Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival
A celebration of fiber arts and old-time artisan skills!
2024 Dates: Friday, May 31 & Saturday, June 1
Friday Morning Workshops
Friday Morning Workshops begin at 9 A.M.
Check specific workshop for its duration.
Friday 9:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
3D Wet Felted Vessel
Workshop Fee Per Student: Early Bird $55/ Full Price $65
Total length of time: 3 hours
Instructor's Name: Heather Macali
Instructor's Website: www.heathermacali.com
Description: Learn how to wet felt in 3D! This course will cover basic dimensional wet felting techniques. You will create a felted vessel using wool fibers. Various color options will be available along with accents and textural locks to enhance the outside of your vessel.
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Items Included: Protein fibers in a variety of colors, plastic resist, netting, soap, and vinegar.
Student Provides: Scissors, face mask, bath towel, rubber gloves, 3-gallon bucket, 2 cup liquid measuring cup, empty Gatorade bottle with lid (20 fl. oz.), plastic bag (transport wet vessel) notebook, and pen.
Prerequisites: None.
Minimum Age of Participants: 12
Friday 9:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
Dyeing Fabric with Earth Pigments
Workshop Fee Per Student: Early Bird $50 / Full Price $60
Total length of time: 3 hours
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Instructor's Name: Gina Levesque
Instructor's Business: Across Generations
Instructor's Website: etsy.com/shop/acrossgenerations
Description: This workshop will focus on using clays and oxides from the earth to color cloth. Colors derived from these sources are highly color and light fast but require special handling to make them so. We will cover how to pre-treat fabric to insure maximum color uptake, dyeing the fabric, and post-dyeing finishing.
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Items Included: All materials used in workshop (including pigments), linen sample squares, and a binder of information presented in workshop.
Student Provides: Dye apron, household cleaning gloves.
Prerequisites: None.
Minimum Age of Participants: 14
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Friday 9:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
Freestyle Weaving for the Creative Spirit
Workshop Fee Per Student: Early Bird $85 / Full Price $95
Total length of time: 3 hours
Instructor's Name: Liza Q. Wirtz
Instructor's Business: The Foldout Cat
Instructor's Website: www.foldoutcat.com
Description: Weave your heart! Learn to weave freestyle and free-spirited on a simple floor loom. Honor your own inner sense of beauty and truth as you play with color, texture, and technique, and come away with a unique piece of woven art. Students will learn the basic skills of freestyle weaving on a highly approachable and easy-to-use two-harness floor loom. A few simple weaving techniques will be taught, but the emphasis of the workshop will be on exploration of color and texture in the service of personal expression. Students will take home what they weave.
Items Included: Use of pre-warped two-harness floor loom and associated tools (shuttles, bobbins, etc.); wide variety of weaving materials, plus access to and use of various different weaving materials: yarn in a variety of fibers, colors, and textures, beads, wire, embroidery floss, Mylar, fabric scraps, fiber, etc.
Student Provides: No participant-provided materials required: instructor will provide all tools and materials. If students want to bring something personally meaningful to them to incorporate into their weaving if possible, they're welcome--indeed, encouraged--to do so. Some past examples: specialty paper, pieces of jewelry (this is a fun use for unmatched earrings!), dyed or undyed fiber, leftover quantities of treasured yarn too small to knit or crochet a finished item with. Otherwise, students just need to bring their willingness to experiment and explore--and to practice imperfection!
Prerequisites: No previous experience with weaving required (though experienced weavers are as welcome as complete novices). Freestyle weaving is intended to be accessible to everyone, no matter their level of skill or knowledge. Workshop open to students 8 years old and up; students must be tall enough to reach the floor pedals on the looms and able to focus for the duration of the workshop.
Minimum Age of Participants: 8 (under 12 must have adult present)
Additional info: Workshop is truly intended to be open to anyone who wants to try freestyle weaving, from the pure novice to the experienced weaver.
Friday 9:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
Get Hooked! Intro to Crochet
Workshop Fee Per Student: Early Bird $15 / Full Price $15
Total length of time: 3 hours
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Instructor's Name: Jaymi Horne
Instructor's Business: Cranky Kangaroo
Instructor's Website: www.crankykangaroo.com
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Description: Learn this popular, fun, and portable craft! Learn the basics of crochet while making a practical washcloth. You'll learn all about tension, common stitches, and reading a pattern, and leave with the confidence to complete crochet projects on your own!
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Items Included: All items needed: crochet hook, yarn, pattern and beginner tips, darning needle, all in a cute bag!
Student Provides: Eagerness to learn.
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Prerequisites: No experience necessary.
Minimum Age of Participants: 12
Friday 9:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
Intro to Brioche Knitting
Workshop Fee Per Student: Early Bird $50 / Full Price $60
Total length of time: 3 hours
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Instructor's Name: Jenn Lampen
Instructor's Business: Synaptic Stitches
Instructor's Website: www.synapticstitches.com
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Description: Come learn the wildly popular brioche stitch! In this workshop you will learn the basics of two-color brioche in the round. You will leave the workshop with the knowledge to knit basic brioche projects, tips and tricks to help you avoid common pitfalls, and the start of your first brioche cowl.
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Items Included: Instructional information.
Student Provides: Two skeins of DK or worsted weight yarn in contrasting colors, solid or semisolid colors recommended, 16-in US8/5.0mm circular needles, stitch marker.
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Prerequisites: Students must be comfortable with basic knitting skills such as knitting, purling, knitting in the round, k2tog, yo, and slipping stitches.
Minimum Age of Participants: 16
Friday 9:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
Intro to Shuttle Tatting
Workshop Fee Per Student: Early Bird $85 / Full Price $95
Total length of time: 3 hours
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Instructor's Name: Kelli Slack
Instructor's Business: A Twisted Picot
Instructor's Website: www.atwistedpicot.com & www.kellislackdesigns.com
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Description: Learn the basics of shuttle tatting including rings, chains, picots, and joins and begin creating heirloom lace or fun accessories. We will also cover how to read a pattern, how to read a diagram, and sources for tatting and inspiration.
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Items Included: 2 balls of size 10 thread, 2 shuttles, booklet.
Student Provides: Students should bring scissors, tape measure, highlighter tape or post-it notes or magnetic chart, writing implement or note taking item(s)
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Prerequisites: None.
Minimum Age of Participants: 16
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Friday 9:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M.
Knitting Thrummed Mittens
Workshop Fee Per Student: Early Bird $45 / Full Price: $55
Total length of time: 2 hours
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Instructor's Name: Paige Shipley
Instructor's Business: Paige Shipley Designs
Instructor's Website: www.paigeshipleydesigns.com
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Description: Originating in Newfoundland and Labrador Island, thrummed mittens are a fun way to create wonderfully warm, fleece- lined mittens. Thrums were originally scraps of yarn leftover from weaving projects, but now roving (tufts of unspun wool) is used. Roving thrums are added every few rounds to create a layer of wool insulation that felts with use and these mittens get better every time you wear them!
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HOMEWORK: Homework is 3 inches of ribbing (or length of their choice) so we can jump right into making and adding thrums. If the student doesn't do the homework, the thrummed alternative is a little pincushion/cat toy to get thrum practice.
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Items Included: Natural roving, pattern, a handmade stitch marker.
Student Provides: 100g of worsted weight wool or wool blend- cannot be superwash.
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Prerequisites: Student should be confident in knitting and purling in the round.
Minimum Age of Participants: 10 (under 12 must have adult present)
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Friday 9:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
Pin Loom Weaving
Workshop Fee Per Student: Early Bird $35 / Full Price $45
Total length of time: 3 hours
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Instructor's Name: Kelly Jones
Instructor's Business: Kiss Looms
Instructor's Website: www.kisslooms.com
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Description: Explore weaving on the Kiss Looms square, triangle, and hexagon weaving looms. Many sizes are available to try out during the workshop. You will learn how to weave on each type of loom and seaming techniques to make them into larger projects, such as pillows, scarves, blankets, bowls and shawls. Yarn and looms will be available during the workshop. Looms will be available for purchase after the workshop.
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Items Included: Use of looms during workshop.
Student Provides: Worsted weight yarn, scissors, yarn needle.
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Prerequisites: None.
Minimum Age of Participants: 14
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Friday 9:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M.
Using Variegated Yarn Without Tears
Workshop Fee Per Student: Early Bird $55 / Full Price $65
Total length of time: 2 hours
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Instructor's Name: Mary Jo Harris
Instructor's Business: Harris Caning and Knitting
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Description: Do you ever wonder how a skein of yarn will ‘knit up’ or what it will look like once you’ve made it into something? Have you ever obtained a skein of variegated yarn that you felt was just GORGEOUS and that you couldn’t wait to make something with it – but then didn’t like the result? Or you got the yarn home but then wasn’t sure what to do with it? This workshop is designed to remedy those situations. We'll discuss:
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What is Variegated Yarn
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What is Color Pooling - and how to Minimize it
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What Knitting Techniques and Projects can make variegated yarn look good
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Can start a swatch, scarf, or item of your choice
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Items Included: Handouts and samples for viewing in workshop.
Student Provides:
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Variegated yarn - 1 or more colorways – whatever weight you’re comfortable using
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Circular needles in a size appropriate for your yarn
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Paper for taking notes
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Pen or Pencil
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Stitch markers appropriate for your needles
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If you have a variegated yarn that you have questions about, bring it to workshop. AND, if you have a pattern that you want to use with that yarn, bring it along with the needles called for in the pattern. If you don’t have a pattern in mind, just bring needles that you feel will work with the yarn.
Prerequisites: Know how to cast on, bind off, knit, and purl.
Minimum Age of Participants: 16
Friday Afternoon Workshops
Friday Afternoon Workshops begin at 1 P.M.
Check specific workshop for its duration.
Friday 1:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M.
Adjustable Gauge Loom Knitting
Workshop Fee Per Student: Early Bird $65 / Full Price $75
Total length of time: 3 hours
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Instructor's Name: Kelly Jones
Instructor's Business: Kiss Looms
Instructor's Website: www.kisslooms.com
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Description: Always wanted to learn how to knit? Experiencing pain in your wrists from needle knitting? Loom knitting is great for those just starting out or those who have been knitting for years! This Beginner Basics of Loom Knitting workshop is for first-time loom knitters. We will start with casting-on techniques and how to do knit and purl stitches for flat-panel and in-the-round knitting as well as binding-off techniques. You will also learn how to adjust gauge for different projects and how to set up for double knitting. This is a great workshop to get your feet wet. We will use the adjustable Kiss Looms for the workshop and you will get a small-gauge 30-peg loom with 7 peg ends, a great starter loom with room to add on later. Whether you’ve been knitting with needles for years or have always wanted to knit, you’ll love working with an adjustable loom. It’s easy on your hands and gives you lots of versatility!
Items Included: Loom: 30 peg SG short and 7 peg ends included in workshop fee.
Student Provides: Worsted weight yarn.
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Prerequisites: None.
Minimum Age of Participants: 14
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Friday 1:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M.
Beginner Peg Loom Weaving
Workshop Fee Per Student: Early Bird $55 / Full Price $65 (plus cost of loom, or bring your own)
Total length of time: 3 hours
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Instructor's Name: Case Runyan
Instructor's Business: Aoire Maith Fibre Studios
Instructor's Website: www.aoiremaithfibrestudios.com
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Description: Learn to weave on these simple portable weaving looms! In this beginner course, we will learn to warp our looms and how to create on the loom using different fiber preps. We will create an 18” seat cushion for you to take home using 100% wool locks and roving. We will discuss how to take your weaving off the loom, ways to handle your warp strings, and the best options for both warp and weft.
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Loom Requirement: Participants will need to provide their own loom or can purchase the following sizes of handcrafted looms from the instructor. You will pay her directly on the day of the festival.
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12" OG - $45 (Not Available for Beginner Workshop)
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20" OG - $55
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24" OG - $65
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36" OG - $100
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24" Goldilocks - $130
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36" Goldilocks - $200
View Case's handcrafted looms at: https://www.aoiremaithfibrestudios.com/shop/peg-looms/16
Items Included: Fiber to create an 18″ seat cushion, and warp for the project – Peg looms are NOT included in the materials, but are available for purchase in multiple sizes. A price list of looms can be provided, and is found on my website.
Student Provides: Bring your own peg loom, or looms will be available for purchase from the instructor. Also, scissors and a tape measure.
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Prerequisites: None.
Minimum Age of Participants: 12
Friday 1:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M.
Beginning Embroidery
Workshop Fee Per Student: Early Bird $65 / Full Price $75
Total length of time: 2 hours
Instructor's Name: Kelli Slack
Instructor's Business: A Twisted Picot
Instructor's Website: www.atwistedpicot.com & www.kellislackdesigns.com
Description: Learn the basics of embroidery with this kit based workshop and explore the interaction between needle, thread, and fabric. Join experienced embroiderer Kelli to practice Buttonhole Stitch, Cross Stitch, Fly Stitch, Feather Stitch, Satin Stitch, Chain Stitch, Fern Stitch, Lazy Daisy Stitch, Back stitch, and Running Stitch. Workshop includes kit with pre-printed fabric, stitch guide, needle, and hoop.
Items Included: Workshop includes kit with pre-printed fabric, stitch guide, needle, and hoop.
Student Provides: Scissors, a pencil or pen.
Prerequisites: None.
Minimum Age of Participants: 16
Friday 1:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M.
Brioche Knitting Next Steps -
Increase, Decrease, and Cables
Workshop Fee Per Student: Early Bird $50 / Full Price $60
Total length of time: 3 hours
Instructor's Name: Jenn Lampen
Instructor's Business: Synaptic Stitches
Instructor's Website: www.synapticstitches.com
Description: If you’re comfortable with basic two-color brioche knitting, but want to learn the skills to knit intricate brioche designs with flowing leaves or twisting cables, this is the workshop for you. You will learn the most common increases and decreases used in brioche for both fabric shaping and patterning. You will also learn basic right leaning and left leaning brioche cables that create cable crosses on the right side of the fabric and maintain undisturbed brioche rib on the wrong side.
Items Included: Instructional information.
Student Provides: Two contrasting colors of DK or worsted weight yarn (stash leftovers are fine, solids or semisolids recommended), 16-in US8/5.0mm circular needles, locking stitch markers.
Prerequisites: Students must be comfortable with basic brioche knitting flat.
Minimum Age of Participants: 16
Friday 1:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M.
Chunky Funky Fun: Learn to Hand Knit
Workshop Fee Per Student: Early Bird $40 / Full Price: $50
Total length of time: 2 hours
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Instructor's Name: Jaymi Horne
Instructor's Business: Cranky Kangaroo
Instructor's Website: www.crankykangaroo.com
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Description: Make a beautiful pouf pillow while learning how to use chunky yarn to hand knit! No needles required! Learn how to use chenille yarn without the usual frustration. This is a great way to learn knitting, with no worry of tension or special stitches. You can also choose to turn your pillow into a pumpkin for fall décor!
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Items Included: Yarn and printed pattern
Student Provides: Instructor provides all items.
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Prerequisites: No experience necessary. Beginner friendly workshop, join in even if you've never knitted before.
Minimum Age of Participants: 10 (under 12 must have adult present)
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Friday 1:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M.
Continuing Your Freestyle Weaving Journey
Workshop Fee Per Student: Early Bird $85 / Full Price $95
Total length of time: 3 hours
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Instructor's Name: Liza Q. Wirtz
Instructor's Business: The Foldout Cat
Instructor's Website: www.foldoutcat.com
Description: Weave your joy! Maybe you’ve done a little weaving in the freestyle world, and you find it speaks to your heart. Now you’re ready to learn some new techniques to add to your freespirited toolbox as you continue down your weaving path. Invite this workshop into your life! Students will learn various ways to add creativity and personal expression to warp and weft as they weave the fabric of their heart on a highly approachable and easy-to-use two-harness floor loom. Supplemental warps, interlaid and interlocked shapes, rya knots, loops and worms, and more creative choices await! Students will take home what they weave.
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Items Included: Use of pre-warped two-harness floor loom; use of associated tools (shuttles, bobbins, etc.); access to and use of a wide variety of different weaving materials, including yarn in various fibers, colors, and textures, embroidery floss, fabric scraps, fiber, trim, beads, wire, Mylar, etc. Each student will also get a bag of fibery treasures to keep; these can be used in workshop, in a future weaving, or both.
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Student Provides: No participant-provided materials required; instructor will provide all necessary tools and materials. If students want to bring something personally meaningful to them to incorporate into their weaving if possible, they're welcome–indeed, encouraged–to do so. Some past examples: specialty paper, pieces of jewelry (this is a fun use for unmatched earrings and stray pendants), dyed or undyed fiber, leftover quantities of treasured yarn too small to knit or crochet into a finished item. Otherwise, students just need to bring their willingness to experiment and explore--and to practice imperfection!
Prerequisites: No special skills required. Some prior experience with weaving on some sort of loom is useful. That said, students who have never woven before but need this workshop in their lives nonetheless should find the learning curve easy to climb. Workshop open to students 8 years old and up; students must be tall enough to reach the floor pedals on the looms and able to focus for the duration of the workshop.
Minimum Age of Participants: 8 (under 12 must have adult present)
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Friday 1:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M.
Introduction to Natural Dyes
Workshop Fee Per Student: Early Bird $60 / Full Price $70
Total length of time: 4 hours
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Instructor's Name: Gina Levesque
Instructor's Business: Across Generations
Instructor's Website: etsy.com/shop/acrossgenerations
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Description: Techniques of natural dyeing will be taught using traditional methods. Students will learn the difference between a dye and a stain, colorfastness, light fastness and properties of individual dyes. Mordants and their effects on dyes will be taught. We will use dyes dating back over 500 years, learning their history and importance to ancient cultures and Native Americans. Each student will create a dye notebook to take with them. Dyes used will include, but are not limited to, madder, osage orange, black walnut, cochineal, logwood, plus a wide variety of additional sources.
Although natural dyes can be used on a variety of materials including paper and reeds for basketry, we will be dyeing 100% wool yarn samples in workshop. Each student will be given a sample to include in their dye notebook. Participants are encouraged to bring small samples of their own art medium (cotton, reed, other types of animal fibers) to drop into dye pots.
Items Included: A binder of information and dye sheets, workshop samples of dyed wool and a metal ring with labels to organize them, plus all materials used in workshop.
Student Provides: Participants should wear older clothing or a dye apron. Students may bring milk jugs or jars if they desire to take home remaining exhaust baths. Students should wear older clothing and/or aprons.
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Prerequisites: None.
Minimum Age of Participants: 14
Friday 1:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M.
Needle Felted Mushroom
Workshop Fee Per Student: Early Bird $75 / Full Price $85
Total length of time: 4 hours
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Instructor's Name: Julie Adams
Instructor's Business: Julie's Fiber Treasures
Description: Delve into a magical world and learn how to needle felt a mushroom. There will be several colors to choose from so your mushroom will be as unique as you are. You will gain knowledge in armature construction, wrapping wool, forming a mushroom cap, and how to mount your project in a pot or on a wood slice.
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Items Included: All materials and tools will be provided.
Student Provides: Great Attitude
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Prerequisites: Participants should know basic felting techniques.
Minimum Age of Participants: 14
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Friday 1:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M.
Steeks: What Are They and How to Make Them
Workshop Fee Per Student: Early Bird $65 / Full Price $75
Total length of time: 4 hours
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Instructor's Name: Mary Jo Harris
Instructor's Business: Harris Caning and Knitting
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Description: Fear not! Steeks are not something you’ll dread once you know how to make them. They may actually make your knitting life easier! In this workshop, participants will learn:
- What a steek is
- Where, when, and how to use a steek
- Several Ways to make a steek
- How to steek a swatch using one of the methods covered in workshop
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Items Included: Handouts, samples, and display.
Student Provides: Homework (see below)
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Light Colored Worsted Weight Yarn (can be the same yarn you used for the homework)
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Needles in an appropriate size for your yarn (Can be what you used for the homework)
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Sharp Scissors
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A Measuring Tape or Ruler
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Paper for taking notes
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Pen or Pencil
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Usual Knitting supplies
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Portable Light (optional)
HOMEWORK: Using light colored worsted weight 100% WOOL (not superwash) yarn and appropriate size 16” circular needles (probably size 7 – 9), cast on enough stitches to fill the needles. Then join and knit in the round for at least 8”. If you want, you can add a 1” garter stitch border to this which would make this it at least 10” long. Bind off the swatch and bring it to workshop.
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Prerequisites: Know how to cast on, bind off, knit, purl, and knit in the round. Having basic sewing skills would be helpful but are not required.
Minimum Age of Participants: 13