North House Folk School

Fiber Friday

Fiber Friday, a fabulous feature of Fiber Week, will be February 14. We’ll host a day of speakers, demonstrations, and community gatherings free for all enrolled students. Connect with fellow students and instructors, expand your interests and enjoy our cozy campus learning atmosphere. Come early or stay late; you won’t want to miss Fiber Friday! 

Featured Instructor

This year’s Featured Guest Instructor is Emma Ewadotter from Umeå, Sweden, a talented  textile artist and crafter who focuses on maximized decor and strong colors but also has deep interest and respect for the traditional designs from old rural Sweden. Emma will be teaching two classes during Fiber Week and will be our Fiber Friday Featured Speaker.

All Week: Evening Activities

Most evenings during Fiber Week will offer a fiber-themed program for all to enjoy. Below are some highlights! The final schedule will be updated in January.

Private Shop Tour and Fiber Circle at Dappled Fern Fibers

7pm | Wednesday, February 12

Enjoy a special look around local yarn shop Dappled Fern Fibers during a private shop tour with owner Dorothy Broomall. Enjoy light refreshments and stick around for a fun fiber circle with Dorothy. Bring your works in progress or start something new with a just-purchased ball of beautiful yarn!
REGISTER HERE!
Dappled Fern Fibers is located at 15 Broadway Ave, Grand Marais. www.dappledfernfibers.com

Inside Handwoven Dresses with Carol Colburn

7pm | Thursday, February 13
Presentation

Highlighting the incredible folk-art collection at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, clothing designer, artisan, historian and North House instructor Carol Colburn takes us inside four fashionable dresses made from handwoven fabric. These remarkable pieces from the 1840s to the 1860s tell fascinating stories of those who made and wore them in Norway and America. The ‘inside stories’ are told with detailed photographs – which reveal surprising and inspiring use of fibers, hand-spun yarn, dyes, weave structures, design, cut, and hand sewing techniques.

Looking Back and Striving Forward: It is All in the Stitches with Emma Ewadotter

7pm | Friday, February 14
Featured Presentation

Part of Fiber Friday, an entire day of fiber programming. See below for presentation description and Fiber Friday details.

Show & Share, Hosted by the Northwoods Fiber Guild

7pm | Saturday, February 15

The Fiber Week Show & Share is a cherished event of the weekend when Fiber Week participants and instructors can come together and share work they have done, past and present. Bring something from home or from a Fiber Week class to share. All are welcome.

Sheep Stories with Martha Owen

7pm | Sunday, February 16
Join spinner, knitter, vegetable dyer, storyteller, and teacher Martha Owen, from the John C. Campbell Folk School, for an interactive presentation about her life with sheep, with a lens on how history is connected to the modern day. Bring your questions and curiosities about keeping sheep, sheep personalities, wool, and more. Plus, as always with Martha, enjoy the treat of engaging songs and stories.
 

FIBER FRIDAY, February 14

A day of learning and community, creativity, and exploration! Enjoy a morning full of fiber talks, the afternoon Fiber Fun Fair, where fiber enthusiasts gather and share, and the special evening presentation by our featured guest Emma Ewadotter.

Speaker Series

Join fiber artists for talks and presentations about fiber experiences around the world and stories of inspiration and learning as they’ve grown their practice.

9am-1pm | Speaker Series
Join fiber artists for talks and presentations about fiber experiences around the world and stories of inspiration and learning as they’ve grown their practice.

9am | Community, Block Printing, and Legacy in India with Lesley Darling
Textile artist and material culturalist Lesley Darling will share about her recent trip to Rajastan, India, where communities of specialized artisans are revitalizing the traditional methods of natural dye block printing in the face of social change, climate concerns, and Western economic pressure.

10am | Travelogue: Scandinavian Weaving and Norwegian Folk Costumes with Caroline Feyling
Join resident artisan Caroline Feyling as she recounts her travels in Sweden in Norway on her trip with North House's Artisan Development Program.

11am | Fiber Arts and Social Activism with Mary Ellen Ashcroft and Cheryl Larsen
In South Africa, fiber features in remarkable ways—from traditional “shweshwe” clothing, to women-run felting, yarn, and cloth-printing collectives, to an art college producing political block prints and hand printed fabrics. In one small town, fiber art became an expression of community pain, creativity, and solidarity, as well as a source of much needed income. Come and finger samples and see images of this amazing crafting world.  

Mary Ellen, a North House instructor, has been fascinated with fiber since she was a toddler; she lived in South Africa for eight years, and regularly leads trips to that country. She is passionate about the intersection of fiber, craftsmanship, and social activism. 

Cheryl is a fiber artist and North House instructor. She has purposely developed skills in a multitude of techniques to allow her to combine various media, textures, and embellishments in individual pieces.

Noon | A Textile Tour of Iceland with Cindy Bach
Join fiber enthusiast and traveler Cindy Bach as she shares her recent experience traveling in Iceland with the Textile Center of Minnesota. Discover the important role fiber plays in Iceland with focus on the Icelandic wool industry. Through her images, Cindy will bring the audience on a tour of a wool processing plant, a dye studio working with plant-based dyes, and the Icelandic Textile Center, where the group learned stitching and knitting techniques taught by the Textile Center staff. Bring your lunch for this noon presentation!

Cindy is a fiber artist working with both needle felt and wet felting, embroidery, and stitching. She has work displayed at the MN State Fair Fine Arts Building and Creative Activities Center, Minneapolis-based Textile Center, the Phipps Art Institute, and the Carnegie Art Center in Mankato MN.
 

2-5pm | Fiber Fun Fair

Enjoy a host of fiber activities under one roof. Drop in and visit instructors and fiber friends all set up to share some favorite fiber projects and processes. Learn about weaving, lucet braiding, spindle and wheel spinning, wet felting, bobbin lace, and also stitching and beading with our international guest instructor Emma Ewadotter. You will  also encounter a cozy circle of knitters at the Dapple Fern Fibers table! Stay for 10 minutes or two hours! Open to all fiber enthusiasts. 
 

7pm | Featured Speaker

Looking Back and Striving Forward: It is All in the Stitches 

Emma Ewadotter

In this talk, textile artist Emma Ewadotter, our visiting guest instructor from Sweden, shares her journey to embroidery, how she interprets and works with the inspiration of traditional crafts in her practice. She will show her own work as well as historical (and contemporary) items and artworks that inspire her. Discover how ice hockey and lingerie are somewhat connected and why mittens could be a way of flirting.