A Celebration of New Year’s Eve Traditions at the Folk School
The New Year’s Eve Community Room Dance Floor in 2017
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Category: Fiber
Thanks for the Dance, Bob Dalsemer
After almost thirty years in Brasstown, Bob Dalsemer has moved to a lovely new home in a residential community in Black Mountain, North Carolina where he joins a number of musical friends. But rest assured, he took a piece of Brasstown with him: a wonderfully whimsical quilt. This quilt was created and blessed by lots of his friends who pieced and sewed a little bit of their hearts and memories into a beautiful expression of thanks for helping us understand that music and dance are a natural part of a full life.
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Margaret Dugger’s Perspective on Mentorship
My experience at the Folk School left my heart renewed. The mentorship program was a unique opportunity, and in a year of cancellations, it was a breath of fresh air. I applied to it because I wanted the luxury of being a student: studying history, taking an in-depth look at a few topics, and being able to weave for a month with other weavers. I am at a stage in my career where it feels best to apply to everything I am qualified for and to run with any opportunities given. I ended up falling in love with the Appalachian mountains again and learning so much about what I thought I already knew.
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Making Colorful Corn Shuck Dolls with Anne Freels
Pumpkin season means farmers’ markets and local growers have pumpkins galore in the mountains. They’re technically a squash and extremely healthful. But combine pumpkin with chocolate chips in this delicious cake and you’ve got a match made in heaven.
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The Nature of Things: Essays of a Tapestry Weaver by Tommye Scanlin
We would like to issue congratulations to Tommye Scanlin, long-time Folk School instructor, on her book “The Nature of Things: Essays of a Tapestry Weaver”.
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Into the Blue: Indigo Plant Dye Powder Extraction Study by Sally Blankenship
I find joy in the color blue… more specifically, I find joy in dyeing with indigo. Each time I pull a piece out of my dye vat, I am in awe of the magical transformation. Like many avocational dyers, I order my natural, processed powdered indigo for my dye vats from a supplier. Then I learned that indigo can be grown in this region, and that one type, Japanese indigo, grows especially well here. How wonderful to learn that Farmer Teddy, the Folk School gardener, was planning to grow indigo in the school’s new dye garden for upcoming classes.
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A Look at Our Dye Garden
Welcome to the new Folk School Dye Garden. Natural dye comes from the leaves, flowers, or roots of plants. In this video, we will take a look at Nankeen cotton, indigo, coreopsis, yarrow, French marigolds, madder, chamomile, and purple gromwell.
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Martha Owen on Natural Dyeing with Marigolds
Martha Owen stands in front of our new dye garden, one of the many projects Farmer Teddy is currently working on in the Folk School Garden. Come along as Martha describes the process of using marigold flowers from the Folk School garden for dyeing in the video below:
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Colors from the Garden: An Interview with Catharine Ellis
Catharine Ellis is an internationally acclaimed textile artist who is well-known for developing the technique of woven shibori. Specializing in both weaving and dyeing, she has also done extensive research and experimentation with natural dyes. Enjoy our interview!
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Shearing Day at Martha’s Farm & A Prize for All
The days have pushed themselves along since the birth of our three brave lambs born to “Robin” on March 6th. When they arrived, I did not call them anything much. I just looked at them, noted their shape and health and desire to eat, and thought, Those three, they are the ones without names!
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A Look at Southern Scrap Quilts with Pepper Cory
One of Pepper’s specialties is Southern scrap quilts, both making and collecting. Pepper explains that Southern scrap quilts, particularly from North Carolina, are a fascinating study in frugality, family life, and beauty.
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The Joy of Cooking & Quilting: An Interview with Penny Prichard
A chef by trade, Penny has been teaching Cooking at the Folk School since 2000. In 2008, she also started teaching Quilting, Sewing, and Needlework. Let’s get to know Penny a little more. Enjoy our interview!
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Spring Garden Tour with Farmer Teddy
Happy Earth Day everyone! Usually during Earth Week, we celebrate Mother Earth’s amazing treasures with programming connected to nature. This year we invite you to take a walk around the Folk School Garden with Farmer Teddy.
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With Spring, Comes Lambs! What to Name Them?
I was sort of joking when I decided at the end of last year that a sheep should be in every conversation. This joke coupled itself with the sad thought that there are so many things that I can’t fix, so why not talk about sheep?
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Studio Batik with Jessica Kaufman
Have you ever wanted to try batik and hand-dyeing? We have a very special surface design class coming up on January 12–18, 2020 with Jessica Kaufman: Studio Batik: Many Techniques, Amazing Results. Jessica has studied batik methods from Indonesia and India and is the owner of WAXON Batik & Dye Studio in Asheville, NC.
Read MoreCurrent Catalog
Embrace your creative potential, and join us for a life-changing Folk School experience. Our new May–December 2021 eCatalog is now available.
Online Craft Shop
Our online Craft Shop is now live! Support our vision, mission, and values by purchasing handcrafted items. Our online selection of items will continue to grow, so check back regularly for new items, interviews and more.
What Folks Are Saying
