Spin & Knit an Appalachian Shawl (Appalachian Heritage Week)

Every mountain household once practiced spinning and knitting. Learn to select and prepare a sheep’s fleece and/or cotton, spin it on the great or walking wheel, then discover several ways to knit the yarn into traditional, triangular shawls like those worn by generations of mountain women. Return home with small skeins of handspun yarn and the beginnings of a shawl of your own design. Basic knitting experience is helpful; no spinning experience needed.

$50-$75

Annie Hall has had the good fortune to grow up (and still live) in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She has been teaching knitting and spinning in the Southeast since 1997 at places including Southeast Fiber Forum, John C. Campbell Folk School, Plying the Arts, and in Atlanta for Peachtree Handspinners Guild, Chattahoochee Handweavers Guild, Emory University’s Center for Lifelong Learning, Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, and others. She loves the “Aha!” moment when students get it, a good story, and having fun while learning.

Leslie Bronson has been knitting most of her life. She learned to spin, dye, and weave during college, graduating from the University of Georgia with a BFA in 1985. Leslie loves to work with handspun cotton, creating one-of-a-kind pieces as well as historic reproductions. Her work has been featured in many galleries, publications, and on television.