Black Sheep Gathering

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List of All Classes &
Their Availability

    Color Key:
  • Class Filled
  • Class & Wait List Filled
  • Class Cancelled

Friday Classes

Morning Classes
  • Bountiful Sheep: Spinning Shetland – Judith MacKenzie
  • Crisscrossing the Rainbow: Color Cables – Harry Wells
  • Spinpossible – Mission Objective: Tweed Effects with Silk – Michael Kelson
  • Navajo Style Spindling – Christine Thomas-Flitcroft
  • The ABCs of Drop Spindling – Teresa Waldo
All-Day Classes
  • Adventures in Drum Carding – Henry and Roy Clemes
  • Beginning Rigid Heddle – Diane McKinnon
  • Beginning Wheel Spinning – Linda Hansen
  • Create Your Own Dye Recipe Book – Day 1 of 2 – Terry Mattison
  • Demystifying Resists in Felt Making – Patti Barker
  • Dragon Magic – Nancy Skakel
  • Dye Your Own Fiber – Allison Harding
Afternoon Classes
  • Beginning Inkle Loom – Leslie Verts
  • Ooops! Correcting Mistakes and Learning to "Read" Your Knitting – Harry Wells
  • Spinpossible – Mission Objective: Boucle – Michael Kelson
  • Supported Spindle Spinning – Teresa Waldo
  • The Art of Plying – Judith MacKenzie

Saturday Classes

Morning Classes
  • Colorwork the Easy Way: Mosaic Knitting – Harry Wells
  • Spinpossible – Mission Objective: Socks – Michael Kelson
  • Viking Knit 4 Petal Bracelet – Teresa Waldo
All-Day Classes
  • A Bag of Your Own – Nancy Skakel
  • Advanced Pick-up Inkle Weaving – Leslie Verts
  • Color Theory: Carding for Tints and Shades – Henry and Roy Clemes
  • Create Your Own Dye Recipe Book – Day 2 of 2 – Terry Mattison
  • Delightful Drafting – Ruth Northrop
  • Dye Your Own Yarn – Allison Harding
  • Felted Journal/Book Cover – Patti Barker
  • Popular Wheel Mechanics – Judith MacKenzie
  • Rigid Heddle Loom Weaving: Intermediate / Advanced Weaving Structures – Diane McKinnon
Afternoon Classes
  • Classic Afghan Stitch: Basic Tunisian Crochet with Cross Stitch Patterns – Harry Wells
  • Spinpossible – Mission Objective: Lace – Michael Kelson
  • Stranded Knitting with Portuguese Purling – Teresa Waldo

Sunday Classes

Morning Classes
  • All Things Valais Blacknose! – Marita Tauni
  • Home Alone with a Fleece – Judith MacKenzie
  • Felted Buttons of Many Colors – Loyce Ericson
  • Intro to Blending Boards – Henry and Roy Clemes
  • Learn to Spin Using a Cross-armed Spindle – Wanda Jenkins
  • Sheep Breed Study – Lois Olund
  • Short Steps to Long Draw – Ruth Northrop
  • Cancelled - Spinning Silk Hankies without Tears – Barbara diJeannene
All-Day Classes
  • Beyond Plain Weave – Hazel Spencer
  • Nuno Felt Art Vest – Patti Barker
  • One Pot Dye Wonder! – Diane McKinnon
  • Tapestry Weaving Sampler – Teresa Waldo
  • Water, Time, and Patience: Creating a Wet Felt Hat – Sara Gibson
Afternoon Classes
  • All-in-One Beginning Rug Hooking – Judy Taylor
  • Beginning Tablet Weaving – Caroline Feyling
  • Fabulous and Fun Locker Hooking – Roseanne Anderson
  • Felted Sheep: Basic 3D Needle Felting – Miranda Rommel
  • Intro to Circular Weaving – Rachael Grow

Workshop Descriptions

SUNDAY, JUNE 25, MORNING CLASSES

All Things Valais Blacknose!
Marita Tauni 30 students
Sunday, June 25, 9am-12pm
Cost: $55 Plus Materials Fee: $45 – includes fiber and handouts
Class Description: For those interested in breeding Valais Blacknose sheep this is a “not to be missed” opportunity. Traveling from Sweden to share her in-depth knowledge of the breed is Swiss certified judge, Marita Tauni. In Europe, strict standards exist for breeding Valais Blacknose sheep and Marita will help us understand the point based grading system used for evaluation. There will also be time to discuss management and breeding issues and explore uses for the fiber. Experience level: open to all
Students Bring: An interest in the breed.
Instructor’s Bio: Marita Tauni is a Swiss certified Valais Blacknose judge from Karlstad, Sweden. Marita has been instrumental in helping to train new Valais Blacknose judges outside of Switzerland and is generous with her knowledge with new breeders.
Home Alone with a Fleece
Judith MacKenzie 16 students
Sunday, June 25, 9am-12pm
Cost: $55 Plus Materials Fee: $15 – includes all fiber
Class Description: For those of us that spin, the rule is to never buy a fleece unless you know what you want to spin. But the truth is fleeces are simply irresistible and follow us home. In this class, we will learn what to do when you get home with a fleece or maybe three! You’ll learn how to identify what a fleece’s potential is and how it should be sorted, washed and stored. We’ll deal with protecting your fleece from damage by insects, mice and exposure to air. We’ll also look at making a fleece project notebook that helps you keep track of how your fleece was used and where it came from. Experience level: Must be able to spin a continuous thread and have a good relationship with their wheel.
Students Bring: Students should bring their wheel (or spindle) and all its parts — even the ones you don’t use.
Instructor’s Bio: See Beautiful Sheep: Spinning Shetland in Friday’s morning listing for bio.
Felted Buttons of Many Colors
Loyce Ericson 17 students
Sunday, June 25, 9am-12pm
Cost: $55 Plus Materials Fee: $20 – includes lots of wool and felting tools
Class Description: In this wet felting class students will learn to create unique buttons using a wide array of techniques. We will wrap wool around plastic buttons, sticks, beach glass or broken pottery. We will create colored layered wool logs then cut them to show off the different colors. We will create laminated fabric collages and install them on metal button bases.
Skill Level Required: Beginning to experienced felter.
Students Bring: Clothes that can get wet, a couple of old towels, a pair of sharp scissors and a plastic grocery bag to take home wet samples. Be aware that wet felting is a vigorous physical activity and requires upper body strength/health.
Instructor’s Bio: Loyce worked for over 20 years in high tech as a mechanical designer and then she took a personal and professional turn to follow her passion of making felt and teaching her craft. She has been making felt since 1999 and began teaching in 2001. Loyce travels and teaches nationally as well as in her studio, teaching such places as SOAR, BSG and OFFF. Loyce is a product oriented teacher, preferring to teach felting techniques as students produce finished pieces in class. Loyce approaches her classes as a time for fun and open creative expression and teaches that here is never only one way to make felt. Her greatest delight is to see the smiles on her student’s faces as their projects come together.
Intro to Blending Boards
Henry and Roy Clemes 16 students
Sunday, June 25, 9am-12pm
Cost: $55 Plus Materials fee: $25 – includes all fiber carded during class and use of blending boards and other equipment.
Class Description: In 2011 Gwen Powell approached Henry and Roy to create a new tool that eventually became the wildly popular Blending Board. In this class you will learn basic techniques and use of a blending board from one of its designers. The class will not only demonstrate the versatility of the blending board — blending fibers of various types, lengths, and colors — but also the strength of the blending board — quickly preparing fibers in rolags for woolen spinning. All carding and blending will be done on Clemes and Clemes Blending Boards with each student getting to use their own boards. All materials, boards and tools will be provided by instruc- tors.
Skill Level Required: Beginner — no blending board experience necessary.
Students Bring: None — but should bring an attitude for learning. All tools and materials will be provided by instructors.
Instructor’s Bio: See Adventures in Drum Carding on Cables in Friday’s all-day listing for bio.
Learn to Spin Using a Cross-armed Spindle
Wanda Jenkins 10 students
Sunday, June 25, 9am-12pm
Cost: $55 Plus Materials Fee: $10 – includes wool
Class Description: Beginning with the basics of learning about twist and its role in making yarn, we’ll explore the steps of what it takes to turn wool into yarn.
Skill Level Required: beginners
Students Bring: Spindles will be provided for use during class with the option to purchase.
Instructor’s Bio: Wanda has played with yarn and threads since childhood. She fell down the bottomless spinning hole when a cross- armed aka Turkish spindle was placed in her hands and enjoys sharing the joy of spinning.
Sheep Breed Study
Lois Olund 10 students
Sunday, June 25, 9am-12pm
Cost: $55 Plus Materials Fee $50 – twenty ½ oz samples of different breeds of sheep. Other samples will be available to purchase. The $50 material fee will be put toward your purchase of the breed study box if you decide to purchase the box.
Class Description: Sample some of the 131 fleeces collected from around the world assembled for the Sheep Breed Study box.
Skill Level Required: Intermediate spinner ready for a challenge.
Students Bring: A wheel in good working order that you are comfortable with, 3-4 empty bobbins, ball winder if you have one, hand cards if you have them.
Instructor’s Bio: Lois has been a spinner and sheep breeder in Oregon for over 40 years. She researched and created the Sheep Breed Study box and a 278 page workbook as her “pandemic project”.
Short Steps to Long Draw
Ruth Northrop 14 students
Sunday, June 25, 9am-12pm
Cost: $55 Plus Materials Fee: $25 includes all fiber to be used in class, handouts and record keeping tools
Class Description: Does your wool run away with you when you try to spin soft and fluffy yarn? While the long draw method of drafting is traditionally used to spin these types of yarn, it can be tricky. In this class we will break down the skill of long draw into simple steps that really are easy to learn. We’ll progress from one step to the next, until you can spin an airy yarn that won’t fall apart.
Skill Level Required: Must be competent at spinning singles.
Students Bring: A wheel in good working order that you are comfortable with, 3-4 empty bobbins, ball winder if you have one, hand cards if you have them
Instructor’s Bio: See Delightful Drafting in Saturday’s all-day listing for bio.
Cancelled - Spinning Silk Hankies without Tears
Barbara diJeannene 15 students
Sunday, June 25, 9am-12pm
Cost: $55 Plus Materials Fee: $10 includes silk hankies for spinning in class
Class Description: Do you have a pile of gorgeous dyed silk hankies sitting around? Have you tried that “poke a hole in the center and stretch them out” method only to end up with a tangled mess? Come to this class and learn to spin silk hankies without a lot of fuss. I teach this class using a spindle, but it can be done on a wheel also. Skills required: Students should be comfortable spinning a con- tinuous thread on which ever spinning method/device they bring to class.
Students Bring: Bring your favorite spindle (at least 1 oz in weight), or a wheel you are comfortable using and note-taking supplies.
Instructor’s Bio: Barbara started spinning in the early 80s and learned that handspun yarns stack up quickly. Weaving seemed to use a lot of yarn, so a loom appeared and then another! Spinning and weaving have been her passion ever since.

SUNDAY, JUNE 25, ALL-DAY CLASSES

Beyond Plain Weave
Hazel Spencer 10 students
Sunday, June 25, 9am-12pm and 1:30-4:30pm
Cost: $100 Materials fee: $15 – I will bring worsted weight wool for class. I will have 10.5" looms for use in class. You may bring your own 7'’, 10.5", or 12" continuous looms if you wish.
Class Description: Plain weave does not mean boring weave! Plain one color, over-under weave have lots of uses in our projects, but there are times when we want and need something more. This class will be about finding the un-plain in continuous stand weaving. We will be looking at color weaving and textures and show you can even combine the two to expand possibilities to your projects. Skills Level Required: Must know how to do plain weave on a continuous strand weaving loom.
Students Bring: Bring scissors, yarn needle and pencil. You can bring worsted weight yarn if desired. Looms can be purchased at the vendor booth or online at: www.hazelroselooms.com, however your loom does not need to be one of ours for this class.
Instructor’s Bio: Hazel Spencer and her husband Randy are the owners of the Hazel Rose Looms and have been making small weaving looms since October 2000. Hazel taught art; including weaving, and other fiber arts to all grades at the local K-8 school for 17 years. She has been teaching weaving on the internet and in her booth at fiber fairs for many years, including OFFF and Lambtown festivals. Making clothing and other useful items for the home is Hazel’s favorite use of her hand woven fabrics.
Nuno Felt an Art Vest
Patti Barker 15 students
Sunday, June 25, 9am-12pm and 1:30-4:30pm
Cost: $100 Plus Materials Fee: $90 – includes yardage of silk, at least 4 ounces of merino wool, embellishments
Class Description: The perfect introduction to making nuno felt clothing. You’re the designer; choose from several fashion options and explore surface design options. Create the size you want as you learn where to place the sleeve openings. Choose your color palette of materials kit in either cool (blues/greens), warm (reds/oranges), or neutral (tan/black/brown) colors before class by contacting the instructor.
Skill Level Required: none
Students Bring: one 4' x 8' rubber rug mat (small holes), three or four 18" strips of old T-shirt material, a 2-gallon garden sprayer, a couple of old towels (you don’t mind staining), two sets of bed risers are recommended to raise your worktables, but not required.
Instructor’s Bio: See Demystifying Resists in Felt Making in Friday’s all-day listing for bio.
One Pot Dye Wonder!
Diane McKinnon 12 students
Sunday, June 25, 9am-12pm and 1:30-4:30pm
Cost: $100 Plus Materials Fee: $15 - includes all fiber used in class, use of all dye equipment such as pots, burners, spoons, measuring utensils, etc., during the class, and a detailed handout.
Class Description: Using the Kettle dyeing technique, you will dye 6 different fiber types simultaneously in one dye bath to achieve some surprising results. People will wonder, “How’d you do that!” In this class, we will cover the basic use of the color wheel, how to mix the three primary colors to achieve different secondary hues, and then dye six different fiber types at once to see the various results each fiber type produces. You will leave class with 6 unique samples of dyed fibers and the knowledge and ability to pursue more of these exciting results on your own.
Skill Level Required: All level students from beginners to ad- vanced who have an interest in learning how to dye natural protein fibers.
Students Bring: Apron or dyeable clothes, rubber gloves, pen/ pencil and a sense of adventure!
Instructor’s Bio: see Beginning Rigid Heddle Loom Weaving in Friday’s all-day listing for bio.
Tapestry Weaving Sampler
Teresa Waldo 20 students
Sunday, June 25, 9am-12pm and 1:30-4:30pm
Cost: $100 Plus Materials fee: $20 includes mini loom kit, cotton thread (warp and spacer), felt backing, sewing thread and extensive tutorial handout.
Class Description: In this workshop you will learn the fundamen- tals of tapestry weaving including warping the loom, various weav- ing techniques and tips, weaving (stripe, meet and separate, hatch- ing, soumak, dots, pick, weft interlock and building shapes), and your structures pick and finishing a tapestry piece. As you learn and practice these skills you will be creating mini tapestry pieces suitable as mug rugs. After completing this class, you will be well equipped to further your tapestry endeavors.
Skill Level Required: none
Students Bring: Please bring scraps of worsted weight yarns in at least three colors, scissors, several tapestry needles with eyes large enough for threading worsted yarn through. Homework: Prior to class you will need to complete the following: Using your background color, cast on 96 stitches using the long tail cast on. Join to work in the round, purl 6 rounds.
Instructor’s Bio: See the ABCs of Drop Spindling in Friday’s morning listing for bio.
Water, Time, and Patience: Creating a Wet Felted Hat
Sara Gibson 15 students
Sunday, June 25, 9am-12pm and 1:30pm-4:30pm
Cost: $100 Plus Materials fee: $15 includes soap, resist material, bubbles wrap, and approximately 3 oz of wool
Class Description: Wet felting is often a multi-step process of coaxing wet wool fibers into a consolidated fabric. It is a very hands- on form of fiber arts requiring water, soap, slow and patient attention to detail and finally vigorous agitation of the piece during the fulling process. This class will explore the process of using resist to create an artistic felted hat to keep you warm and fashionable. Participants can choose from project designs that can be practical, whimsical, or somewhere in between. You will get to take home a completed project.
Skill Level Required: none
Students Bring: All materials are provided by instructor.
Instructor’s Bio: Sara is a school garden coordinator for the Lincoln County School District by day and a fiber arts enthusiast night. She specializes in dyeing local fibers with fungi and lichens foraged around her home in Siletz, Oregon. She has been a knitter for over 30 years and loves the process of creating from raw fleece to end products. Sara has been teaching wet felting and needle felting classes at mycology camps for the last five years and loves every second of it!

SUNDAY, JUNE 25, AFTERNOON CLASSES

All-in-One Beginning Rug Hooking
Judy Taylor 22 students
Sunday, June 25, 1:30-4:30pm
Cost: $55 Plus Materials Fee: $50 – Includes kit and a hook.
Class Description: In this class students will learn the basics of rug hooking, including creating heirloom quality rugs with yarn, T-shirt strips and wool fabric strips. Also covered, care and cleaning of hand hooked rugs, what backing fabrics work the best, to frame or not to frame, and more!
Skill Level Required: No experience required.
Students Bring: Should wear long pants as you will be wrapping the burlap backing around your legs; scissors.
Instructor’s Bio: Judy Taylor has been hooking rugs and teaching hooking rugs for nigh onto 30 years. She has written articles for; Rug Hooking magazine, Spin•Off magazine, ATHA, and the Black Sheep Newsletter. Her rug hooking book series has won or been a finalist in Forward INDIES, eLit Book Awards, and Chanticleer Book Awards. Her video won the Gold Award from the International “TV and Video Awards.” When Judy’s not tending her flock of Jacob sheep, Cashmere goats, and Nigerian Dwarf goats, she’s hooking something new, or repairing a treasured heirloom rug that’s older than she is.
Beginning Tablet Weaving
Caroline Feyling 15 students
Sunday, June 25, 1:30-4:30pm
Cost: $55 Plus Materials Fee: $35 – includes a band weaving lock, 100 yards of Gotland wool, 24 tablet weaving cards and a netting shuttle.
Class Description: In this class students will learn the technique of tablet weaving and make your own bookmark. Students will learn to set up to tablet weave backstrap style. Each student will learn how to draft, warp, and weave a bookmark made of Swedish Gotland wool!
Skill Level Required: No experience necessary. This class is suitable for all skill levels.
Students Bring: Bring a sharp scissors, graph paper, and colored pencils.
Instructor’s Bio: Caroline Feyling is a textile artist living in Oregon. She received her BFA in Fiber and Material Studies from School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2020. Following gradua- tion, she completed an intensive course of study at Vävstuga Swedish Weaving School in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts. Caroline’s current work consists of Scandinavian style weavings that serve to bridge the gap between the contemporary and tradition, as well as the distance between heritage and daily life.
Fabulous and Fun Locker Hooking
Roseanne Anderson 15students
Sunday, June 25, 1:30-4:30pm
Cost: $55 Plus Materials Fee: $45 – includes a locker hook, prepared canvas, roving, binder yarns, and a bound 28-page instruction book
Class Description: Locker hooking is a fantastic way to use up tons of stash. Artists can add to the basic instructions by incorporating strips of fabric, ribbons, or other materials to reflect their own imaginations. This fiber art goes quickly so one can get “instant gratification”, as students will see their progress as they are locker hooking — so come, relax and enjoy!
Skill Level Required: No experience necessary.
Instructor’s Bio: Roseanne has been locker hooking for many years after learning the technique at a fiber show in Montana where she saw a beautiful wall hanging worked with this craft. She raises a small flock of sheep and enjoys all fiber arts including all the prep work involved with processing her own wool.
Felted Sheep – Basic 3D Needle Felting
Miranda Rommel 14 students
Sunday, June 25, 1:30-4:30pm
Cost: $55 Plus Materials Fee: $20 – includes a handout, all wool to be used in class, 2 needles and felting foam per student to keep.
Class Description: This is The Black SHEEP Gathering — so let’s felt a sheep! This class is great for the beginning needle felter. Students will learn about different felting tools/materials and will learn hands on how to needle-felt a firm core, attach basic legs and head, work with color, and use different techniques for creating texture and pattern on your project: an adorable tiny sheep. This is a very fun class!
Skill Level Required: No experience necessary. This class is suitable for students with zero to beginning needle-felting experience.
Students Bring: Students may wish to bring their favorite felting tools or to bring a small amount of CLEAN wool / fiber from their own animals or stash.
Instructor’s Bio: Miranda Rommel is an artist and homesteader living in rural Kings Valley, Oregon. An illustrator by training and a hand spinner for recreation, Miranda took up needle felting in 2012. Soon after and thanks to inspiration by her Corgi Pocket — her business “Fiber Friday’sends” was born. Miranda now felts full time, creating beautiful pet sculptures for her clients all over the world and she loves teaching her craft to people of all levels.
Intro to Circular Weaving
Rachael Grow 15 students
Sunday, June 25, 1:30-4:30pm
Cost: $55 Plus Materials Fee: $25 – includes 7" metal ring, all warping cotton, needle, various handspun art yarns, one yard of Sari silk, and various beads, shells, and crystals for embel- lishments.
Class Description: This class will explore round or circular weav- ing. Students will learn different ways to warp the circular frame, and different weaving techniques for texture and design using handspun art yarns. You will go home with a completed project and the knowledge to weave more.
Skill Level Required: beginner
Instructor’s Bio: Rachael Grow is pleased to be an instructor and has been sharing her “how-to” tips with friends and family members for years. Her passion for fiber arts started when she was 6 years old, and her mother taught her to crochet. From the beginning it was love at first stitch and Rachael pursued learning as many different fiber arts as possible. She had a passion for art yarns and loves to create projects with handmade yarns. When Rachael isn’t frolicking with fiber she is playing with her family in Portland, Oregon.

SHEEP SHOW

Judge: David Cook
Wakeman, Ohio

The Cook family started raising purebred sheep in 1891; they were showing nationally from railcars by 1906. David has been around the show ring his entire life. Read More.

ANGORA GOAT SHOW

Judge: Dr Fred Speck
Kerrville, Texas

Dr. Fred Speck is a 5th generation Texas Angora goat producer. His grandfather gave him eight registered Angora does and one buck to start his own herd when he was eight years old. Read More.

FLEECE SHOW

Wool and Alpaca Judge: Ann Brezina
Fort Bragg, California

udging for over 30 years while maintaining her own handspinning flock, Ann’s passion and expertise promise to make it an informative and entertaining show.  Read More.

FIBER ARTS AND YARN SHOW

Judge: Kira Dulaney
Oakland, California

Kira Dulaney has been teaching fiber arts classes and hosting crafty events since 2002 and is the designer behind Kira K Designs, a line of original knitting and crochet patterns and kits. Read More.