Take a class — or two — with craftmeister "Lee" in Northern Virginia!

Marble Dyeing on Silk Fabric
Sunday, August 25, 2019 1 pm – 3 pm

The Best Way to Wash Raw Fleece
Sunday, August 25, 2019 10 am – 12 pm

This week Rebecca Menes (aka "Lee") will be trying something new for Lee & Pearl — teaching craft classes at the local makerspace!

What's a makerspace? It's basically a gym for people who like to make things — a big workshop filled with tools and a community of fellow crafters who enjoy working and sharing their skills. Many makerspaces, like NOVALabs, have a busy schedule of organized classes and events. Such events are often open to both members and guests, but if you've got a local makerspace, consider joining and supporting it. Makerspaces are typically non-profits staffed by volunteers. If you're looking for a great place to give back to the community, a local makerspace might be looking for you!

If you're in the Northern Virginia area, we highly recommend checking out NOVALabs in Reston. And if you're in the Dallas/Fort Worth area the Dallas Makerspace is a large and friendly place.

This weekend, NOVALabs will be running a special event for fiber and fabric craft lovers — Fiber at the Lab: A Weekend of Making.

A longtime supporter of the NOVALabs makerspace, Rebecca Menes — our very own craftmeister "Lee" — will be teaching TWO classes on Sunday, August 25, 2019.

First up, do you remember this marvelous marble T-shirt dyeing project from our November 2014 Newsletter?

Learn this creative and fun craft from "Lee" herself during a hands-on, two-hour class, using SILK fabric from our recent estate purchase!

This technique works on most natural fibers, including cotton and wool, but it excels on silk. And if you’ve been following the Lee & Pearl summer adventures, you know we currently have a lot of silk to play with.

At this seminar, participants will be dyeing on SILK ORGANZA using awesomely pigmented Japanese Tsukineko fabric inks. Come and play with our beautiful fabric and inks!

This is an adaptation of traditional marbling techniques using shaving cream instead of water and oil. Seriously — shaving cream! It's crazy easy, loads of fun, AND the product is something you will love.

Each student will go home with 2 finished pieces. The finished textiles will be decorative panels roughly 15"x 11" and will be appropriate as the focal fabric for decorative and apparel applications.

Cost is $36.00 + $15.00 materials fee.

Materials: Silk fabric, Tsukineko inks, disposable pipettes, vinyl gloves, and shaving cream. Tools used will include half pan baking sheets, iron, ironing board.

Minimum student age: 8

Requires: Please bring an apron or wear clothes that might get stained (waterproof shoes recommended).

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR MARBLE DYEING ON SILK
Sunday, August 25, 2019 1 pm – 3 pm

Be sure to click the PayPal link on the meetup page to complete your signup!

Along with her crafting skills, "Lee" is also an accomplished spinster — that is, a person who spins raw fiber into yarn.

On Sunday morning, she'll be teaching a course on her favorite method for washing a raw fleece before carding and spinning.

Nothing beats spinning wool that has NOT been subjected to industrial cleaning and combing. The industrial processes take out so much natural crimp and spring — but hand washing a fleece can be a huge, messy job and leave you with a fleece full of tangles, knots, and noils.

Join Rebecca to learn the "Tulle Tootsie Roll Technique" for cleaning raw fleece and getting it ready for spinning it without ruining it.

Learn how to break the job down so you can clean a fleece over time, do it inside — even in a small apartment — and finish with clean, bouncy, tangle-free locks.

As a bonus, Rebecca will demonstrate proper carding techniques as well.

Materials fee covers everything needed. Participants will go home with 3-4 ounces of clean fleece ready to card and spin, or just spin from the lock.

Cost: $36 + $15.00 materials fee.

Materials: 1/4 lb of raw fleece, tulle strips, rubber bands. Instructor will also bring soap, wash pans, and a spinner for spin-drying wool.

Requires: Clothes that can get wet (waterproof shoes recommended).

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE BEST WAY TO WASH RAW FLEECE
Sunday, August 25, 2019 10 am – 12 pm

Be sure to click the PayPal link on the meetup page to complete your signup!

If you're in town, you should check out the full schedule of classes offered during the weekend fiber retreat by all the wonderful fiber artists of NOVALabs.

Classroom A/B will have vendors will all sorts of fibery goodies, and in between classes and shopping, you can enjoy hanging out and yarning with friends in Orange Bay!

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL SATURDAY 8/24/19 SCHEDULE

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL SUNDAY 8/25/19 SCHEDULE

And don't worry, you haven't missed our COMING SOON SILK SALE!

Stay tuned to upcoming newsletters as we prepare the materials for sale in our Etsy shop.

And here's some more big news — inspired by all that lovely silk, patternmaker "Pearl" has been hard at work designing a NEW PATTERN!

Here's a SNEAK PEEK of a few of the tutu plates from COMING SOON Pattern 1074: Ballet Costume Accessories Mix-and-Match Tutu Plates and Elastic Sleeves for 18 Inch Dolls.

This pattern is currently out with our wonderful testers, and we hope to have it available in our Etsy shop very soon!

Want pattern announcements, tutorials and behind-the-scenes news from Lee & Pearl delivered directly to your inbox — along with our exclusive FREE pattern for subscribers? Click below to join our mailing list!

CLICK HERE to sign up for the Lee & Pearl mailing list!

See you next time!