How do you make an egg basket out of ribs and antlers? What skills does it take to spin alpaca wool from raw fleece? How does Kumihimo, the ancient art of Japanese braiding, differ from the braiding you learned in grammar school?
If you are a fiber arts enthusiast, don't miss the Estes Park Wool Market Workshops scheduled for June 9 and 10at the Estes Park High School at 1600 Manford Ave. The workshops are a prelude to the 21st Annual Estes Park Wool Market, two exciting days of exhibits, demonstrations, competitions and vendor booths.
Designed for the beginner to advanced student, the workshop schedule includes both one and two-day workshops on a wide range of fiber arts. The two-day workshops include Linda Lugenbill's "Ribs and Antlers," which combines antlers with ribbed basketry, and Shirley Ellsworth's "Creating a Beginner's Weaving Sampler." If you'd like to tell a story with your work take Rose Vigil's "Storytelling Tapestry." Other two-day workshops address spinning, Navajo weaving and advanced knitting stitches.
Chris Switzer's workshop "Spinning Alpaca" offers hands-on spinning with alpaca wool. She is the author of "Spinning Llama & Alpaca," now in its third edition, and owns an alpaca farm in Estes Park with her husband Phil. If you've always wanted to learn how to spin, start with Claire Walker's "Beginning Spinning." If you have spinning experience, try Kathy Bright's "Spinning Exotic Yarns" or Stefania Isaacson's "Spinning for Socks."
Knitters can choose from a wide range of workshops that includes Galina Khemeleva's "Double the Fun: Continental Knitting & Moosky Knitting" and Donna Druchunas's "Explore Japanese Knitting."
If you have a passion for color, attend Paula Vester's "Three Dyes - Many Possibilities," which explores how to dye both fleece and yarn, or Faye Frei's "Mushroom Dyeing," where students are introduced to the exciting world of mushroom-dyed yarns. Liz Moncrief's "A Dyeing Round-Robin" focuses on dyes designed for protein fibers.
Workshops also explore creating felt scarves and felt hats, Japanese crocheting, warping, and Navajo spindle spinning.
Half the fun is meeting and working with the talented artisans who are teaching the workshops. For instance, Patricia Kalthoff, who presents "Knitters Tool Box," has been knitting and spinning since her college days and traded her first car for a spinning wheel and a set of knitting tapes. Linda George, who teaches "Rocky Mountain Mittens," learned how to knit at the age of 10 from her Swedish Aunt Elsa.
For a complete list of workshops, required tools and materials fees, visit the Wool Market Workshop website at http://www.estesnet.com/Events/WoolMarketWorkshops.aspx or call the Events Department office at 970-586-6104. The email is events@estes.org.
