North House Folk School

Thursday

Lunch Chat: Community Felted Rug Project
Thursday, 12 - 1pm

Bring your lunch and join Mary Reichert, the leader of a three week project in 2018 to create the giant felted rug hanging in the Blue North classroom, to discuss felt rug making. Mary will share about the design and creation process of this beautiful rug that was made with the help of over 80 volunteers and students.

Open Studio and Selections from "Hands"
Thursday, 7pm

Cozy up around the woodstove to watch selections from the fabulous documentary series on Irish hand crafts called "Hands". The documentary was filmed in the 1970's and 80's in rural Ireland with the purpose of archiving craft traditions before they were lost to industrial change. There are several segments detailing fiber craft processes - we'll choose what to watch as a group. Feel free to bring a portable project to work on while you watch!

Friday

Lunch and Learn: Sheep and Wool through Story and Song
Friday, 12pm

Join Martha Owen, sheep farmer and Resident Fiber Artist at the John C. Campbell Folk School for a session of storytelling about her life raising sheep and angora rabbits and pursuing her passion for craft. Martha will share tales, good humor and maybe even a tune or two on her banjo during the Lunch and Learn session. All are welcome.

The deadline to ordered catered lunch has passed, but please do bring your own lunch and join us for this free learning session!

Show and Share
Friday, 7 pm

Hosted by the Northwoods Fiber Guild | Blue Building

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

Are you a member of a regional fiber guild? During the Show and Share, there will be space to put out info on your local fiber guild in case there are others at the retreat from your region who may want to join. Bring flyers or a poster to get the word out!

Saturday

Lunch and Learn: Kangaspuut: Finnish American Weavers & Their Looms
Saturday, 12pm

Join Janet Meany and Mary Erickson to learn how old handmade looms and the rag rugs woven on them carry the stories of Finnish immigrants in Northeastern Minnesota. With a focus on looms, rag rugs, and individual immigrant stories, Janet Meany will share information about Finnish weavers on the North Shore of Lake Superior and Mary Erickson will focus on the Iron Range.

Janet Meany is a co-author with Paula Pfaff of the Rag Rug Handbook, and created The Weavers Friend newsletter. She maintains the Loom Manual Library. Mary Erickson is a fiber artist and a member of the Range Fiber Art Guild.

The deadline to ordered catered lunch has passed, but please do bring your own lunch and join us for this free learning session!

Yoga for Fiber Folk
Saturday, 5-6 pm

Held at United Church of Christ, 3 blocks from campus

Local instructor Rose Arrowsmith DeCoux will host a gentle yoga class for students at the UCC after class on Saturday. Please BYO mat if possible, a few are available at the church. Free.

Community Soup Dinner
Saturday, 6pm

Soup’s on! We’ll host a cozy soup potluck for all Fiber Retreat students. We’ll provide the soup, please bring a small accompaniment to round out the meal — bread, crackers, fruit, cheese, sweets, it need not be complicated. Enjoy a cozy dinner before the Featured Speaker Karin Flatoy Svarstad.

Featured Guest Instructor Presentation: The Heritage of Sheep and Wool after the Vikings!
Saturday, 7:30 pm

Karin Flatøy Svarstad, our international guest instructor, will share about her project of many years studying Native sheep of the North Atlantic and their wool. She studies the sheep around Norway, Shetland, Orkney, Faroe Island, Iceland, Greenland, Outer Hebrides and Isle of Man, all places that once belonged to Norway. The Vikings brought their sheep to different islands and locations. Even today the native sheep in all these places have a historic link to the Vikings and Norway. Come to learn about regional development based on Native sheep, their wool and small-scale businesses linked to sheep and wool.