1. hobbies and interests
2. arts and crafts
3. knitting

MENTORS
Jacey Boggs Director/EiC of PLY
Jacey Boggs is a spinner, a teacher, and a
writer. Her passions have come together
for the last decade via her website
Insubordiknit, her book (Spin Art,
Interweave, 2012), fiber wri$ng for various
fiber and spinning magazines, her spinning
DVD (Sit & Spin, 2009, self), and her
monthly workshops all over the world. A
magazine just seems like a natural
evolu$on, don’t you think? Jacey Boggs
knits like the dickens, spins like nobody's
business, and eats avocados like they're
going out of style. Also she writes about all
that stuff.
Beth Guertin
Beth has been a weaver for more than
thirty years, and has a strong local and
regional reputa$on for her knowledge and
support of weaving and the fiber arts. She
has been involved with teaching weaving
for more than thirty years, first through her
store in Arlington (The Ba$k and Weaving
Supplier), and now through her studio in
Waltham (A Place to Weave –
Individualized Weaving Instruc$on).
Robin Russo
Robin lives in Bradford, Vermont, where
she teaches spinning, fel$ng, dyeing and
working with exo$c fibers. She has been
teaching since 1989 at gatherings
of spinners, weavers, kni8ers and historical
socie$es. She has been a fiber enthusiast
for more than thirty-eight years and takes
every opportunity to explore its poten$al.
Kathleen Taylor
Jane Woodhouse
Kathleen is the author of 5 fiber books and
500 magazine ar$cles. She also writes
exclusive designs for Knit Picks and has her
pa8erns in many books of compila$ons of
kni<ng pa8erns. Her books cover a variety
of techniques as indicated by their $tles:
Knit One, Felt Too, Yarns to Dye For, I
Felt, The Big Book of Socks, and Fearless
Fair Isle Kni<ng. She shares her knowledge
by teaching at fiber events such as SAFF,
Michigan Fiber Fes$val and others.
Kathleen lives in Redfield, South Dakota,
thus the name of her blog "Dakota
Dreams".
Jane has spent the last 32 years working as
a produc$on weaver. In 1991 she earned
an MFA from San Francisco State
University with a concentra$on in tex$les.
She currently lives in Peacham, VT on
Brigid's Farm which is home to a small flock
of Border Leicester X sheep, natural
colored angora goats and dairy goats. Her
mail order business and on-farm studio
specialize in natural dyes. She teaches
regularly in her studio. In addi$on, she has
taught workshops at Vermont Sheep and
Wool Fes$val and for groups in the
midwest. Jane's other interests include
spinning and kni<ng, ethnic tex$les, and
surface design techniques on hand woven
fabrics.
Amy Tyler
First a dancer, then a neuroscien$st and
professor, Amy Tyler now devotes herself
full$me to the fiber arts. Her fiber work is
influenced by her art and science
background; she has a keen understanding
of learning movement skills, composi$on,
pa8ern recogni$on, and systema$c
explora$on. The result is her focus on
spinning and kni<ng technique, texture,
three-dimensional structure, and kni8ed
designs
that
exploit
handspinning
techniques. She lives in beau$ful Benzie
county, Michigan, and she writes on her
blog, h8p://stonestockblog.blogspot.com
Dining Hall
Friday Night
Meet and Greet
A relaxing evening to enjoy
renewing acquaintances and
making new friends
Saturday Night
Book Signing
Display of Class Work
North Country
Spinners Inc.
invites you to
Fibre Fallout© 2014
Our Biennial
Weekend Retreat
Friday – Sunday
September 19 –21
Johnsonburg Presbyterian
Center
Johnsonburg, New Jersey
Warren County
WORKSHOPS
FRIDAY AFTERNOON
($75 ADDITIONAL CHARGE)
Watermelon Design Dyeing
Kathleen Taylor
Dye Self-Striping Sock Yarn that knits up into a
watermelon design, without the trouble of rewinding the
yarn into extra long skeins. This method uses a pre-knit,
double strand, fingering weight superwash wool sock
yarn bland,
Proficiency Level: All
Material Fees: $17
Long Draw
Amy Tyler
“Long Draw” spinning techniques are oOen used to
create “Woolen” yarns—yarns that are airy, loOy, soO
and warm! We will cover three varia$ons of long draw
using commercially-prepared rovings, drum carded ba8s,
and hand carded rolags. We will create samples of thick
lopi-style singles, as well as thinner, plied woolen yarns.
In the process, we will discuss the types of fiber that
work best for different long draw techniques, how to
create a hand carded rolag, and how best to use woolen
yarns.
Proficiency Level: Intermediate Spinner
Material Fee: $12
SATURDAY
6 HOUR 9 AM - 4 PM
Rhythmic Thick & Thin Coils
Jacey Boggs
Spinning thick-and-thin yarns - you can get it in this
class! Use short fibers, a wrist twist, and knowledge of
staples length to create sturdy, regular slubs and use
that yarn to make the most popular (and if you are new
to it, mysterious) textured yarn technique around-coils.
These coils are surprisingly soO, squishy, balanced, and
anchored! In this class you’ll not only learn a fun and
popular spinning technique but deepen your
understanding of yarn construc$on, and improve your
fiber and hand control.
Proficiency Level: Intermediate Spinner
Material Fee: $15
Rigid Heddle Weaving—Beginners
Beth Guer)n
Rigid heddle looms produce plain weave cloth on a fun
and portable loom. Students will weave an infinity scarf
in co8on with ribbon stripes (finished size 6” X 72”). The
morning will consist of threading the loom using the
direct warping method. The aOernoon will be spent
weaving the scarf, cu<ng it off the loom and sewing it to
make the infinity scarf - washing instruc$ons will be
discussed. This is a fun but fast-paced workshop. Schacht
Rigid Heddle Cricket looms will be used. Looms will be
provided for student use and can be purchased from the
instructor or you may use your own loom that has a 12
dent heddle /reed.
Proficiency Level: All
Materials Fee $20
Intermediate Spinning
Robin Russo
This is an in-depth class covering fibers, fiber
prepara$on (including carding and combing) for woolen
and worsted; spinning technique; wheel adjustments
and ra$os; and finishing your skeins for a professional
look. This class will help par$cipants to fine-tune their
spinning skills and put to use some of the techniques
they may have read about but not explored.
Proficiency Level: Advanced Beginner
Material Fee: $12
Spiral & Tonal Dyeing
Kathleen Taylor
Dye Self-Pa8erning Sock Yarn that knits up into a
spiral design, without the trouble of rewinding the
yarn into extra long skeins. This method is adapted from
Kathleen's book, The Big Book of Socks. Then in the
aOernoon have fun learning to dye yarn so that the color
gradually changes throughout the skein. Process adapted
from Kathleen’s book, Yarns to Dye For. This is a fun, but
messy, process. In each session choose from 2
colorways, and dye enough fingering weight yarn for a
pair of adult socks (yarn provided).
Proficiency Level: All
Material Fee: $24
Kni"ng & Spinning Energized Singles
Amy Tyler
Yarns that are not “balanced” can create biasing fabric
when kni8ed. Most kni8ers try to avoid this effect, but
yarns with extra twist energy can be used to create
intriguing textural effects while using fairly simple knit
s$tches. We will explore some of these possibili$es and
also cover techniques on how to create balanced yarns
and unbalanced yarns (with energized twist) as well as
management of energized single yarns for kni<ng
Proficiency Level:
Intermediate spinning and kni<ng skills
Material Fee: $20
Natural Dyes
Jane Woodhouse
This is an intensive dye workshop using natural dye
extracts. We will begin with a short discussion of dye
theory as it applies to both chemical and natural dyes.
Dye extracts will be mixed in a 1% equivalent stock
solu$on for mixing colors. We will dye in a graduated
series using 5-7 dye extracts and a natural ferment
indigo vat to create a pallet of colors. Students will
produce approximately 75 color samples using both alum
and tannin mordants on wool or a wool/mohair blend
yarn.
Proficiency Level: All
Material Fee: $20
SUNDAY
3 HOUR 9 AM - 12 PM
Big Spinning
Jacey Boggs
In pursuit of perfect, thin, even yarn we oOen lose the
skills we started with — the skill of spinning a bulky yarn.
This class will start with two fool-proof methods for
spinning durable, rhythmic thick and thin yarns with just
the right amount of twist. AOer thick and thin we’ll move
on to all-thick—a bulky, even, low-twist single.
Proficiency Level: Advanced beginner
Material Fee: $15
Rigid Heddle Weaving—Lace
Beth Guer)n
Learn finger manipula$ve weaves and lace pa8erns using
a pick up s$ck. Students will weave a sampler of different
pa8erns to take home using the extra warp on the looms
from the Saturday workshop.
Proficiency Level: Advanced Beginner
Materials Fee: $5
Exo(c Fibers~ Yak, Silk, Angora
Robin Russo
We will discuss each animal’s geography, history and
fiber proper$es. We spin from raw fiber, commercially
prepared fiber and our own fiber prepara$ons. We cover
wheel adjustments, spinning techniques and fiber
prepara$on. This is a very good introductory class for
spinners who have been afraid to explore some of the
luxury fibers.
Proficiency Level: Advanced Beginner
Material Fee: $8
Dyeing Worsted Wt. for Hats & Mi2ens
Kathleen Taylor
Learn to dye yarn so that the color gradually changes
throughout the skein. Process adapted from Kathleen
Taylor’s book Yarns to Dye For, published by Interweave
Press, 2005. This is a fun, but messy, process. Wear old
clothes or bring an apron. Choose from assorted dyes
and form your own colorway and dye worsted weight
yarn for a hat, or a pair of matching mi8ens (yarn
provided).
Proficiency Level: All
Materials Fee: $12
Spinning Marl Yarns
Amy Tyler
Marl yarns are oOen defined as plied yarns in which the
plies are different colors. We will cover techniques for
making those yarns as well as making marl yarns in which
the plies are from different fiber sources. In the process,
we will cover strategies for controlling thickness and
twist of singles and for plying to create 2– and3-ply
balanced yarns.
Proficiency Level: Intermediate Spinner
Material Fees: $12
Indigo
Jane Woodhouse
We will make a simple but very reliable indigo vat using
ingredients to get a fast fermenta$on vat up and running
quickly. We will not be using lye, thiourea dioxide or
sulfuric acid nor will we be inhaling toxic fumes from the
vat. The strongest odor will be from the indigo itself.
Instruc$ons will include making and maintaining a
healthy vat. The class covers making a reliable natural
vat that is not difficult to control. In addi$on we will
produce samples of colors to overdye in the indigo.
Proficiency Level: All
Material Fees: $20