The 2025 season finale.

Dear Friends,

This month's newsletter is a bit delayed thanks to a jam-packed run of programs. We processed flax and hemp, used traditional natural dyes from Oaxaca, wove lots of cloth, and took the show on the road to Tunbridge for the Vermont Sheep & Wool Festival. Over the course of 36 days we had some kind of program or special event on 35 of them! It might not be a sustainable pace, but boy was it fun to meet so many new faces.

The big finale of our non-stop activity was Vermont North By Hand's Open Studio Tour. We want to extend a special thank you to the Vermont Weavers Guild and everyone who contributed woven items for our Open Studio Sale. With your help we were able to showcase your beautiful work while raising funds for the school. We'll be doing this again next year, so start planning those projects!

We have just a few classes left for the 2025 season and look forward to taking some time to plan and prepare for the coming year. On behalf of the team, happy fall. May all your jack-o-lanterns stay perky through Halloween.

Justin Squizzero

Director

Our 2026 Calendar is Live!

It isn't too early to start making plans for next year's weaving, and much of our schedule for 2026 is up on the website. We'll be adding more programs as they develop, but our core offerings are available now for registration.

Come join us!

Foundations

We had three Foundations classes including a weekend session. There was some cussing, some laughing, and a whole lot of satisfaction.

Open Workshop

Linen was the common thread during Open Workshop, woven in herringbone and floatwork.

Natural Dyes of Teotitlán del Valle

Gregorio Ruiz and Alicia Montaño introduced us to a few of the natural dyes traditionally used in Teotitlán del Valle, Mexico. For many of us this was a rare opportunity to learn dyeing from people whose families have been practicing the craft for generations. We were treated not only to the dye workshop, but exquisite examples of their weaving and we hope to host Goyo and Alicia again in the future. This bilingual program was presented in collaboration with Prophecy Chocolate, and we are grateful to Mateo for providing translation for the non-Spanish speakers.

Flax and Hemp: Growing, Spinning, and Processing Bast Fibers

Andrea Myklebust returned to share her experience raising bast fibers and turning them into finished cloth. We broke, scutched, hackled, spun, and fell in love with these materials all over again.

Weaving with Linen

Following the processing class, we spent a week weaving with linen. The cohort gained confidence working with singles linen yarns and sizing warps to weave timeless textiles.

Coverlets and Counterpanes

Students wove floatwork coverlets and learned how to read 19th-century weaving drafts. Though challenging at first, the simplicity of the drafting system makes it worth learning and the coverlets they produced were beautiful.

Vermont Sheep & Wool Festival

We had a blast bringing a little bit of the weaving school to the massive crowds at the Vermont Sheep & Wool Festival in Tunbridge, Vermont. Over the weekend we invited festival goers to weave tape and spin yarn while we wove a blanket out of local wool spun by Green Mountain Spinnery.

Vermont North By Hand Open Studio

After bringing the school to the masses, we welcomed the masses to the school for Vermont North By Hand's Open Studio Tour. Your contributions to our Open Studio Sale showcased the breadth and skill of this community while supporting our educational mission. Guests even had the opportunity to waulk a blanket and take part in the cloth making process themselves.

As always, we can only do what we do with your generous support. Gifts of all sizes make a tremendous impact. Thank you.

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