Contact me if you would like to form small group classes with me. In this class option, a guild or friend group self organizes with one person as the point person for the group. That person chooses the members, is given and distributes all the info from me to the others, collects and pays the class fee to me. Materials used by the students will be paid to me at the end of the class.

The fee for the group is $750/day for up to 5 people in my shop (or 10 people if the group is organized through a guild at their location). I keep the groups small because that works well with my shop space and with that very low student to teacher ratio each student gets personalized attention. A non-refundable deposit of $375 is due to me to secure the dates that work best for all of us. The class may be held in my shop in Clyde, NC or location of the group’s choice.

If held in a location other than my shop, the group/guild will be responsible for my travel expense, food, and lodging in addition to the daily fee.

Below are general descriptions of the classes I teach. I work with each group’s point person to present weaving and dyeing classes that focus more specifically on the members’ interests.

3 Day Class

Overview: Students learn non-traditional techniques in setup and designing at the reed while working effectively and efficiently with multiple warps and diverse warp elements.

Here are the details:

This is a jam packed class that is guaranteed to give you some new insight into what you are already weaving and what you might add to that in the future. Students will use instructor provided hand-painted warps in which the colors flow and change - creating designs in the woven fabric that appear complex in planning, but actually spring from making flexible and intuitive decisions as they are set up and woven. Students might choose to mix warps of different weights, textures, and fiber content to create stripes within the space-dyed design. They will learn to cleanly split warp chains to use threads that their current project requires while saving extra warp threads for future projects. These workshop warps can be woven in a variety of weave structures: Plain weave, ribb, repp, turned taqueté, twills, double weave, etc. Everyone's class design will be unique so class members learn from their own projects as well as from the others. In this workshop we start the designing process by tying on to a dummy warp that students have threaded before class. Tying on is an essential step in our designing process. This workshop is not suitable for rigid heddle looms.

I provide a wide range of hand-dyed warps for students to choose from for this class and at least one more future project. Class warps will be offered to students at a discount off the prices for similar warps in my webshop: blazingshuttles.com/shop. Students may also bring warps previously purchased from me.

3 Day Weaving Class is a jam packed class with adequate time to discuss concepts and physicality of designing at the loom with multiple warp chains, choosing colors, and setting up. We will also possibilities beyond the student’s original plans/intentions. Most of the weaving may take place after the class depending on the skill level of the students.

1 to 3 Day Class

Overview: Workshop participants will be dyeing cellulose (plant based) fiber. The goal is to learn the basics of dyeing: dyeing safely, traditional as well as non-traditional application of dyes, processes needed to set the dyes for color fastness, tips on setting up a dye kitchen of your own. And, beyond that, to learn to dye with personal fearlessness and intention.

Here are the details:

This is a fun class! It is an approachable dye class particularly good for people who want to dye as an artist - not as a chemist in a lab. Students will explore dyeing graduated colors, blended colors, controlled dyeing, resist dyeing on yarn and fabric, full spectrum dyeing, bridging complements in dyeing, the incredible richness of over-dyeing previously dyed yarn.

Although I bring a few simple recipes, this is not a “recipe” class. We approach the dyeing process with a spirit of experimentation and creative license while learning technical aspects that make cotton fiber vibrant and colorfast. My intention for students is to leave the class being able to understand the dynamics of dye and what colors are made of that will allow you to dye without recipes – as a musician plays by ear or a water colorist paints from knowledge of color and blending. This is a dye class for fiber artists who approach (or would like to approach) dyeing with confidence in using color intentionally and effectively. Students will learn fundamentals for dye application to produce one of a kind, technically sound and color-fast hand-dyed cotton yarn. Using 7 hues of Fiber Reactive MX dyes students will begin to develop insight into the essence of color that allows them to blend, shade and produce a full spectrum of color. Students will dye within their comfortable color palette as well as learning to incorporate the not so comfortable colors that exist outside their personal color palette.

Students will bring warps/skeins to be dyed. I can provide the warps/skeins scoured and ready to dye for those who prefer to buy them pre-wound from me. I will provide individual Dye Kits (containing the 7 colors I use directly and also use for mixing all the colors in my palette) at a discount off the prices for similar warps in my webshop: blazingshuttles.com/shop.

1 Day Class: I will present the basics of mixing colors, dye application, rinsing, and setting dye in the morning. Students will “Free Range” dye 4 to 6 warps/skeins in the afternoon with my assistance as needed. Everyone will leave with a sense of dyeing with playful intention and fearlessness.

2 Day Class: Above plus students will be given exercises in class to learn greater control over the dye process, more manipulation and layout for specific results in future woven projects, and a greater sense of how colors combine to create specific complex results.

3 Day Class: All of Above with continuation of teacher assisted dyeing, more focus on student finesse and skill, plus in addition to taking home individually dyed projects, students will have an opportunity to dye yarn samples as a group which will be divided up for each person to take home for future reference. Fabric dyeing techniques (including ice dye, resist dye, tie dye, over dye, discharge dye) might be options students would like to explore on the 3rd day.