Courses offered

Teaching fees: Full-day classes are $700. Half-day classes are $350.

Contact Devin for more information about teaching

Pick, Flick, Card, and Comb: Working with Wool

Half day class
Materials fee: $15/student

Sampling and experimentation with fiber helps you plan the finished yarn that you wish to create. In this class we will discuss the different ways of preparing fleece and the basics behind sampling hand fiber preparations for spinning; picking, flicking, carding, and combing. You will learn one way to use a flicker, hand cards, and combs. This is a wide and generous topic with as many variations as there are spinners and teachers. I will be covering how I prepare fiber for spinning and how I sample the various preparations. If you have fiber preparation tools please bring them, I will have hand cards, a flicker, and combs to use as well. Washed fleece will be provided. Please bring Spindles or a Spinning wheel for sampling your fiber preparations

Beginning Spindle Spinning

Half day class
Materials fee: $10/student

Spindles are a cost effective and fun tool for making yarn. In this class you will learn the basics of spindle spinning and work with any foundations you already have from experienced wheel spinner to never-spun-an-inch in your life. A basic low whorl spindle and fiber will be provided. No spinning experience needed.

Trust the Twist: Longdraw Spinning on Spindles

Half day class
Materials fee: $5/student

Can you spin longdraw on a spindle? Of course you can. In this class you will learn to trust the twist and spin longdraw on a spindle. Longdraw yarns make for fantastic knitting yarns and longdraw spinning on a spindle is fast. We will discuss fiber choice, and practice spinning longdraw yarns on spindles. Please bring a favorite suspended spindle (Top-whorl, Low-whorl, Cross-arm, etc.)

Sheep of the United States Breed Study

Full day class
Materials fee: $15/student

Many sheep breeds have been developed in the United States both by directed breeding and by chance or feral flocks developing on their own. In this class we will work with 5 to 6 different U.S. breeds, discussing the origins and characteristics of their fleece and working with them to give you the chance to discover the wide variety of wool we have available to us here in the U.S. I will have some fiber preparation tools for use of students but encourage you to bring carders, combs or flickers of your own to sample and experiment with these fleece. Students should be able to spin a continuous yarn and should bring a spindle or spindles you are comfortable with or a spinning wheel and at least two bobbins to facilitate plyed samples.

A Diversity of Wool half day class Sheep create an enormous diversity of wool. In this class students will explore the range of fiber available from one species. We’ll prepare and spin wool from four breeds, showing the different characteristics of wool available from down breeds, double coated breeds, longwools, and fine wools. Class fee tbd

Spindle Skills Boost: Top up Your Spindle Skills

Full day class

Spindle Spinning is something that is easy to drop and come back to, and something that is easy to expand to various fibers. In this class we’ll briefly review the basics before working on expanding your spindle skills. We’ll discuss and practice spinning with various fibers on spindles, wool, silk, cotton, and bast. We’ll cover various drafting methods and discuss yarn management, plying and portability. Bring your questions and your spindles and we’ll spend time discussing the best approaches to making specific yarns and using specific spindles. This class is not for beginning spinners, but geared towards spinners comfortable making yarn wishing to expand their spindle skills to new techniques and fibers. Please bring as many spindles as you’d like, but at least one. Materials fees $10

Cotton Tasting on a Takhli

Have you ever wanted to try out spinning cotton? In this class you will have the opportunity to learn to spin cotton on a takhli, a support spindle specifically designed for cotton. This is open to all spinners no experience with cotton necessary, but please be familiar with the basic of spinning. Bring a sense of adventure. Takhli and spindle bowls are provided for use in class. Class Fee $3 which will cover fiber used in class.

Breaking Bast Boundaries: Wheel or Spindle Spinning Bast Fibers

Half day class
Can be expanded to a full day class to include Strick (line flax)
Can be a wheel-based class as well

Bast fibers make fantastic and durable fabrics, cool and lustrous and long wearing. Easily available in sliver and roving form, these fibers will add spice to your standard spinning fare. In this class you will have the chance to explore Flax, Ramie, and Hemp on spindles and learn tips for spinning bast fibers. No prior experience with bast fibers is needed. Students should be comfortable. Please bring your favorite wheel or suspended spindle or spindles (High Whorl, Low Whorl, Cross-Arm etc.), fiber will be provided. Materials fee of $6.00.

Mobile Spindle Spinning

Half day class
Materials fee: $5/student

Get your spinning moving using ergonomics, yarn and fiber management techniques, and fun. In this class we will discuss methods to ‘automate’ your spinning, how to use various fiber management techniques to keep your fiber out of the way, and you will make a simple wrist distaff before we get started on obstacle courses and class field trips (hopefully without tripping) to practice the skills you have learned. Fiber for spinning and yarn for making a simple wrist distaff are provided. Please bring an open mind, as many spindles as you wish, and good shoes as we will be on our feet. Students should be able to spin a continuous yarn on a spindle.

Sturdy Spinning: Breeds and Techniques for Making a Hardwearing Yarn

Materials fee: $10/student

Explore the downs/meat sheep with an emphasis on techniques for making yarn that will hold up to wear such as for socks and mittens. We’ll work with washed fleece and prepared fiber. Prerequisites – please be comfortable spinning a singles and plying, and familiar with the basics of fiber preparation. Materials needed: Spinning wheel and 4 bobbins plus lazy kate, for plying or a spindle and comfort plying on spindles. Fiber preparation tools such as handcards or combs are useful, I will have limited supplies of these to share. Please note: if you bring an e-spinner please make sure to bring a fully charged battery and a table or stool for your wheel, most venues do not have extra chairs to use for your wheel and easily accessible outlets for all spinners. It is your responsibility to make sure you can use your e-spinner comfortably.

From Sheep to Sweater: Taking fleece and planning the best use for it

Full day class
Materials fee: $15/student

How do you plan a project from the fleece onwards? In this class we will discuss how to optimize the use of fleece to bring out various characteristics which will shine in your finished object. Do you want a cabled sweater where the cables pop or a beautiful shawl whose longwool yarn shines and drapes? We’ll discuss how best to use the varied characteristics of different breeds and types of wool, various fiber preparations to bring these characteristics out, and practice these methods to bring out the best from a fleece. There will be some fiber prep tools available (cards, combs, flicker), but please feel free to bring any you have. Please bring a wheel with three extra bobbins or spindle(s). Various fleece will be provided.