Nettle Love Fest – Gabriola – Feb 15

A rare opportunity to have a ‘delightful tactile experience’ with nettle, meet and talk with fellow bast fibre folx, and leave with new skills and knowledge to continue your nettle and bast fibre journey.

The day will move swiftly, with hands-on time for processing retted stalks and combing, grading and spinning or cordage making and discussions on all the steps from harvesting, retting methods, and yarn characteristics. This day is primarily intended for those with spinning experience, but those interested in soft basketry materials are also encouraged to join.

Bring an apron, old towel, drop spindle and hand carders (if possible), and a potluck lunch offering.

Workshop is limited to 10 participants and costs $120.

Workshop costs $120.

Instructor Bio:

As the founding lead artist of EartHand Gleaners Society, Sharon Kallis, along with the EartHand community, create spaces for shared experiences to relearn reciprocity and empathy with plants and animals.

She says: I plan seasonal activities guided by plants and share my ongoing discoveries through workshops, conversations, and collaborative inquiries. I am honoured to call the unceded ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations my home. The urban parks straddling Skwácháy̓s—now known as Means of Production Garden and Trillium North Park—are my collaborators in building relationships as I steward these stolen lands.

Her book, Common Threads: weaving community through collaborative eco-art, was published by New Society Publishers in 2014 and is used in many post secondary programs as a model for creative engagement in shared green spaces.

Website: https://sharonkallis.wordpress.com