Thanks to all of our students from 2013!

This year was one of our busiest years yet and we'd like to acknowledge all of our wonderful students...some who came back twice in one year! (Michelle Goldman and Bob Clarke).  There were some wonderful projects woven and many new friends made. We look forward to another exciting year in 2014!

Dang Azarian, from Calais, VT, with her towels.

Madeline Owen, from Maine, with her wool throw.

Michelle Goldman, from Maine, with her warp faced carpet.

Rabbit Goody teaching her designing and drafting class.

Suzi Konecky and Matthew Ball, from Shelburne, MA, with dishtowel and throw.

Hilarie Blevins and Chris Barber, from North Carolina, with their throws.

Carrie Jessen, from Minnesota, with her towels and overshot.

Kathy Olwell, Leisa Pollander and Debbie LaRosa,
all from Burlington, with their throws and towels.

Lora Loope, from Michigan, with her towels.

Lemuel and Jessie Hudson, from Delaware, with their throws.

John Watson, from Montana, with this double bed blanket,
warp faced carpets and linen.

Kathy Weigold, back from Connecticut, after 30 years!
Working on linen.

Trudy Chepy, from Nova Scotia, with her throw.

Jewel Tumas, from Virgina, working on spot weave linen.

Bev Nichols, from Hinesburg, VT, wove cotton towels  - photo coming.

The Red Dye workshop participants - Jane Quimby,
Eileen Crawford and Billie Smith.

Jean Hosford, Red Dyes participant, from Michigan.

Anne Low, from Vancouver, with her summer winter throw.

Jane Quimby teaching Deb Bogart Shibori.

Bob Clarke, from Ottawa, with his summer blanket/winter sheet.


Amy Rembold, from Maryland, wove cotton towels - photo coming.

Penny Scroggins, from Texas, with her extended bird's eye blanket.

Giselle Hogdon, from Montpelier, with her rag rugs.

Sarah Barron, from Woodbury, Vt, with her towels.

Celia Lesh, from Brooklyn, with her wool fabric.

Marina Contro, from Brooklyn, with her towels.

Julie George, from East Montpelier, Vt, with her summer winter throw.

Deanna Berkermeier, from the Genesso Country Museum, with her  natural dyed silks , cotton, and linen.

Susan Osterman, one of our local weavers, with her cotton napkins.

Sandra Robinson, another local weaver, with cotton towels.

Stevie Spencer, local weaver, with her log cabin throw.

Pat Mayhew, local weaver, with her cotton blanket.

Ginny Kern, local weaver, with her hand dyed warp faced carpet.

Ada Schenk, Vt. Folklife Grantee, weaving on cotton towels.

Joann Darling, VT Folklife Grantee, spinning her homegrown flax.

Rose Diamond, VT Folklife Grantee, with her hand spun, hand dyed fabric.

Lynnette Combs, my right and left hand weaver, assistant teacher
and all around wonder woman.

And last, but not least .....Norman Kennedy....inspiration to us all.

Red Dye Intensive

This August we held a four day workshop where the focus would be solely on the dyeing with natural materials that give the color red. I had wanted to work on the dyeing of cotton and linen with madder for years and thought that holding a workshop would be the perfect opportunity to give me the push that I needed to do this. With Zoe's help we planned to have the first two days set aside for the mordanting and dyeing of the fibers and the last two days would be taking those dye stuffs and use them for printing and silk screening. We had four very enthusiastic participants....Jean Hosford, who came all the way out from Michigan, Billie Smith from New Jersey, Jane Quimby from NH, and Eileen Crawford from Vermont. The two exciting things for me were that we were going to be using my homegrown madder root for some of the sampling and that I had decided to try a real authentic "Turkey Red" receipt. Consequently I had started the mordanting process for that a month ahead of time. I was using the procedure outlined in the book by J. Liles, The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing which involved mordanting the yarn with oils, tannic acid and alum...over and over again...with a final soak in sheep or cow dung for good measure. He was very adamant that not just any red could be called Turkey Red and I quote.."Do not call your product Turkey Red until it is....and there will be no question in your mind when you have it". Well.....see for our yourselves if we didn't succeed in our attempts for the illusive Turkey Red! Besides that, we all had fun and learned alot.

Kate's fresh madder root ready for dyeing.

Cochineal on wool.

Jean with her sample of madder root.

Some of the cotton and linen skeins dyed with madder and cochineal.

Cotton and linen skeins dyed with lac and brazilwood.

YES!!

Eileen getting ready to make dye paste.

Jean measuring something??

The mordant samples ready to dry.

Another successful day of dyeing.

Zoe explaining the workings of silk screening.

The silk screens ready for designing.

The dye paint samples.

Making up the sample books.

Jean, Jane and Billie starting to make up the sample books.   Kate looking on (note ice pack!)
A successful but exhausting four days!

photos by Jane Quimby and Kate Smith