FIBER COLLEGE

If you knit, weave, or crochet, you may already know that working with natural fibers can be life changing.  And if you’ve never worked with handspun yarn, come and find out what you’re missing. Don’t knit or weave? Don’t worry. This is a workshop for everyone, even if your only experience with wool is wearing it!

Natural fibers give you a powerful sense of connection to the animals, farmers, yarn makers and landscapes that produced these wonderful, living materials. You feel the different textures and springiness as you pull them across your fingertips. The gorgeous colors of undyed, and botanically dyed yarns present a rich and exciting palette that suggests all sorts of new projects. You realize you are continuing a shared act of creation that began months before you wound your skein into a ball.

As we work together through the steps it takes to transform a raw fleece into the materials we work with, you will experience these creative processes for yourself.

After a brief introduction to the resident sheep at Searsport Shores, we’ll shear, take raw fleece and share the process of washing, picking, carding, combing, flicking the wool and blending fibers.

We’ll then move on to spinning, felting and natural dyeing.

There will be time to explore how to use different yarns and fibers for knitting, weaving, crocheting, needle felting, and other kinds of art making. If you are new to any or all of these, there will be people to teach and support you. This is time to ask questions about our local fibersheds.

At any point, you may decide to focus on a particular activity—such as spinning, dyeing or felting, and spend your time developing those skills. You can start work on your own ‘big project’ or work on one or more ‘mini projects.’ The aim of this course is to open up the world of wool—and other natural fibers —and guide you wherever you want to go. Fiber arts are creative, meditative and full of joy.

This course is an invitation to connect not only with your raw materials, but with Maine’s amazing community of fiber artists. 

Class and Retreat Fee: $980.00

Materials fee: $45.00