Participants will be led by the instructor on a harvesting tour of the farm, identifying and harvesting at least 5 plants that are useful for natural dyeing, including, but not limited to, the flowers and plant parts of meadowsweet, goldenrod & tansy, buckthorn leaves & berries, and birch & alder leaves.
Students will sort and learn the process of cooking dye vats using materials they harvested on an outside stove. Some dye vats will be pre-made for the dyeing section of the class so we don’t have to wait for the dyestuff to cook. Each participant will get to dye at least one sample skein of yarn (1 oz.) in each dye vat with the option of doing more if dye stuff and time allow.
Open to all adult learners and individual children 14 years or older. Family groups are encouraged to attend with children 7 years of age or older. I promise you will get to meet the sheep too!
Required to Bring/Wear:
- Clothing for the weather! Including lightweight long-sleeved shirt & pants, sun hat, sunscreen and rain gear if needed. Plan on being outside the entire class period.
- Water bottle, lunch & snacks for the day
- Wear closed toe shoes, we will be walking on uneven ground
- Sunscreen & bug spray
- Gathering bags (especially if you want to take dye stuff home)
- Notebook for taking notes, camera/phone
NOTE: We have 2 dogs what will bark when you arrive but once they meet you are friendly and pleasant. They will want to follow us wherever we go!
Dates: Sunday, June 18, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Location: Clover Valley Farms, 6534 Homestead Road, Duluth MN 55804
Tuition: $50 DFG members, $60 non-members
Materials Fee: $15 (paid to instructor during class)
Instructor: Cindy Hale
Instructor Bio: Cindy has 25+ years as a teacher of arts, science and farming with a particular penchant for creating events that increase community engagement. She has been teaching plant ID for over 30 years and wet felting since 2009. She got serious about natural dyeing in 2020 and greatly expanded her repertoire of skills through her 2022 ARAC Artist Access project: “Full Circle Production of Natural Dyed Pre-Felt for Use in Wet-Felted Art”. She is well known in the community as someone who enjoys sharing her knowledge and skills with the community and will be offering monthly workshops related to natural dyeing and felting in 2023 in conjunction with the Duluth Fiber Guild. Cindy and her husband have been farming ecologically since 2005, raising sheep since 2013 and are well connected among other sustainable farmers in the region.
Refund policy: If you need to cancel your class registration, you will receive a refund, less a $5 administrative fee, if the cancellation is received fourteen days prior to the class. If you cancel less than fourteen days before the class, you will not be eligible for a refund. If for some reason DFG needs to cancel a class, you will receive a full refund. Please contact education@duluthfiberguild.org if you need to cancel.
