KNITTING AND CROCHET

 

CLASS 102. I'M WITH THE BAND! Venessa Bentley, Half day, Fri. Mar. 24, 1:30-5:00  $80 *FULL*

Creating a beautiful band for buttons, necklines, bottom edges, or cuffs is a time for celebrating the completion of a garment that may have been in our hands for months.  Giving it just the right look brings the garment together in more ways than just fastening it up the front. During this half day workshop Venessa will address the ways we can create bands that look like they belong, and may even steal the show!  

There will be some preparation work to do before this class.

Please email Venessa directly for your homework details after you have registered.  

You will practice during class, and receive an instruction booklet as a resource which is included in your fee.  Enter 102 from drop down menu above.

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Material fee: $0

Skills required: good basic knitting skills and some experience picking up stitches along the edge of knitted fabric  

Equipment required: your homework pieces, the yarns you knit your homework pieces in, a range of needle sizes, your knitting accessory kit including unlocking stitch markers, and a pen and pencil, a tea mug. Please feel free to bring along projects that you'd like to chat about. 

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CLASS 201. ENTRELAC KNITTING, The Flat and The Round of It, Venessa Bentley. Full day, Sat. Mar. 25, 9:30-5:00 $145. *FULL*

Entrelac is an interlaced knitting technique that uses short rows, decreases, and picked-up stitches to create patchwork knitting.

In this creative full day program with Venessa, students will explore Entrelac Knitting through two projects: one knit flat, and one knit in the round.

Part 1 of the program will focus on learning or reviewing the basic triangle and rectangle building techniques. Students will begin and set up an Entrelac Scarf ready to take home and complete.

Part 2 of the program will focus on Entrelac socks in the round. Students will come to class with their cuffs prepared, then learn, and make a good start on, the Entrelac techniques required to complete this project at home. Details for preparation will be emailed to you.  Please email Venessa directly once you have registered. Enter 201 from drop down menu above.

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Material fee: $0

Skill required: Intermediate knitting skills.  This program's technique feast will interest the adventurous knitter, with good basic skills and experience. You will receive two detailed, instructional, and illustrated patterns in a booklet to take home.  This is included in your fee. 

Equipment required: Project #1 prepared cuffs, a minimum of 300 metres of a spaced-dyed wool or wool blend, in a worsted or aran weight yarn such as Noro Kureyon or Silk Garden, 5 mm or appropriate size needles for the yarn choice, shorter and lighter needles are best. Project #2 approximately 500 metres of a well-spun fingering weight sock yarn, preferably a good quality merino, spaced dyed or variegated for added effect, 2.75 mm needles, your preference of 2 circulars or 4 double points, your knitting accessory kit including unlocking stitch markers, scissors, a pen and pencil . Please bring a tea mug

 

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CLASS 103. INTRO TO TUNISIAN CROCHET, Ponnie Matin Pelchat. Half day, Fri. Mar. 24, 8:30-12:30. $80. 

**FULL**

A little bit like knitting, a little bit like crochet, one hook with a cable - welcome to Tunisian crochet. In this class we will learn the basics and create a squishy cowl. Tunisian crochet, also known as the Afghan Stitch, creates a perfect fabric for cross stitch. Its basic stitch looks like weaving. You will leave this class hooked! Enter 103 from drop down menu above.

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Material fee: $25 payable to instructor for hook

Skill required: basic crochet chain stitch an asset, however, absolute beginners welcome

Equipment required: yarn to match hook size, one ball of bulky yarn (or two if you'd like a bigger cowl)

 

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CLASS 104. INTRO TO COMBINATION KNITTING, Ponnie Matin Pelchat, Half day, Sat. Mar. 25, 8:30-12:30 pm. $80. 5 SPOTS LEFT

East meets West in this style of knitting. Often said to be faster, this method of knitting utilizes a continental western knit stitch with a continental eastern purl for a knit fabric that has even tension. In this class we will learn the basics whilst knitting a flat stockinette fabric. We will discuss how it differs from other knitting style and adjustments needed to knit in the round. We will also learn how to knit even faster by achieving the results of a slip slip knit (ssk) without having to slip anything. Enter 104 from drop down menu above.

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Material fee: $0

Skill required: advanced beginner, intermediate – must be able to cast on, knit and purl

Equipment required: please bring your own DK weight yarn and needles you are comfortable using

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SPINNING

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CLASS 202. CONSCIOUS CHOICES IN SPINNING, Vanessa Bjerreskov. Full day, Fri. Mar. 24, 9:30-5:00. $145.00 

Being able to make conscious choices when you sit down to spin can expand the types of yarn you make and leave you happier with your handspun. We'll start the day off with a deep dive into 'worsted' and 'woollen.' There are worsted and woollen fibre preparations and spinning techniques, and being able to understand how each affects the character of your finished yarn will help you spin the right yarn for your project. After lunch, we'll look at other factors that can affect the suitable end use of your handspun yarn, including twist, diameter, fibre types, and more. You'll learn how to evaluate fibres for the most appropriate preparation and spinning techniques, and break out of your default spin into a whole new realm of possibilities. Enter 202 from drop down menu above.

Material Fee: $25

Skill Required: must be able to spin a continuous thread and are familiar with the operation of a spinning wheel. If student wishes to use spindles, familiarity with both suspended and supported spindles is necessary.

Equipment Required: Spinning wheel or Drop/Supported Spindle in working condition

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CLASS 203. COLOUR AND SPINNING PLAYGROUND, Diana Twiss. Full day, Sat. Mar. 25,  9:30-5:00. $145.00. 2 SPOTS LEFT

Join Diana for a full day of colour, experimentation and fun in a workshop devoted to blending colours, learning how to use blending equipment, and spinning a bit to see the results.

 The plan for the day is to learn how to work with different tools/pieces of equipment for blending colour for spinning. We will be using the following tools and pieces of equipment:

• hand carders,

• blending board, (can be shared between a couple of people)

• hackles (will be provided)

 You will have a chance to spin up some of your samples and see the different results you get from the various blending tools. In addition to experimenting with different blending tools, we will learn colour theory in a practical and applied way to make heathered and tweedy yarns.

 For the workshop, you will receive a materials kit that has 17 colours of dyed Corriedale and a few other amendments like pulled sari silk, silk noil, and Angelina. You are also encouraged to bring any bits and bobs from your stash that you may want to add to the mix.

 Skills required to participate: no skills with blending equipment needed. Being able to spin a continuous thread is important for making small samples. Enter 203 from drop down menu above.

 

Material fee: $30 payable to instructor

Skill required: must be able to spin a continuous thread and have some experience with plying

Equipment required: 

• A good set of hand carders (72 TPI -hand cards)

• Blending board (could be shared between two or three people)

• Plastic bags (or some way) to hold/store your blending samples

• Spinning wheel in excellent working order or spindle for making samples – drop spindles will be available for borrow.

 

CLASS 204. UNBRAIDED: SPINNING COLOUR, Rachel Smith. Full day, Sat. Mar.25, 9:30-5. $145.00 

**FULL**

Have you ever attended a fibre festival or browsed in a shop and seen all the gorgeous colourways on a hand painted top? Have you bought them and stashed them away to save so that you don’t ‘wreck’ the colourway? This feeling of paralysis around spinning our beautiful braids of fibre is part of learning and growing as a hand spinner. This workshop is designed to break down some of that fear and trepidation. We explore several different ways of spinning combed top and examine the different results we attain when we make choices about how to spin the fibre from traditional 2-ply to 3-ply fractal spins. Throughout the day, we will spin our samples using different methods, look at samples spun from these different methods and challenge ourselves with our final yarns to think outside the box about how to combine different colourways in combination spins.

 The morning will be devoted to spinning semi-solid and split complement colourways. We will talk about the colour wheel, and how decisions we make in our spinning affects how colours combine, the effects this creates in our yarns and how to avoid making ‘mud’. We will examine samples knit and woven from semi-solid and split complement colourways.

In the afternoon, we will continue our exploration of colours by examining what happens when white is left in a colourway. We will discuss striping in our yarns, how to minimize and enhance it. The afternoon will finish with an opportunity to trade with others in the class and combination spin two different colourways. Using the knowledge that we have gained throughout the day; we will explore different ways to combine colours. Samples will be shown to help understand how these decisions affect our finished, knitted garments.

This workshop is designed to augment the book, Unbraided: The Art and Science of Spinning Colour, written by Rachel Smith and Katrina Stewart. The participants do not need to own or have read the book to attend the workshop. Instead, it is meant to stand alone as part of an advanced spinner’s learning.

Students will receive 4 x 25 grams samples to explore various spinning techniques throughout the day. Enter 204 from drop down menu above.

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Material fee: $25 payable to instructor

Skill required: Students must be able to spin one long continuous thread and be familiar with the operation of their spinning wheel.

Equipment required: spinning wheel in good working order, 3-4 bobbins, Lazy Kate, Pen and Paper

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FELTING

 

CLASS 301. NUNO FELTED VEST, Laurie Steffler. Two days, Fri.Mar.24 & Sat.Mar.25. 9:30-5. $275.  

2 SPOTS LEFT                 

FELT, a textile produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibres together, considered to be the oldest known textile. Heat, motion, and moisture of the fleece causes the scales to open, while agitating them causes them to latch onto each other, creating felt. Merino wool and other specialty fibres laid on silk chiffon fabric creates a simple, seamless vest in this creative and inspiring class. The last half of the 2nd day will be spent felting your project.  Laurie will bring the garment resists needed for the project.  Though you may bring your own, silk chiffon and merino wool can be purchased from Laurie at the class.  You can bring design ideas and photos of designs that inspire you to help you create your project.   

Laurie has 30 years of felting experience with tips and techniques that will make the felting process as easy and fast as possible. Enter 301 from drop down menu above.

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Material Fee: $75 payable to instructor

Skill required: beginner

Equipment required: two clear plastic lawn bags, scissors, 24" bubble wrap - small bubbles, dish gloves if needed, embellishments if wanted, bonsai sprayer or glass jar with small holes in lid to sprinkle hot soapy water for felting process, two old towels. Supplies provided in your fee (if you bring these yourself there is no class fee due), open weave fabric such as silk, merino fibre 200 gm, olive oil soap.

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OPTION 1. NEEDLE FELTING, Pearl Chow. Half day, Sat. Mar., 1-3. $30 (separate drop-down) **FULL**

Learn to make wool sculptured fruits, veggies, animals, and/or add designs to fabric. Needle felting is a portable craft taking up little space and time. Create what you imagine! This class is appropriate for older children who are accompanied by an adult, the adult must also be enrolled in the class. Enter Option 1 from drop down menu above.

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Material fee: $15 payable to instructor

Skill required: beginner

Equipment required: needle felting kit provided by instructor.

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ECO PRINTING

 

CLASS 105. BOTANICAL PRINTING, Sheila Andrews, Johanna Mramor. Half day, Fri.Mar 24. 8:30-12:30. $80. **FULL**

Join us for a fun filled morning creating a One-Of-A Kind Textile Art piece. Discover the amazing world of Eco Printing, also known as Contact Botanical Printing. No previous experience required. You will be guided through the complete process from fabric treatment, arranging leaves on your fabric, wrapping, steaming and best of all unwrapping your project. We will be using wool, cotton and wonderful eucalyptus leaves for this project. There will be lots of samples to inspire you and a demo on great ways to finish your project. With your two pieces of fabric, one wool, one cotton, you will be able to make ONE of the variety of suggested projects: a toss pillow, tea cozy and coasters, bag or wall hanging...or something we haven’t thought of!

Come and have fun and watch the magic of nature! Enter 105 from drop down menu above.

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Material fee: $28.00

Skill Level: beginner

Equipment required: please bring waterproof gloves that are easy to work in, a water-resistant apron and a couple of old towels. Notebook and pen.

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WEAVING

 

CLASS 106. RIGID HEDDLE WEAVING, Pearl Chow. Half day, Sat. Mar. 25. 8:30-12:30. $80. **FULL**

Weaving on a rigid heddle loom is a quick and fun way to combine leftover yarns or mix textures and colours in new ways. Pearl learned to weave from Rowena Hart, the designer of the Ashford Knitters’ Loom. Pearl is a wonderful teacher of the basics, and is a fabulous source for tips and shortcuts to create a unique project. Enter 106 from drop down menu above.

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Material fee: $0

Skill required: beginner

Equipment required: a rigid heddle loom in operating order, any make or model. If you do not have a loom we have some available to borrow on a first come-first served basis. If you wish to purchase a loom for the class, please contact info@penelopefibrearts.com. Please bring with you a selection of DK/Worsted weight (approx 200-220 yds per 100 gm) yarns, novelty, hand spun yarns are great for the weft.  

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CLASS 205. CEDAR BARK BASKETS, Jess Silvey. Full day, Sat. Mar. 25, 9:30-5. $145.   **FULL**

Weave – to form by combining various elements and details into a connected whole. Spend an inspirational day with Jess and learn the basic techniques of Coast Salish Cedar Bark Basket Weaving while incorporating the twill and twine pattern. Jess can be found on Facebook, Red Cedar Woman. Enter 205 from drop down menu above.

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Material fee: $40

Skill required: beginner

Equipment required: all materials provided.

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CLASS 108. BOW LOOM WEAVING, Mary Ellenton. Half day, Sat. Mar., 1-5 pm. $80. 

This class is a great introduction to weaving using a Bow Loom. This loom is based on a “primitive” loom used in North West Thailand by the Akha People. They make narrow bands with beaded selvages that are then used as chin straps and borders for the elaborate hats of their traditional costume.

In this class we will make a bracelet, but the band could be used for headbands, hat bands, chokers or a garment embellishment. Enter 108 from drop down menu above.

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Material cost: $15

Beginner: All levels

Equipment required: all supplies will be provided by the instructor

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KIDS (of any age...), NEEDLE FELT DROP IN. Fri. Mar. from 1-4. free, no registration required

Join Pearl Chow for an informal drop in and learn some basics of needle felt. Children 10 and under must be accompanied by a responsible adult for this drop in as it involves sharp felting needles.