From 10:00 am Friday until 12:00 pm Sunday

At Brigid's Loft & Bazaar Girls

$680

Early Bird Registration $680 until June 1^st,

and then the price increases to $725

Last Year in September we co-hosted ‘Shetland Wool Weekend’ with Jorstad Artisan Yarns. The weekend was so fun we decided to do it again on a different weekend. This year we’re keeping our traditional focus, but have decided to expand our celebration of locally grown fiber to include (in addition to Shetland) Icelandic, Gotland, Jacob, and Romney.

We’re excited to have Michael Kelson join our returning team of fantastic teachers; Varian Brandon, Judith Mackenzie, Kerry Graber, Jann Hoppler, & Madison Wallace.

The registration fee includes:

Door prizes, and a swag bag full of goodies.

Friday - color workshop, drinks & snacks, ‘Meet The Farmers’ banquet dinner.

Saturday - continental breakfast, two 3-hour classes (of your choice), lunch, evening dessert, and films.

Sunday - continental breakfast, Choose Your Own Adventure.

For a more detailed schedule or to register, scroll to the bottom of this page.

Let the fun begin!

A little about Michael Kelson…

Michael is a software engineering professional whose journey in the fiber arts began in the early 2000s.

On an NPR radio show, "To the Best of our Knowledge," he heard a neurologist discussing the salubrious benefits of knitting as a creative activity that engages both sides of the brain.

Something clicked, and he knew this was the unplugged activity he was looking for! He went to his LYS and signed up for his first knitting class. After that, falling down the rabbit hole of spinning was all but inevitable.

Michael's classes take a sample-based approach to spinning without being overly complex, geeky, or nerdy. From choosing fiber, preparation, draft, ply, and finishing techniques, sometimes minor adjustments have big impacts.

In his classes, Michael helps spinners build on their existing knowledge and experience to dial in their technique to get their perfect yarn

The best workshop feedback Michael ever received was from a student who wrote, "I learned things I didn't even know I needed to know."

spinpossible.com

Spinning for Lace

Knitters and weavers are surrounded by lace! Would you like to use your handspun with your next lace knitting or weaving project? With lace yarns, one size does not fit all. Lace can be tightly spun worsted, softly spun woolen, or anywhere in between. With a little experimentation and thoughtful choice of fiber and preparation, it’s possible to spin the perfect lace yarn for your next project.

This class will explore techniques for successfully spinning lace yarns. We will discuss what makes a good lace yarn, basic wheel adjustments, techniques for diameter control and spinning consistent singles, evaluating the twist in your singles, and techniques for plying and finishing. We will concentrate on spinning with local Shetland and Gotland.

Skills you will learn:

- Identifying properties that make a good lace yarn;

- How micron count, staple length, crimp structure, and fiber preparation might influence

your spinning choices;

- How to spin with a more consistent diameter and single twist;

- Plying choices for worsted and woolen spun lace yarns;

Prerequisites: Successful students should have a good working relationship with their spinning wheels, be able to spin a consistent single, and have some experience plying and finishing yarn.

Bring A spinning wheel in good working condition with extra bobbins, a notebook, and a lazy Kate (if you have one). Bring any tools you might like to use (hand cards, mini-combs) and any fiber you would like to practice with.

Local Shetland and Gotland will be available to purchase at Bazaar Girls.

Spinning for A Sweater

Are you ready to tackle your first sweater spin? There are many factors, that we as spinners, should consider when we embark on our first sweater spin. The core characteristics of the fiber (e.g. crimp, fineness, hand, prep) will influence the choices we make in spinning and the fabric in our final garment. This class will explore several fibers that might be a great choice for your sweater. We’ll look at local fibers you’re probably familiar with, such as Jacob, Shetland, Gotland, Romney, and Icelandic. We will work on diameter control and consistency, plying and finishing techniques, and how to evaluate your final yarn to make sure you’ll have the perfect fabric for the sweater of your dreams.

Skills you will learn:

- How to assess characteristics of different fibers for the garment you have in mind;

- Techniques for consistency and diameter control;

- How to choose the appropriate draft for your fiber (worsted, woolen, semi-woolen);

- Strategies for plying, finishing, and swatching;

- Evaluating your final fabric.

Prerequisites: Successful students should have a good working relationship with their spinning wheels, be able to spin a consistent single, and have some experience plying and finishing yarn. Bring A spinning wheel in good working condition with extra bobbins, a notebook, and a lazy kate (if you have one). Bring any tools you might like to use (hand cards, mini-combs) and any fiber you would like to practice with.

We will have local fibers available for purchase at Bazaar Girls.

A little about Varian…

Varian Brandon started knitting at eight. A trip to the islands of Great Britain rekindled a love of color and created an interest in Fair Isle design and construction traditions. Currently, she is designing stranded colorwork patterns for several yarn companies, international magazines, and her website.

Varian lives in Saluda, North Carolina, and has been teaching stranded colorwork and related knitting techniques at local yarn shops, regional fiber festivals, and for the past thirteen years at the Kanuga Knitting and Quilting Retreat in Hendersonville, North Carolina which she coordinates. Online, she can be found at www.brandonknittingdesigns.com or on Ravelry as varianbrandon.

Stranded Colorwork: Getting Started

The class is designed to help the knitter who wants to try stranded colorwork knitting. You’ve seen all of those lovely stranded and Fair Isle designs and want to be able to cast one on for yourself.

In this class, students will work on a simple colorwork cowl…no increases…no decreases…no shaping…simple. The design was created for color to create motifs with only two colors on one round.

To be able to jump right in, there is homework. Yes, there are a lot of stitches to cast on. No, you probably will not be able to finish the project in class. You will, however, start to create muscle memory for a new technique and learn enough to finish the cowl on your own...at your speed.

Warning: this is an extremely addictive form of knitting!

Covered in class: a brief history of stranded colorwork knitting, holding yarns in two hands, reading charts, adding new yarns, securing old yarns, and yarn dominance.

Required skills: knit stitch and working in the round.

Stranded Shawls: two loves, one garment

The class is designed for the knitter who loves stranded colorwork and those drapey shawls that can make an outfit. Is it possible to combine these two loves into one garment? Yes, it is, with the use of steek stitches. Have you never used steeks before? This is a great way to get started!

In this class, students will learn to take shapes popular with lace knitters and create colorful shawls and stoles using stranded knitting techniques. Working with miniatures, we will look at rectangular, triangular, and crescent-shaped shawls with simple stranded motifs that can be expanded into larger garments.

Covered in this class: review of stranded colorwork knitting, using steeks to convert classic shawl shapes to work in stranded knitting, charting stranded shawls, review of reading charts for stranded knitting

Required skills: familiar with stranded colorwork knitting techniques

Homework: required.

A little about Kerry...

I am an avid knitter, spinner of yarn, dyer, designer of patterns, and owner of Jorstad Creek  - A Yarn & Fiber Company. Since starting the yarn and fiber company as a one-person operation, I’ve grown the company into a retail and wholesale endeavor. Jorstad is so much more than I dreamed. It is a local yarn store to our community of Olympia and surrounding areas, a stop-over for travelers on their way to Portland or Seattle, and a destination for knitters looking for our hand-dyed yarn and fiber. For the Jorstad team, the Studio is an idea made real by our own hands. 

A little about Jann...

I am a knitting designer, teacher, and tech editor. I also manage a small publishing company. You can contact me at Jann@JannHopplerDesign.com.

Planning to End Well; Options and Techniques for Fine Finishes

Jann Hoppler and Kerry Graber will present how to plan for fine finishes for your knitted projects. So that when the hard work of knitting is done you are set up for success. We will cover seaming in several ways, for a beautiful finish, special blocking methods for unusually shaped pieces, and the tools that help. Also presented are steeked finishes to plan for before you cast on for a visually appealing result.

A little about Judith...

Judith MacKenzie has been spinning and weaving most of her life and has been a textile artist for over thirty years. Her traditional training has been expanded with world travel, deep research, and industry consultation. Judith is a renowned spinner and a frequent contributor to Spin-Off magazine. She writes and teaches extensively, and is the author of The Intentional Spinner (Interweave, 2009) and The Practical Spinner’s Guide: Rare Luxury Fibers (Interweave, 2015).

Spinning Clinic

Spinning under the gentle guidance of Judith MacKenzie is an experience not to miss. This is a relaxed spinning circle for you to try various local wool fibers while Judith talks about each fiber and its traits. Judith's knowledge of wool, sheep, and fiber is broad and deep, and she is generous with sharing that knowledge with her students.

From Shetland Wool Weekend 2023

 Full Schedule

Historic Port Townsend is a beautiful little harbor town with several options for accommodations. The Palace, The Swan, and The Bishop Hotels are all within walking distance of Brigid's Loft.

The Bishop Hotel 360-302-6984

The Palace Hotel 360-385-0773

The Swan Hotel 360-385-1718

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