It may be cold outside, but you’ll be cozy and comfortable at this Nome Schoolhouse retreat. Take a break from winter and surround yourself with bright colors, fun conversation and creative energy. Learn to needle felt for the first time or enhance your skills as you “paint with wool”.  Our subject matter will be hearts and flowers, and we’ll use lovely wool fibers to create works of art. The projects in this retreat are designed to sequentially build your felting skills. You’ll learn both wet and needle felting techniques. Go home with completed pieces that include art felt fabric, felt coaster, flower composition on linen or felt and still life with flowers. These will make special gifts for you or someone you love. This is an all-inclusive retreat!  Your charming guest room, all deliciously prepared meals and class instruction, materials and tools are included. 

Jean is a fiber artist living in Maple Grove, Minnesota. Her textile exploration began in the 70s when she tried batik, tie dye and bleaching blue jeans. After retiring from teaching special education, she re-embraced textile arts, taking classes and selling her felted and dyed artwork. Jean is a member of Textile Center of Minnesota and has a degree in Art Education from the University of Minnesota. She loves sharing her knowledge of felting, especially at Nome Schoolhouse.

Friday check in is at 5:00. Meet the instructor, explore the schoolhouse and unpack in your room. Enjoy a delicious meal at 6:00 and meet your fellow participants. Then learn about wet felting and make your first piece.  You’ll use a plastic bag, water, soap and friction to fuse wool fibers and beautiful silk roving into a piece of fabric. This “felting in a bag” technique is one you can do at home, and the fabric you create can be framed, inserted in a card or stitched. The rest of the evening is yours to relax by the fireplace, read a book or head to bed in your beautiful guest room.  

Saturday will be filled with projects!  After a 9:00 breakfast, you’ll learn about needle felting tools and materials and how to manipulate fibers to needle felt fine lines, blend colors and fill spaces. Techniques will include using cookie cutters for creating shapes and transferring printed flower designs to fabric. You’ll learn ways to mount or frame your artworks and view felting resources and examples. Lunch will be served at 12:30. In the afternoon, you’ll use layers of fluffy wool to create a still life and wet felt it into fabric using soap, water and friction. If you prefer, bring a photo of subject matter you’d like for your wet felting project. We will also tour the mill!  Supper is at 6:00, and the evening can be used to rest or finish some of the day’s projects or complete a small bonus project.  

Sunday morning breakfast is at 9:00. Your wet felted still life will be dry and ready for you to add needle felted details. Define, shade, edit, enhance! After a 12:00 lunch you can continue to needle felt your still life.  The retreat concludes at 2:00. Throughout the weekend there will be opportunities to shop in the Nome Schoolhouse store.

Your Instructors and the Nome Schoolhouse do much to prepare for your arrival. To honor the work that we put towards your place in the class there is a firm time frame around when and how refunds are given. Tickets may be transferred to another person upon approval by the Nome Schoolhouse.

You can read our cancelation and policy by clicking here >> https://nomeschoolhouse.com/refund_returns/

By making a booking with us, you signify your agreement to adhere to these terms.