All skill levels (ages 16+)  

Learn how to arrange flowers like a pro at Dahlia Flower Arranging on Saturday, Sept. 19 from 2-3:30 p.m. in the Arboretum Shed. 

Delight Flower Farm welcomes friends & friendly folks to learn about a variety of fall flowers and the bouquet-making elements as they play with fresh cut flowers grown on the Farm. There will be plenty of the season's star - dahlias! - as well as zinnias, amaranth, celosia and more.  

Vases are included so students can design their own bouquet to take home or gift to someone. 

$65/person*. Registration closes Sept. 12 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.  

*Students should bring gardening gloves.  

Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email owarren@illinois.edu. 

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken. 

Entry Level: Beginner

Be introduced to knitting in the round without juggling single or double pointed knitting needles at Knitting Without Needles: French Tube Scarf on Sunday, Sept. 20 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in The Studio. 

In this class, participants will make looms from readily available materials. Students will also learn about commercially available looms.  Participants will design and knit a colorful, striped, tubular scarf.  

Bring your imagination and create a unique decorative scarf, winter neck wrap, or a modern necklace. Students will receive a tool kit for this workshop to continue knitting at home.  

 $95/person*. Registration closes Sept. 13 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.  

 *Students should bring the following: 
--pencil 
--pair of embroidery scissors 
--2 or more skeins (any colorway) of locally available yarn:     
     --Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton or     
     --Loops & Threads Twist Love Cotton OR     
     --Lion Brand Made with Love The Cottony One OR     
     --Yarn Bee Fundamental Cotton OR     
     --I Love this Cotton Crafter’s Secret Cotton 

The following things are optional; bring them if you have them: 
--colored pencil set --bits of left over yarn in any fiber and weight 
--partial skeins of left over yarn in any fiber and weight 
--left over fabric scraps (linen, cotton gauze, cottons, and polyester with no right sides) 

Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email owarren@illinois.edu. 

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken. 

About the Instructor 

Billie Theide is Professor Emerita and a former Chair of the Crafts Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Theide is a metalsmith, jeweler, textile artist, and ceramicist. Her work is in public art collections around the world including the Smithsonian, Museum of Arts & Design in New York City, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, and the Racine Art Museum, among others. She is the recipient of a Visual Arts Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and five Artists Fellowship Grants from the Illinois Arts Council. Theide has been recognized for her excellence in teaching and is a Distinguished Member and Past-President of the Society of North American Goldsmiths.

Experience Level: Beginner 

Learn the skills of improvisation, including scene creation and team dynamics at Improve Your Improv on Thursdays, Sept. 10 through Oct. 15 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Music Barn. 

Instructor Kyle Tasch returns to The Farms to teach this popular course, which will be jam-packed with improvisational fun that uses both short-form games and long-form scenes. 

This will not be a class to sit down, hear lectures, and take notes.  Students will be performing as much as possible to emphasize the mechanics needed to act out an entertaining and meaningful scene on the spot with no lines. There are many elements of improv that are not only useful on stage, but also in everyday life – wherever you might be put on the spot! 

Students who have already completed this class are welcome to join again. Beginners and those experienced in improv are all encouraged to join! 

$100/person for the entire series or $25/class at the links below. Registration will close on Sept. 8 for the entire series or two days before each subsequent class. 

— Sept. 10
— Sept. 17  
— Sept. 24  
— Oct. 1
— Oct. 8  
— Oct. 15

Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia at owarren@illinois.edu. 

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken. 

About the instructor 

Kyle Tasch is an improvisor, improv teacher, filmmaker, writer, actor, comedian and musician from the Chicago suburbs. He started performing improv in 2004 and has been improvising in front of audiences regularly since 2015. 

He has also taught classes both in-person and remotely at Westside Improv in Wheaton, Illinois. He performs live across the state in various comedy and music acts and has produced hundreds of videos and songs. 

Experience Level: All Levels

Learn the basics of basket weaving and take home a handmade basket at Basket Weaving: The Organizer on Friday, Sept. 25 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in The Studio.  

Instructor Bonnie Rideout will teach techniques such as setting up a base, twining, start/stop weaving, pairing triple twining with an arrow weave, and the use of overlays.  This handy basket can be used anywhere! Faster weavers may be done in less time. 

$95/person. Registration will close Sept 18 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia at owarren@illinois.edu.

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.

About the instructor

Bonnie Rideout wove her first basket in 1994 and quickly caught the “basket bug.” She created a business — Bonnie’s Baskets in Decatur — in 2006 to teach others to weave. She is also a traveling instructor and has taught weaving in 18 states.

Find out more about Bonnie on her website, Facebook, Instagram and Etsy pages.

About The Farms

The Farms: An Allerton Folk School, offers classes, workshops, and gatherings focusing on art, health & wellness, history, nature & outdoor education, or science. All experiences value hands-on, experiential teaching and learning, and are facilitated by and for the members of the community.

Experience Level: Beginner  

Learn the basics of low relief wood carving at Woodcarving Basics: Flowers & Leaves on Saturday, Sept. 26 from 1-5 p.m. in The Studio.  

Students will learn how to safely use a small carving chisel set to define the background and make shallow, controlled cuts, transforming a flat basswood board into a beautiful low relief flower carving. 

$85/person*. Registration closes Sept. 21 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.   

Students must bring ONE of the following options: 
- 8 Piece WoodRiver Detail Carving Tool Set  
or  
- 12 Piece Schaaf Mini Detail Carving Set – Long Handle  

Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email owarren@illinois.edu. 

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.

Experience Level: Beginner (ages 18+)  

Turn copper wire into wearable art while learning a centuries-old technique at Jewelry 101: Viking Weaving on Sunday, Sept. 27 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in The Studio. 

In this beginning jewelry making workshop participants will learn about an ancient process and fabricate a tubular copper chain resulting in a flexible and lightweight bracelet or necklace. Students will make handmade decorative end caps and a closure from heavier gauge round copper wire. The chain can remain copper in color or patinated to take on a rich coloration from warm light brown to black.  

Enrollment includes a toolkit that will enable you to continue working at home.  

$120/person. Registration closes on Sept. 20 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.  

Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email owarren@illinois.edu. 

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken. 

About the Instructor 

Billie Theide is Professor Emerita and a former Chair of the Crafts Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Theide is a metalsmith, jeweler, textile artist, and ceramicist. Her work is in public art collections around the world including the Smithsonian, Museum of Arts & Design in New York City, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, and the Racine Art Museum, among others. She is the recipient of a Visual Arts Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and five Artists Fellowship Grants from the Illinois Arts Council. Theide has been recognized for her excellence in teaching and is a Distinguished Member and Past-President of the Society of North American Goldsmiths.

Experience Level: Beginner

Learn about the process of making sourdough bread at Beginner Sourdough Breadmaking on Sundays, Sept. 27 or Oct. 11 from 2 to 5 p.m. in the Mansion Kitchen and Carriage House. (Each class covers the same material.)

Instructor Hannah Fink will cover the basic biology of a ferment and what it means to a sourdough culture, how to mix sourdough, how to maintain a healthy starter in your home and the importance of baking with regionally grown grains. Students will also get hands-on experience as they learn to mix sourdough.

Prepared dough will be available to showcase baking and for students to prepare a snack toward the end of class. Students will take home their own jar of sourdough culture, a sample of gains from Janie’s Mill, as well as printouts of everything covered, simple recipes and a thorough list of resources.

$100/person. Registration will close 10 days before each course begins or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

About the Instructor

Hannah Fink — a baker and local food enthusiast — started Tooth Butter Cottage Bakery in Urbana so she could be at home with her son and still keep her hands in dough. She revels in naturally leavened bread and quality pastries and focuses on organic whole grains, mostly stone milled from Janie’s Mill in Ashkum.

She is of the firm belief that a “toothy dose of good butter” is the best start, which led to the name of her business that bakes for special orders and pop-up collaborations with fellow creators.

Hannah started baking about 11 years ago while working in the music industry in Nashville and ended up falling in love with it enough to change careers. She started as a bread delivery driver, then worked as a kitchen manager at Pear Tree Estate in Champaign and as a pastry manager in Michigan.

Fink is a member of the Artisan Grain Collaborative and is looking forward to passing on the knowledge she has gained on breads and grains.

Experience Level: Beginner  

Carve your own useful or decorative wooden spoon to give as a gift or use in your own kitchen at Woodcarving Basics: Spoons on Wednesday, Sept. 30 from 1-5 p.m. in The Studio. 

Students will learn how to safely use a carving knife and practice the three basic carving cuts.  Class material includes basswood spoon blank, additional carving tools and a carver’s board. 

$85/person* Registration closes on Sept. 25, or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.  

*Students must bring a carving glove and basic spoon carving st for right or left hand.  

Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email owarren@illinois.edu. 

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken. 

About the Instructor 

Lou Ann Koebel has had a strong passion for woodworking since high school, and during the summer attends workshops at Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Indiana. She also leads Fix It! and dulcimer courses — in addition to jam sessions — at The Farms.