The Mennonite Heritage Center, 565 Yoder Road, Harleysville, announces a one-day Natural Dye Workshop on May 20, 2017 from 9:30 am to 4 pm. The workshop will be led by textile artist Ruth Konrad who was given her first sheep in the early 1980’s and taught herself to spin, and from there to knit and weave and dye. Ruth takes special joy in teaching others to enter the creative world of fiber arts especially through playing with color.
In this workshop participants will learn the safe handling of dyestuffs and mordants in the dye process, as well as a bit of history about the dyes we use. Supplied wool swatch skeins will be dyed in a number of natural dyes, using different mordants, from which a dye-notebook may be started. Participants may also bring along small skeins of their own animal fiber to dye at the end of class, time permitting. Depending on the weather, we may be outside.
Participants need to bring: inexpensive dust mask, rubber kitchen gloves, 1 or 2 old (really old) towels, or 2 plastic grocery bags, notebook & pencil to take notes and wear REALLY old clothes!
Preregistration is necessary as the workshop size is limited. The workshop fee is $60 ($55 member) plus a $10 materials fee.