How is it August already? Granted we have been occupied with enormous changes here at the Weavers, but still. August? We've been dyeing this year's Navajo Churro yarn, re-organizing the ENTIRE store, getting the second floor set up to be our learning center, and generally planning the future.

There are a lot of new things here at the shop- new Cascade yarns like Friday Harbor (80% merino, 20% silk) and Botanica (100% organic cotton, naturally dyed!). We have the beginnings of a whole line of children's items including one-of-a-kind heirloom blankets, adorable sweaters you can hand down for generations, hats that will make you smile...

We are ramping up our rug making for the first time in years, even bringing in a 3rd floor loom. There are now two complete sewing stations (one is available for public use once we have checked out that you can use it safely), and we are on the lookout for a basic long arm for the quilters! The 8 spinning wheels are set up in advance of the Woolgathering, but you don't have to wait for that- if you know how to spin but don't have a wheel, come on buy and talk to us about renting a wheel upstairs for a few hours!

In other words, things are happening here.

Come on by and check out the new offerings. Keep your eyes out for an increase in the number of classes we offer! Is there something you would like to learn that we don't have advertised? Give us a call, or email us and ask us about whatever it is you want to try. If we can arrange it, we will teach you!

Sign up now for one of the fantastic Woolgathering workshops in September! You can learn to spin on a wheel, or without any tools at all. We will be teaching two different ways of creating Shibori fabric, either through a fun, and easy weaving technique on your rigid heddle loom, or through hand stitching fabric we provide. Want to learn how to hook a rug? We will have a class. How about learning some great ways to natural dye with 3 locally available plants to get a rainbow of colors? Sign up info below.

24 YEARS OF LEARNING HOW TO MAKE USEFUL THINGS!

24th Annual Woolgathering

5 Glorious Days September 4-8th Wednesday-Sunday

More Workshops to choose from this year!

Beginning Spinning

Wednesday September 4th

10am-3pm

Instructor: Melissa Harris

Cost: $85 Materials Fee $5

Limit: 8 students



Learn to spin, using one of our spinning wheels and local wool. You will learn how to spin as well as learn basic wheel mechanics and an introduction to turning fiber into your own hand spun yarn.

If you are bringing your own spinning wheel, let us know.

Color and Texture in Spinning

Thursday September 5th

10am-1pm

Instructor: Melissa Harris

$60 plus Materials fee $15

We are going to explore the world of color and texture, using carded fiber. We will use hand cards as well as drum carders to make colorful yarns that have personality and character. We will also explore what to look for when purchasing carded fiber, as well as how to choose hand cards and drum carders for your own fiber studio. We will be making batts, rolags, and blending different colors and materials to make lofty, unique yarns that are extremely fun to spin and will make you look at color differently.

Prerequisite: Beginning Spinning or equivalent. 

Dyeing Color Exploration with Natural Dyes and Wool

Thursday, September 5th

10am-3pm

$90 class fee

$35 materials fee (includes all dyes and fiber)

Instructors: Jeannie Kaiser and Louisa Hunter

Limit 14 students

Expand your range of color with dyes from local plants using three different mordants. Participants will be guided through each unique mordant recipe for use on wool fabric and yarn. Each mordant yields different colors in the same dye pot. We will explore the effects of over and under dyeing with indigo using an organic indigo vat to extend the range of colors. This is how we dye our churro in the shop! It's always fun, and always magic to see it happen.

Weaving and Dyeing Woven Shibori

on a Rigid Heddle Loom

Friday September 6th

10am-5pm

$115 class fee $10 Materials fee

Instructors: Adrienne Johnson and Louisa Hunter

Limit 10 students

In this workshop, participants will explore the technique of Shibori using a rigid heddle loom. Participants will learn to weave Shibori using pick up sticks (or you can use a multi-shaft table loom with modifications we will give you before the day). We will then use wefts woven for this specific purpose to tie up our cloth to dye the woven pieces in an organic indigo vat. Once the cloth is dyed, the resist threads will be removed revealing the pattern. This will be a fun, fast paced class that gives you a way to get more involved in creating unique, hand woven fabrics that you will be impatient to use for something amazing!

Requirements: 8/2 cotton weaving yarn, unmercerized white or natural for warp and weft. Cotton crochet thread size 10 in a contrasting color for pattern weft.



Your loom must be threaded and ready to weave. Specific instructions will be sent out after class registration with tips on where to buy your warp and weft yarns (for locals we have materials in store).

Hooking with Hand Spun Yarn

Saturday September 7th

10am-3pm

Instructor: Bev Hills

Cost: $85 Materials Fee $25

Limit: 10 students

Spinning without Tools

Hand spun yarn and rug hooking go hand-in-hand, a perfect match of handcrafts. In this class you will hook either a blue hydrangea or a red poppy mat using your freshly spun yarn!

Create yarn made from roving - no tools, or spinning experience required! Bev will demonstrate how to easily twist sections of roving into yarn, then hook it into a linen foundation.

Included in this class are small hanks of colorful roving, yarn and a hand drawn pre-hemmed linen mat with your choice of pattern, and ribbon candy!

(Ribbon candy resembles the up-and-down loops formed by hooking into a foundation.) This is an amazing opportunity to learn two different techniques in a single class!

Students are asked to bring scissors, a 9” minimum embroidery hoop, and a rug hook. Embroidery hoops and rug hooks will be for sale at the class. We will have some extra "hooks and hoops" to use in the class.

Shibori and Natural Dyeing Indigo

Saturday, September 7th,

10am-3pm

$90 class

$35 materials fee

Instructors: Jeannie Kaiser and Louisa Hunter

Limit 10 students



This is a hands on introduction to natural Indigo, the dye and process. We will have the opportunity to use two different Natural Dye Vats. Learn about Indigo and the characteristics of different Indigo recipes.

We will cover a range of Shibori dye resist techniques (Japanese style "tie dye"), creating beautiful patterns using traditional and nontraditional methods. You will learn the basics of using very simple hand stitching to create patterns in the dye process (stitch resist), fold and clamp, pole wrap and binding which we will dye in the Indigo vats. Each student will have the opportunity to explore different patterns on a variety of cotton and silk.

We will take you through fabric preparation, best dye practices and finishing techniques to ensure longevity of your Indigo dyed designs.

No previous experience is needed and all materials will be covered by the materials fee.

Botanical Dyes Garden Tour and “Fresh Indigo” Dip

Sunday September 8th

9am-1pm

Instructor: Kay Antunez

Cost: $90 All materials included

Limit 10 students

Join us in Eagleville’s Oz Garden to learn about cultivating botanical dyes – madder, weld, coreopsis and more. We will harvest Japanese Indigo and make a fresh indigo dye together. Take home several plant starts and seeds for your own dye garden and an indigo-dyed blue silk scarf. What a lovely, relaxing way to spend a Sunday!

REFUNDS will be given up until September 1st minus a 5% administrative fee to cover credit card fees etc... No refunds available on the day of the event.

Accommodations for the Woolgathering

Sunrise Motel: A family run motel which is neat and clean with a laundry. 530 279-2161 sunrisecedarville.com 1/2 mile away

Surprise Valley Hot Springs: Each room has it’s own tub to soak in. 530 279-2040

 8 miles east. surprisevalleyhotsprings.com

Cressler House  520 Main St, Cedarville, Air B&B within walking distance

Cockrell Ranch and High Desert Lodging: 530 279-2209 highdesertlodging.com

Ann Odgers house 530 640-0507 within walking distance

There is also free camping in the Modoc National Forest nearby. surprise valley modoc county 

Camping at the Modoc District Fairgrounds within walking distance on Center Street

Phone: 530-279-2315

Email: modocfairgrounds@gmail.com

Bernard (L) and Abigail (R) hard at work making sure our reading chair is comfortable.

High Desert Fibershed Learning Center

Workshops and Classes

One-On-One(ish) Instruction- If there is something you would like to learn but can't get to one of our classes for, call us to make an appointment for a private class! Private classes are generally $20/hr (excluding fabric/fiber dyeing), and can be scheduled for any day of the week we are open.

Weave on a Rigid Heddle Loom

Learn to Weave

so you can take the

Woven Shibori Workshop

Woolgathering Friday Sept. 6th

Come in and pick out your new loom and choose a date for a class

Are you interested in learning to weave, but don't have room for a giant floor loom? We have you covered! Rigid heddle looms are the way to go to get yourself making beautiful cloth on a machine you can store under the bed when not in use. However, small looms are easy to carry around with you, so how often you will need to store it is debatable. We currently carry both Ashford and Schacht rigid heddle looms in-store and we can order any of their products we don't have for you at any time.



If you want to learn how to weave, these are a great place to start and we have both small group and private classes available to teach both beginning and advanced techniques! Drop by the shop and see the modifications Adrienne has made to her 15" rigid heddle Cricket to convert it into a 4 shaft floor loom that takes up only the space of a small side table.

Hand Quilting/Visible Repair With Scraps

Class fee- $15

August 24th- 1-3 pm

Instructor: Adrienne Johnson

Just show up!

It's hot outside and sometimes you just need something quiet to do in a cool, smoke free place. Come spend some time hand quilting with supplied fabric scraps! Or, bring something you want to learn to repair, like your favourite jeans. We'll make little quilts, improvising with what we have to hand. How little? Anything from the size of a tea bag to the size of a salad plate. It's a great way to free your creativity, practice hand sewing skills and make a small piece that you can finish in a single session. Use your small quilt top as patch for what needs to be repaired!

Ages 10 and up. No experience needed but the more you know, the fancier you can get! We will provide scraps to quilt with but feel free to bring your own. You will need your own scissors and if you have your own sewing kit, bring it. If not, we will have a small number of sewing things (minus scissors) for you to purchase in store.

Southwest Crocheted Rug

Learn (Better) Crochet

August 10th and 24th 2 sessions

10am-12noon $35

Ongoing classes

Instructor: Barbara Spears

Barbara is here to teach anyone who wants to learn. New to the form? Barbara will teach you how to get started, how to read a pattern, how to troubleshoot problems, or help with that one stitch you haven't been able to get. Want to start a project, but unsure how to do it? Come on in and let Barbara show you the way.

"Open Table"

Saturday August 17th and 31st,

at our usual 1-3, but feel free to come in earlier and sit with us for lunch and stay until we close at 5.

We think every day is open table (because it is)! Officially,"Open Table" on Saturdays. Bring in whatever your project is, we have room at the table for it! Knitting, crochet, weaving, sewing, mending... if you are stuck, there will most likely be someone there to help you get past it! There will be tea or coffee, and maybe some nice snacks if Adrienne can get baking.

POTLUCK

Saturday August 31st 12:30

Come to our famous Potluck with lavish platters of delicious

food to share with fiber friends. Everyone welcome.

This month I am claiming the desert section so we can all try to have a more... savory lunch. In other words, the sugar is covered.

Looking for a gift for the crafter in your life? We always have gift certificates available and we have a growing collection of fantastic handmade items produced right here in Modoc County. What about a one of a kind craft kit? We have several kits already assembled in the shop, but we can easily help you put a custom one together! Felting, knitting, crochet, weaving, dyeing... come talk to us and we will find something special.

WMW will be open more store hours and days for your shopping convenience!

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 10am-3pm

Friday and Saturday. 10am-5pm