Our Schedule
>>Download Pages for Dye Recipe & Sample Book Here After May 25<<
NOTE: Multiple workshop projects are provided to accommodate differential learning styles, and personal budgets to purchase dye materials. Individual and small group guided instruction will be shared during the workshop, and online in a supportive community. The times shown on the schedule below are approximate. Learn the concepts during our shared two days. We will work together online to complete all workshop projects. The knowledge in this workshop provides basic techniques that can be applied to dyeing ALL wool yarns and fabrics.
Workshop 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Saturday, June 1, 2024
Meet & Greet 10:00 to 11:00 AM
Decide on Lunch Delivery
Ice Breaker Activity
Hands-On Ice Breaker Activity:
Step #1 >> Using a Tyvek label and rust-proof safety pin, participants must label wool fabric for the Seminole Wool Bandolier bag with their name and place it in the Class A Wet-Out bucket. In a separate Class B Wet-Out bucket, label each skein of yarn to be dyed in indigo or pomegranate and place the yarn in the bucket.
Step #2 >> Use tape and a sharpie to put your name on the bucket(s) you brought from home. Begin filling buckets with hot water to scour everything needing a mordant. Fill the bucket half-full of hot water. Add ___ DJ's Wool Wash or either ______ of pure castile soap. Add cool water to the bucket, and fill the bucket 3/4 full. Don't overfill. Add wool fabric with yarn on top. Place the bucket in the sun. NOTE: In the Carolinas, we use the summer sun's heat in our natural dye process. | Instead of a plastic bucket, use a large pot and simmer wool on the lowest stove setting for an hour. Stir every 15 minutes if you use this method.
Ice Breaker activity will be a continuous workstation until everyone's fabric and yarn are in a Class Wet-Out buckets or Individual Scour buckets.
Step #3 >> Add fabric swatches of available wool fabrics to Workshop Dye Recipe & Sample Book >> You will need double-sided tape >> Continuous workstation until everyone has a complete recipe book.
11:00 AM
*First Contact Sharing Circle (marked with water ground corn provided) Introductions | Access to a place on the land for tobacco offerings and a ceremonial smudging ritual, wearing cloth for Algonquin Eastern Woodlands Blanket to be dyed OR another blanket to receive Blanket Dance | Share Eastern Woodlands Blanket Dance **After Dance, place blanket fabric in Individual buckets to be washed using DJs Wool Wash.
*First Contact Circle Protocol >> Share your name, pronouns, community, land-based anchors connecting you to Turtle Island and answer "Who Am I?" without referencing your job, marriage, family status, or income. | Share Eastern Woodlands Blanket Dance >> "Women's Traditional," Big River Cree + Intertribal Women's Fierce + Fearless Blanket Turn-Around Dance "Modern Warriors," Joey Stylez & Joel Wood
11:30 AM to 12:00 Noon
Task #1: Overview of Workshop Processes & Techniques *Tech Gear Required
Get All Fabric and Yarn in the Appropriate Class and Individual Wet-Out Buckets | Complete All Workshop Recipe & Sample Books (Tear Down Workstation) | Show & Tell > Reverse Process for Creating Blanket for Pura Fe (Video Tape) / View Digital Presentation / Q&A
*Tech Gear >> Need Access to Projector, Wi-Fi & Screen OR Smart Baord w/Wi-Fi
12:10 PM to 1:10 PM
Task #2: Mordant Wool 4 Blanket & Yarn (Madder & Turmeric)
Empty all wool from Scour buckets. Boil water for mordant & get all fabric in a mordant bath. Pair Share Cloth Wringing Using Sticks.
1:15 to 1:45 PM
Unity Luncheon
After Eating Practice Walking the Runway to "Break My Soul" by Beyonce | *Bring My Portable Speaker
11:50 PM to 2:50 PM
Task #3: Dyeing Wool in Indigo & Pomegranate
Participants gain hands-on experience dyeing wool yarn and witness how to exhaust a dye. The pomegranate pot can simmer for up to an hour. Indigo happens in 5 to 15 minutes. Remove from pots and hang to dry. NOTE: At home, I use a Crock Pot to dye wool yarn and fat quarters of fabric. My grandmother, Minnie Haskins, came up with the idea of using a Crock Pot to dye fabric.
3:00 PM to 3:50 PM
Task #4: Complete Mordant Process | Hang Fabric to Dry Overnight & Clean-Up Studio
Remove all fabric from the mordant baths, wring it out, and hang it to dry. Pair Share Cloth Wringing Using Sticks. Complete any indigo or pomegranate dyeing. Hand wash any indigo or pomegranate-dyed Bandolier bag fabric or yarn.
4:00 PM
Studio Clean-Up
Dance to "Don't Worry 'Bout A Thing" Mix Playlist
Sunday, June 3, 2024
Sunrise Service
Time To Be Announced at Saturday Workshop | Historically, the Toronto Islands were a series of continuously moving sand-bars originating from the Scarborough Bluffs and pushed by Lake Ontario currents. Before European colonization, the group of islands and sandbars was considered an Algonquin place of healing, leisure, and relaxation by indigenous people. The land was called the "Island of Hiawatha." At sunrise, I plan to stand on this Sacred Land by the "Water of Life", and call out the place name of Neyuheru:ke seven times in remembrance of the 1713 Massacre, and people of the Skaru:re Confederacy becoming refugees.
Workshop 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Sunday, June 2, 2024
10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Meet & Greet Ice Breaker Activity
Make beaded word bracelets to commemorate our workshop experience. One should be IFAF 2024. Other words for bracelets can be chosen by the workshop participants.
11:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Task #1: Binding Up The Blues
Bind wool fabric to be dyed
11:40 AM to 12:15 PM
Task #2: Dyeing Wool Fabric & Yarn in Madder Root, Marigold & Turmeric
Get dye bundles in buckets with madder dye
1:15 to 1:45 PM
Unity Luncheon
After Eating Practice Walking the Runway to "Break My Soul" by Beyonce
2:00 PM to 3:40 PM
Task #3: Hand Stitching
Detailed guided instruction on hand-stitching a wool blanket was shared. Hands-on practice using different hand embroidery stitches on the Seminole Bandolier bag was also provided. An embroidery needle was also provided.
3:45 PM to 4:00 PM
Task #4: Fellowship
We will share songs, dances, and stories as we conclude our in-person contact. But, it's not goodbye. Our adventure together is just beginning. See you online!