1. hobbies and interests
2. needlework

A Gathering of Stitches
54 Cove Street, East Bayside
Portland, Maine 04101
207 747 5015 [email protected]
January, 2014 Workshop Schedule
Time to start a new year. What a better way than by learning a new craft or fine-tuning
your skills. We’ve got workshops at all levels, read more below. You can register online, or
by calling us at 747 5015. Workshops can be found online by clicking on the images on the
Welcome page of knitting, sewing etc, or searching the calendar and clicking on workshop
titles. If you need help, contact us!
•Remember tuition for workshops includes studio time. If you are taking a multi-part
workshop you are welcome to use the studio to work on your project during the time
between sessions. If you are taking a one-session workshop you are welcome to use the
studio for five days after the completion of the session. It is expected that any work you do
in the studio will pertain to the workshop you are enrolled in.
• If you need a sewing machine during a workshop, there is no charge to use one of ours.
• Intro to Modern Quilting
Teacher: Samantha Lindgren
$135.00
In this thre- session workshop you learn the basics of modern quilting by creating a wall
hanging or baby quilt using the classic log cabin block. Topics covered include fabric
preparation, basic color theory, using a ruler and rotary cutter efficiently, sewing 1/4"
seams, pressing, making blocks, assembling a top, making the quilt sandwich, quilting and
binding.
Saturdays, January 4, 11 & 18, 1:00-4:00pm
Skill Level: Basic sewing skills, and comfort with your sewing machine, but otherwise
open to all.
Materials: An assortment of complementary (or contrasting) fabrics in a color range that
is pleasing to you. You should have about 3 yards in total. It can be fat quarters or
yardage. Matching, or complementary thread, scissors and/or a rotary cutter, pins, a
marking tool, and a ruler at least 18" in length. Bring your sewing machine, if you need to
use one of ours let us know in advance and we will reserve you one.
• Hats! Learn to Knit in the Round
Teacher: Melinda Titus
$65.00
Hats are a quick and distinctive way to make a fashion statement. And they're warm... A
hat is a fun way to learn how to knit in the round! In this two-session workshop you learn
the ins and outs of knitting in the round by making a hat.
Sundays, January 5 & 12, 10:30am-12:30pm
Skill Level: Advanced beginner, you should be comfortable with knit and purl stitches and
casting on.
~~~
• A Classic Zippered Bag
Teacher: Betsy Scheintaub
$45.00
You can never have too many zippered pouches. To hold pens, make-up, keys, whatever
you carry around that gets lost at the bottom of your bag. In this workshop you learn a
lovely lined two fabric pouch with a zipper that can be made in different sizes. This is a
good project for practicing your zipper installation, and for using up small pieces of
fabric. Make one for yourself, one for your friend, one for a sibling...Once you get started
it's hard to stop making these addictive little projects.
Saturday, January 12, 2:00-4:30pm
Skill Level: You should be comfortable with your sewing machine, but this workshop is
open to all, including teens.
~~~
• An Introduction to Machine Knitting
Teacher: Alyssa Stoisolovich
$225.00
Would you like to expand your knitting repertoire to include machine knitting? Are you
curious about this technological knitting method? Let us help you.
In this workshop you learn the basics of machine knitting. This series is one part technical
learning and one part exploratory to give you a platform and encourage you to
experiment. You learn the technical side of needle setups to achieve certain knit stitches,
techniques for casting on and off, increasing and decreasing stitches for
shaping/fashioning, as well as an intro to working with multiple colors. During the 5 week
series you can use the knitting machines to practice your skills between sessions. At the
end of the workshop you will understand basic machine maintenance, and have the
fundamental machine knitting skills that you can apply to any project. This workshop
qualifies you to rent the knitting machines during open studio hours without having to
take the required machine orientation. Learn something completely new!
-Two different sessions are available:
Tuesdays, January 7,14, 21, 28 & February 4, 6:30-9:00pm
Wednesdays, January 8,15, 22, 29 & February 5, 6:30-9:00pm
Skill Level: No machine knitting experience necessary, but you should have a basic
understanding of how to hand knit.
~~~
• Sewing Machine ABC’s
Teacher: Samantha Lindgren
$30.00
Sewist meet machine, machine meet sewist. In this workshop you learn the geography of
your machine. How to thread a bobbin, thread the machine, adjust the tension, basic
maintenance, sew various stitches, sew a basic seam and then construct a simple item.
The workshop is recommended for anyone wishing to get started learning to sew, or who
wants to understand their sewing machine…
Saturday, November 16, 11:00am-12:30pm
Skill Level: Absolute beginner
Materials: Your sewing machines with all it’s accessories, attachments, and the manual.
~~~
• Knit Your First Sweater
Teacher: Jerusha Robinson
$250.00
The holidays are over, now it's time to calm down and give yourself some time to think
and stitch. You’ve completed a few small projects, how about using your skills to expand
your wardrobe, or that of someone you love? Or perhaps you’ve already made a sweater
that somehow didn’t come out just right. Let Jerusha help you with that. In this five-week
workshop you explore different types of sweater construction, and then work on a topdown raglan cardigan. Top-down raglans are beautiful because there is very little
finishing involved, so the focus will be on making a nice even fabric, pattern-reading,
picking up stitches, determining what size to knit, getting gauge, yarn substitution, and
finishing. Casting on, binding off, knitting, purling, increasing/decreasing are things to
know before signing up. This is a heavy homework workshop! But at the end you'll have a
new garment for Valentine's day!
Thursdays, January 9, 16, 23, 30 & February 6, 6:00-9:00pm
Skill Level: Intermediate
Materials: For the first session, you’ll need: A copy of Featherweight; Yarn required to
complete the project; Needles to obtain gauge (see class prep); Your gauge swatch (see
class prep)
Your knitting tool kit: Tapestry needle; Ruler and/or stitch gauge; Needle gauge; Stitch
markers; Scissors.
Class prep—please do the following before start of class and bring to first session:
A gauge swatch, washed and blocked. Recommended swatch size is 4-6” square. If you
knit tightly or loosely, you may need to change needle sizes from the ones listed in the
pattern. A gauge swatch is crucial for knitting a sweater successfully!
~~~
• Copy a Favorite Garment
Teacher: Cheslye Ventimiglia
$200.00
Got a favorite blouse, dress or pants that you'd really like to reproduce? This is the
workshop for you…. Make a personal sewing pattern from an existing garment employing
four approaches that can be used individually or together. These methods will allow you to
capture challenging features such as the shape of a sleeve, the rise of pants, and the depth
of a dart. You will learn some basic pattern making principles and will consider how the
successful interpretation of your garment depends on your choice of fabric.
Saturdays, January 11&18, 9:30am-2:30pm
Skill Level: Must have experience sewing garments from commercial patterns and be
comfortable working with your sewing machine.
Materials: a dressmaker’s measuring tape, glass-head pins, a pair of sewing scissors and
scissors for cutting paper, sewing needles and thread, a seam ripper, a pencil or pen, and a
favorite garment that you want to copy.
~~~
• Hand Paint Yarn
Teacher: Jody Meredith
$50.00
In this workshop you learn to create your own hand-painted colorways on yarn. Working
with Lanaset and Sabroset dyes on protein yarns of wool, silk or alpaca, you learn about
safe dye practices, making dye solutions, techniques for different styles of painted yarn
and how to set the dyes in the yarn. At the end of the workshop you leave with two
different skeins of hand-painted yarn, and the skills to reproduce your results at home.
Sunday, January 12, 10:30am-12:30pm
Skill Level: Beginner
Materials: Bring two skeins of un-dyed or natural yarn, wool, silk or alpaca. Also a pair of
rubber gloves, an apron and wear clothing you do not mind getting dirty. There is a $10
materials fee payable to the teacher for dyes and supplies.
• Screen Print Study
Teacher: Eliza Jane Curtis
$180.00
This deep entry-level workshop is for those who want to act on their screen printing
curiosity. We’ll start with a very quick review of the basic concepts and materials, look at
some inspiring examples of screen printed work, then learn about several different
techniques for creating images to be screen printed and turning them into screens. The
first session will be demonstrations and an explanation, the remaining three sessions will
include demonstrations and printmaking time. Over the course, each participant will burn
one or two screens using their own images. We’ll cover a few different methods for
creating images, depending on participants’ areas of interest, possibly including: working
with photographs, creating patterns, using computer-generated images, creating images
with brush and ink, cut-out paper shapes, and adapting drawings for screen printing. We’ll
have plenty of time for printing on paper, fabric, and objects such as t-shirts, tote bags,
aprons, etc, and plenty of time to have fun exploring different media and learning how to
control print quality and results.
Wednesdays, January 15, 22, 29 & February 5, 6:00-9:00pm
Skill Level: Beginner
Materials: A $70 fee for inks and other supplies will be payable to the teacher at the first
class.
~~~
• You Start with Two Sticks, An Introduction to Knitting
Teacher: Jerusha Robinson
$200.00
Do you watch carefully when someone else knits? Are you curious about this ancient
craft? Have you wanted to learn to knit but never known where to start? Let us help you.
This five week workshop is for folks who have literally never picked up a pair of needles
before. We teach you casting on, binding off, knitting, purling, increasing, decreasing, and
basic finishing. All the basic skills you need to call yourself a knitter. We cover the
importance of swatching, gauge, and blocking. You’ll make two projects: a pair of simple
mitts and a hat, all knitted flat. At the end of the series you will understand the basic
mechanics of knitting and have the skills to move forward with confidence.
Saturdays, January 18, 25, February 1, 8 &15, 10:00am-1:00pm
Skill Level: Absolute beginner.
Materials: Two skeins of worsted weight yarn in a light color, such as Quince & Co. Lark
or Cascade 220, for swatching and for the first project—please, no heathered/variegated
or fuzzy yarns; straight 10” size 8 knitting needles, (optional) point protectors. We will be
building our knitting tool kits over the course of the class and will need extra yarn for the
second project.
• Sewing Machine ABC’s
Teacher: Samantha Lindgren
$30.00
Sewist meet machine, machine meet sewist. In this workshop you learn the geography of
your machine. How to thread a bobbin, thread the machine, adjust the tension, basic
maintenance, sew various stitches, sew a basic seam and then construct a simple item.
The workshop is recommended for anyone wishing to get started learning to sew, or who
wants to understand their sewing machine…
Saturday, January 19, 10:30-Noon
Skill Level: Absolute beginners
Materials: Your machines with all it’s accessories, attachments, and the manual.
~~~
• The Improvisational Block
Teacher: Samantha Lindgren
$30.00
This is an ongoing series of monthly quilting blocks. Improvisational piecing is a free and
intuitive method of making quilt blocks, meant to loosen up your sewing. Each month we
work on a different style of improvisational piecing. I'll give a short tutorial in the
beginning of the session and then you can play with fabrics for the rest of the time. Think
of it as finger painting with fabric.
Tuesday, January 21, 6:30-8:00pm
Skill Level: Open to all levels, this workshop is for playing so you should be comfortable
with your sewing machine.
Materials: Fabric, scraps or yardage, that makes you happy, thread and your working
sewing machine. If you want to use one of our machines let us know in advance and we'll
reserve you one. We also have fabric scraps here for your use.
~~~
• Imagery and Text in Embroidery
Teacher: Beatrice Perron Dahlen
$75.00
In this workshop you explore modern embroidery that incorporates images and
text. We talk about inspiration for images and text, learn techniques to transfer
photographic images onto fabric, different methods for transferring self designed images
onto fabric, and different ways to incorporate text into embroidery. You spend time
applying techniques to a self-designed project. While a prior knowledge of embroidery
stitches is useful for this workshop, beginners are also welcome.
Wednesdays, January 22 & 29, 6:00-9:00pm
Skill Level: Prior knowledge of stitches will help in this workshop, but beginners are
welcome.
Materials & Fee:
●
several xerox images
●
an inspiring text (short)
●
any other drawings or images you may want to experiment with
●
embroidery hoop, needles & thread (available at AGOS)
●
1-2 yards of cotton muslin, prewashed, as well as any other fabric the student may
want to experiment with
●
other supplies are covered by the $10 materials fee (you are welcome to bring
anything else, including fabric, that you would like to use or experiment with)
~~~
• Learn to Sew: The Alphabet Starts with A-line (skirt)
Teacher: Betsy Scheintaub
$150.00
In this three-session workshop you will create the perfect fitting A Line skirt, the
silhouette that is flattering on every body. This project will teach you about straight
seams, seam finishes, invisible zippers and hemming. All you need is a basic knowledge of
machine sewing to create a great wearable garment.
Saturdays, January 25, February 1 & 8, 2:00-4:00pm
Skill Level: Beginner garment sewists welcome, but you should be familiar with your
sewing machine.
Materials: We will be working with the Barcelona pattern by Amy Butler. You can buy the
pattern at Z Fabrics. Please bring 2 1/2 yards of woven cotton or linen fabric, pre-washed.
Stay away from quilting cottons as they tend not to have enough drape for clothing, a 7-9"
invisible zipper, matching thread, scissors, and a sewing machine if you have one. If you
need to use one of ours let us know and we will reserve one for you.
~~~
• Sampler Workshop: Zipper insertion
Teacher: Cheslye Ventimiglia
$50.00
In each sampler workshop you focus on one important element of clothing construction,
such as hems, zippers, buttonholes. Some of the techniques will be basic, some will be fine
sewing techniques. Using both hand sewing and machine stitching, you produce a set of
samples for future reference. Your samples will include “notes to self” on what worked
best and things to watch out for.
Zippers - Hand and machine insertion
In this workshop you learn an easy and intuitive method for sewing a zipper by hand and
also produce a step-by-step tutorial for putting in a zipper by machine. You learn how to
sew an invisible zipper and how to install a zipper on the bias so that the fabric doesn’t
ripple. Bring your sewing machine’s zipper foot and, if you have one, your invisible zipper
foot. (An invisible zipper foot generally is not included with the accessories that come
with your machine).
Tuesday, January 28, 6:00-9:00pm
Skill Level: You should be comfortable with your sewing machine and basic garment
construction.
Materials & fee: There is a $10 materials fee for fabric and zippers. All you need to bring
to the workshop is your machine and thread. If you need a machine, let us know and we
can reserve one for you.