Spinning Workshop Series: Beyond the Basics – Exploring Sheep Breeds

This workshop series includes 8 sessions*, every Tuesday and Thursday evening from June 2nd- 28th (see schedule below).

Join us in exploring the great diversity of wool! In this series of classes, we will explore fleece from a broad range of sheep breeds. You will learn:

• how to assess wool quality and characteristics
• different preparation and spinning techniques
• how to choose the perfect wool for specific projects

These are hands-on classes, with plenty of time dedicated to spinning and working with wool.

Experienced and new spinners are welcome! You just need to be comfortable spinning a continuous yarn. If you are interested in taking the class but haven’t yet learned to spin, we can help connect you to a beginning spinning class!

*We encourage you to sign up for the whole series, however, you are also welcome to sign up for any of the first four individual classes if you have an interest in specific topics and/or are unable to take the whole series.

Class Schedule:

Part 1: Intro to the Diversity of Wool
     — Thursday, June 2, 5:30-8pm
Part 2: Washing Raw Fleece
     — Tuesday, June 7, 5:30-8pm
Part 3: Woolen Yarns
     — Thursday, June 9, 5:30-8pm
Part 4: Worsted Yarns
     — Tuesday, June 14, 5:30-8pm
Parts 5-8: Work Sessions
     — June 16, 21, 23, and 28, all 5:30-8pm
The final four classes will be work sessions where students will have the opportunity to work with specific breeds of their choice and prepare, spin and knit or crochet sample swatches. We will also discuss how to choose the right breed for a project and we will be creating sample swatches for a future project.

Instructors:

Susan Willsrud: Susan is one of the founders and Co-Directors of Calypso Farm. She has been spinning yarn and teaching others how to spin for over 10 years! She does all of the spinning from Calypso’s flock of Shetland sheep and loves creating unique, handspun yarns out of the mountains of wool they provide.

Wendy Berg: Wendy is the owner of Emma Creek Fibers. She is an enthusiastic spinner and sheep breed aficionado who loves to share her knowledge with others. She’s been sourcing and spinning all kinds of different sheep breeds over the past several years and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience!

Cost for the series: $200 members/$225 non-member*
*See below for information about membership and Pay What You Can discounts.

Additional Materials Fee: $75

Students Should Bring: A functional spinning wheel (if you have one) with 3 bobbins (minimum). Students should dress for spinning outdoors.

Wheel Borrowing Option: Calypso has spinning wheels (with bobbins) available for use during the series and you can take the wheels and bobbins home with you to practice in between classes. We will ask for a $100 deposit, which will be refunded when the wheel is returned at the end of the series. Please reserve your wheel early to ensure availability!