Amelia Garripoli Workshops

Magic Warp
Friday, June 10th 1 pm – 4 pm
Cost: $45

Take your leftover skeinlets and build a beautiful “magic” warp. Not only will you use up those leftovers, but you’ll wind only half as many ends as you need, creating a naturally appealing stripe pattern — complete symmetry.

This can be done for any loom and any fabric, but for class bring your leftovers for warp for a scarf — a mix of 3 ounces of various fibers of similar thickness and fiber family (or go wild: bring what you have!). Amelia will also bring her handspun skeinlets if you’d like to mix them in as well.

You’ll finish class with a warp ready to be wound on to your loom at home and woven into a magically symmetrical scarf in your choice of weave structure.

Experience Level: Beginning weavers are welcome, but may want to have already wound a warp or two — class will cover warping on a warping board as used in this technique. If your warping board is portable, please bring it.

Productive Spindling
Sunday, June 12th 9 am – Noon
Cost: $45

Have you walked away from your spindles in frustration? Do you want to expand your repertoire from wheel to spindle so you can bring spinning on your travels? Are you sure there must be some way to make spindling more productive? Expand your spindle skill-set in this fun class. Increase your spindle enjoyment and results.

You’ll match the right spindle for fiber and yarn, and play with a variety of top whorl tricks, bottom whorl tricks, and handy techniques to get more out of your spindling: true Andean plying, Peruvian wind-on, Kick-spinning, Navajo plying, Bottom whorl speed-plying, and more. Bring your favorite spindle and try several others in class. You’re invited to bring any spindles and fibers you’d like advice on spindling. The spindle doctor is in!

Please Bring: Your favorite spindle. Optional: bring additional spindles for advice on their best use, and any fiber you’d like advice on spindling.

Experience Level: Basic spindle spinning (top or bottom whorl), or wheel spinning a continuous single.

Spinning Slippery Fibers
Sunday, June 12th 1 pm – 4 pm
Cost: $45

Explore challengingly slippery fibers in this spinning class: fibers such as silk, mohair, alpaca, and bamboo. Tuning your wheels and examining the fibers will help turn this straw into gold. If these fibers were a challenge when you started to spin, now you’ll unravel their mystery and take control, making yarn where before it was only snarls and tufts. You will get a handle on the fibers you find challenging, spinning singles and plying these slippery fibers into yarn.

Please Bring: A wheel in good working condition, 3 empty bobbins, and a lazy kate. Spindlers may also participate; bring a variety of spindle weights and types, or what you have.

Experience Level: Be able to spin a consistent single and ply on the wheel (advanced beginner-intermediate).

Amelia Garripoli loves to inject humor into all that she does, including spinning. Special topics of interest to her include fiber preparation, spindles, and finding new ways to explore weaving. Amelia runs The Bellwether, a specialty spindle and fiber shop online, she blogs as “Ask The Bellwether”, published Productive Spindling in 2009 and released a series of e-books in 2010 including Exotic Fiber Spindling and Spinning Slippery Fibers. She has published articles in Knitty.com, Weavezine.com, Yarn Magazine, and Spin-Off. Amelia teaches workshops, private classes and at local yarn shops and retreats across the Pacific Northwest and online through Weavolution.