San Juan County Textile Guild

The San Juan County Textile Guild offers educational workshops taught by acclaimed instructors. Fees vary by teacher and the number of students registered. A $75 deposit is required for each class. In addition to tuition, there is a materials fee for most classes. Workshops are held at various venues across the islands.

Workshops are open first to SJCTG members, then to non-members on a space-available basis. A deposit is required for each workshop.

Workshop Sign-up Policy:

1) Sign-ups for all workshops will require a non-refundable $75 deposit or the total cost of the workshop if less than $75.
2) The workshop coordinator will send a reminder to the participants 90 days before the workshop with an estimated balance, which is then due and payable.
3) If a student cancels before the 90-day period, the student is not responsible for the full cost. Within 90 days of the workshop, the student is responsible for the full amount. A replacement will pay the cost or the balance directly to the person who has had to drop out, in the order in which they have cancelled whether it is before or after the 90-day period.
4) All cancellations are subject to forfeiture of the deposit unless the workshop is cancelled by the Guild or a replacement is found.
5) If the Guild has to cancel a workshop, all deposits will be refunded in full.

Workshop Wait list policy:

1) After the workshop capacity has been met, anyone may add his/her name to a waitlist with a $75 deposit.
2) Up to 90 days before the workshop, anyone on the waitlist may remove their name from the list and receive a full refund of the deposit.
3) Within 90 days of the workshop, the waitlisted person must accept an opening or forfeit their deposit unless a replacement is found.
4) If a person is not offered a place in the workshop, the deposit will be returned.

Workshop Fees:

1) All workshops will be available to both members and non-members.
2) Non-members will be offered the workshop for $20 more which will include a one-year membership in the Guild.
3) We will develop reciprocity agreements with other guilds.

Wednesday through Friday, April 18-20, 2012 - San Juan Island
Design Your Own Fair Isle Sweater with Janine Bajus

This workshop covers a lot of ground, but by the end of the three days students will be well on their way to finalizing a unique Fair Isle type garment. The first day will include a discussion of the use of color in Fair Isle knitting, color theory, and other helpful resources. There will be a value recognition exercise and then students will identify colors for their work, ending with speed swatching with the chosen colors. On the second day, motifs will be charted and swatched with the chosen colors. Students will have the option of creating their own designs or recoloring an existing one. The third day will consist of dealing with construction and fit issues specific to Fair Isle type garments including steeks, corrugated ribbing, purl-when-you-can borders and adding bands. Janine provides a basic customizable pullover pattern and will share simple ways to calculate armhole and neckline curves. Must have experience with two colors knitting and knitting in the round. Must have completed a sweater or a vest (of any kind).

Janine Bajus has been intrigued with Fair Isle knitting since she was 13 years old and has become
known as the Feral Knitter. She describes how that title came to be. "In 2003, I was setting up a Fair Isle color study sub-group of the Seattle Knitters Guild. A non-knitting friend, overhearing the discussion, asked me, apprehension thick in her voice, ‘Janine, WHAT is a feral knitter?’ The name stuck. A feral knitter is someone who loves color knitting, playing with color combinations and garment shapes, and learning about construction and fit." Janine is an accomplished knitter and teacher.

Where: To be determined on San Juan Island
Cost: $260 ($75 deposit required) Materials fee: $16

Friday and Saturday, May 18-19, 2012 - San Juan Island
Miniature Wire Basket with Marilyn Moore

Twining is such a satisfying and relaxing way to make a basket. Why not do it with wire? Using your own choice of color, learn color blending with fine wire. This small basket is a beautiful way to store your favorite earrings or ring. Or just display it on one of your shelves. Students will have a choice between two styles of these beautiful small baskets. Blending colored wire to create gradual tonal changes is one of Marilyn’s specialties and this basket will utilize that technique. Please do not wear perfume to this class.
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Marilyn Moore learned to embroider, knit, crochet, and sew as a child. Her love of fiber work continued into adulthood as she added spinning, weaving, basketry, and now wire work, to her fiber vocabulary. She has shown her work internationally and nationally, and has taught at national conventions and conferences. She has written articles for several periodicals, and her work has been featured in many magazines and books as well. The work can be found in public and private collections around the country and Marilyn has won many awards. She holds a BFA with an emphasis in fiber from the University of Washington. Working with color and color blending are important aspects to her recent work, as she continues to explore the vessel form and has expanded
into woven jewelry.

Where: To be determined on San Juan Island
Cost: $115-$135 ($75 deposit required) Materials fee: $60

Thursday, May 31 and Friday, June 1
Bead Embroidery Workshop with Robin Atkins

Play with beads and learn lots of bead embroidery stitches as class participants make a Stitch Sampler. Practice stitches by using them to work on your own unique bead embroidery piece. In addition to techniques, the classhandouts will include patterns for five different beaded bags. Participants choose one of these as their class project or bring other ideas for their own project(s). There will be time for Robin to tailor her teaching to individual student needs, experience and interest.
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Robin Atkins is familiar as a San Juan Island resident and a foremost authority on bead embroidery. She teaches improvisational bead embroidery, finger weaving and other beading classes. She lectures on beads, buttons and beadwork of Eastern Europe. She has written several books on beading including Heart to Hands Bead Embroidery. She is presently at work on another book to be released in 2012.

Where: To be determined on San Juan Island
Cost: $65-$85 ($75 deposit required) Includes materials fee for Stitch Sampler Activity.

Friday Evening (FREE) and Saturday, October 12-13, 2012 - Orcas Island
How to Make Sweaters that Fit You and Your Loved Ones with Cheryl Brunette
Cheryl has graciously offered her talents to the Guild free of charge for a light-hearted evening of creative problem-solving. Her description of the Friday night event is: “Oh heck. We can fix that!” Bring your abandoned projects or those sweaters that you are disappointed in, and see how easy it can be to fix. This will be sweater rescue at its best. The more problems you bring, the more everyone will learn! The Saturday workshop will be even more informative! Cheryl will offer many techniques and helpful hints so that you can avoid all future sweater disasters. She understands that knitting a sweater is a big commitment of time and money, and that you wanted to be proud of the results. Most of all, you want that sweater to fit! Class fee includes Cheryl’s handbook on sweater fitting.

Cheryl Brunette started knitting at age seven because it was safer than embroidery. She has taught
for over 45 years and has been knitting for over 55. With the classes that she teaches, the videos that she produces, and the book that she has written, Cheryl has taught thousands of knitters to design sweaters that fit and has helped them to grow their skills. Her book Sweater 101: How to Plan Sweaters that Fit and Organize Your Knitting Life at the Same Time has been around since 1991 and is now considered a classic in the field.

Where: Orcas Island Fire Hall
Cost: $120 ($75 deposit required)

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