You may choose to wander the festival, watching demonstrations and learning a bit here and there. Or you could sign up for a full 3-hour class, and really learn something!

click here for a registration form

New this year by popular request. . .3-hour workshops!

You can pick up tips and information by watching our demonstrators, or you can register for a class in the air conditioned comfort of Inspiration Hall, in the main museum.

Saturday, 2 to 5

Crazy quilting was extremely popular during the Victorian era and, although it fell out of fashion, it never really died out. Lately, crazy quilting is undergoing a renaissance, largely because it gives quilters a chance to integrate their skills in other needle arts such as embroidery, beading, tatting, and lace making (and shop for fun new kinds of stuff). In this class, you will learn three basic embroidery stitches, three silk ribbon stitches, three different bead embroidery techniques, and how to attach charms, trims, and braids to your prepared crazy quilt block.

Supplies: bring sharp scissors, paper scissors, and any beads, trims or charms to supplement the kit.

Kit Fee: $10 includes: 8-10" crazy pieced block. silk ribbon, trim/braid, embroidery floss, beads along with beading, silk ribbon and embroidery needles and other goodies.

DYEING TO HAVE FUN WITH COLOR: HAND PAINTING YARNS   Pat Hansen

Sunday, 9 to noon

Have you ever wondered how those lovely hand-dyed yarns are made? This is your chance to create your own unique yarns, bursting with vibrant color. Join us for this hands-on workshop on hand painting yarn. The course is suitable for beginners as well as the dyer who simply wants to brush up on her skills or just have fun playing with color. Techniques will include color blending, yarn painting and rainbow dyeing.

Dyeing materials are included. White alpaca yarn will be available for purchase at $15/ 200 yard skein. You are welcome to use your own natural fiber yarn. All yarn must be in skeins or hanks. Dyed yarn will be processed in the microwave to set the color. You will take your yarn home with instructions on rinsing and drying. Wear appropriate clothing for dyeing.

KUMIHIMO   Susan Kroll

Sunday, 2-5

Kumihimo is a Japanese word meaning "a gathering of threads". It is essentially a method of braiding yarns into beautiful cording. If you have more than 3 or 4 strands to braid, it is most helpful to have a piece of equipment to keep them all organized! So, in this workshop we will "gather our threads" on a small disk as we braid them into a beautiful cord. You will learn the entire process from cutting the threads to length, setting up the disk, braiding the cord, and finally cutting and finishing the cord so it won't unravel.

Supplies: 16 threads about 2 yards in length. Cottons since they are easy to work with and readily available. There is embroidery floss which works up nicely since it is 6-ply and comes in tons of colors and 5/2 pearle cotton is also a good choice. At least 2 colors: 4 of color A and 12 of color B.

Kit with disc, bobbins and weight will be available for purchase

Instructor will provide a handout including a brief introduction and explanation of the craft,how to measure a warp, how to set up the disk, how to braid on the disk and on the maru dai, things to vary to create different patterns/braids, some finishing ideas, 4 patterns for the class and 17 for further exploration on your own, and a bibliography.