcing Natural Dyes from Food Waste
In this class we will explore how to create a repeated pattern on cotton bandanas using plant dyes by block printing mordants on fabric. While we'll be focusing mainly on this specific process, we'll also introduce some relevant natural dyeing practices and history. Students will carve their own block to print with during the workshop.
Instructor: Emma Geiger
Combing & Carding
Learn the essential techniques of fiber preparation, including combing and hand-carding methods. Participants will gain hands-on experience in transforming wool locks into smooth, consistent combed top or fluffy rolags ready for spinning or felting. You will also learn what difference each type of prep makes in your finished yarn. Perfect for beginners and those looking to refine their fiber prep skills.
Instructor: Jennifer Lane
Spinning in the Grease
In this workshop, participants will process the fleece for spinning in the grease. First, participants will card the freshly shorn fleece into rolags. Participants will also be able to use a hackle and combs to process the fleece. They will then unload it through a diz, making it ready to spin. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to handle different fleeces harvested on the farm (from half a dozen different fiber animal) and will have a chance to card and spin samples of these fleeces as well. Spindles will be available for those who want to try their hand at spinning the processed wool in the grease!
Instructor: Ociane Canadas