It’s been my privilege to work with a yarn designer/natural dyer and several New England fiber farmers to design and weave blankets with their beautiful yarns. Fiber farmers who want to weave their own yarn into heirloom blankets will work with me to first design and then weave a product which can become their farm’s signature product. But if you are not a farmer and have local yarn that you want to weave into a blanket, you are also welcome! On day one we examine your yarn and consider the properties of your particular fleece before designing a blanket that showcases the strengths of your particular yarn. We will then wind a warp, dress the loom, weave and finish the ends and then wet-finish (full) it before you go home. Focus is on correct tensioning and beat, maintaining even selvedges, working with multiple shuttles, and different finishing techniques. Depending upon your level of ability and the size of your blanket, you will spend three to five days completing your project.
Skill level: Beginner to experienced weavers. I have taught complete newbies to weaving in this class and they have returned home with beautiful blankets to chreish.
Workshop fee: $100 per day. Students bring: Your farm’s yarn, either in skeins or on comes (cones preferred if you can ask your spinnery beforehand). (For non-fiber-farmers, I can suggest places to purchase yarn in your local area if you need help.) and please bring lots of ideas and images of other blankets that you like. Contact me to register for this class and discuss your materials. NYhandweaver@gmail.com
The Connecticut River Blanket class:
“Taking Stephanie’s class was a dream come true. I had always wanted to take a weaving class, and this opportunity came at a perfect time. My sister and I took the class together, learning to weave a blanket side by side. Stephanie was welcoming and personable, and shared her clear passion and experience for the craft through stories and examples of her work . Her studio was well-organized, clean and inviting, and was set up for us to get started right off. While nervous at first, and slightly intimidated by the complicated looking mechanics of the looms, we settled into a rhythm and soon felt comfortable, at ease and completely absorbed into our work. In fact, I remember it being tough to take a lunch break, as we were becoming so focused on and enamored by our weavings. Collaborating with another talented fiber artist, local yarn designer/natural dyer Patricia Fortinsky, in this class we used locally sourced and plant dyed wool yarns for our weavings. Stephanie emphasized the importance of quality materials and the beauty of nature’s gifts through plants and fiber animals. Learning about the yarns, how they were spun and dyed, allowed us to feel even more connected to the process and helped us to better understand the importance of this local fiber shed, fiber friendships and the wider fiber community.
Stephanie is a wonderful and dedicated teacher, as well as a gifted artist. She guided us yet allowed us freedom to explore on our own and feel the pride that comes out of creating. She spent ample time with each student, listening to our ideas, answering our questions and giving clear demonstrations.
I highly recommend giving yourself the gift of learning to weave with Stephanie....a truly unique, memorable, educational, as well as warm & cozy for years to come, experience.”
Lauren, a first-time weaver.
Monk’sBelt, front and back view. Local Shetland wool, spun by Battenkill Fibers in Greenwich, NY.
Overshot. Weaving with 5 shuttles. Carrying up the colors, wrapping them as bundles at each edge. These are all the natural colors of the sheep’s fleece.
A Connecticut River Blanket woven with Tidal Yarns spun by Green Mountain Spinnery, Putney, Vermont. Patricia Fortinsky, owner of Tidal Yarns, dyes each skein with natural dyes.
Sampling before finalizing a design. Bottom right: carrying color up the side of the blanket.
