Experience Level: Beginner (all ages; parents/guardians are not required to register with their children, but they are encouraged to be present for those 13 and younger.)

Create a unique piece of art out of locally sourced alpaca fiber at Needlefelt Penguin on Saturday, Nov. 8 from 2:30-5:30 p.m. in The Studio.

Stephanie Block of Sundrop Alpacas will walk students through the needlefelting process to make a penguin, which can be customized to make them look authentic, whimsical or anything in between. The class is perfect for those wanting to learn a new art form.

Take advantage of a fun opportunity to bring a friend or family member for just a $10 add-on fee as you work together on a single project kit!

$65/person* + $10/person for add-on (limit one). Register here.  Registration will close Nov. 1 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

*A $15 discount is available during registration for those who bring their own needlefelting tools.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting 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.

Consider making a weekend out of it and stay overnight with our Weekend Wind Down. View discounted rooms ($110/night + tax) here and book online or by calling 217-333-3287. Find out more about our weekend Wind Down series here.

About the instructor

Stephanie Block is the co-owner of Sundrop Alpacas near Bement. She has been producing popular yarn from her own alpacas since 2016. Stephanie’s spinning style is self-taught, and she is continuously learning so that she can share that knowledge with others.

Experience Level: Ages 18+, familiarity with a sewing machine

Learn how to quilt on a sewing machine at Intro to Machine Quilting on Sunday, Nov. 9 from 12 to 4 p.m. in The Studio.

During this course, instructor Jennie Ingram will guide students as they step into the beautiful world of quilting as they learn about commonly using items such as rotary cutters and mats, rulers and seam rippers. Students will also practice rotary cutting fabric, use a sewing machine to piece a simple block, layer and machine quilt the block, and bind it to complete their Mug Rug!

$80/person*. Registration will close Nov. 7 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

*Students should bring:

 — Their own sewing machine if possible. Machines are available to rent from The Farms. For more information email Olivia at owarren@illinois.edu.

— Closed-toe shoes are recommended.

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

Jennie Ingram is a lifelong crafter who has been sewing, costuming, quilting, crocheting, and making jewelry since childhood. She received her MFA in Costume Design from UIUC in 2007 and has worked in costume shops across the country including Idaho Shakespeare Festival and Williamstown Theatre Festival.

She spent six years as the Costume Shop Manager at Western Kentucky University, where she enjoyed expanding her student’s skill sets by offering workshops in quilting, corsetry and jewelry making. Since leaving academia she has run an Etsy shop selling handmade charm bracelets, and other gifts.

Jennie is also a moderator and active member of LettuceCraft.com, a forum where members share their handmade creations. Her Halloween sampler quilt, titled Stitch ‘n Witch, was shown at the 20th Annual Festival of Quilts in Urbana.

Experience Level: Beginner

Learn a variety of hand embroidery stitches and create a unique craft item at Embroidery 101: Winter Sampler on Thursday, Nov. 13 from 12 to 4 p.m. in The Studio.

Instructor Billie Theide will introduce students to the history of embroidery and samplers. Students will learn how to transfer designs to fabric, choose different threads and yarns, and create a variety of stitches, as well as how to finish and care for embroidered samplers.

$110/person. Registration will close Nov. 6 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

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 a former chair of the Crafts Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she is Professor Emerita. Theide is a metalsmith, jeweler 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 to make and use cords for fiber artwork at Making Cordage on Saturday, Nov. 15 from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Greenhouse Auditorium.

Instructors Heidi Leuszler and Ann Coddington will begin by discussing the ancient methods of making rope, then lead the class on a walk to gather dried materials. After looking at fibers through a microscope, students will learn how to make cordage out of different materials and how to weave a basic structure.

$90/person. Registration will close Nov. 6 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

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 instructors

Heidi Leuszler grew up harvesting and foraging wherever she lived: mangos in Florida, morels and mustang grapes from the back acre in Missouri, wild strawberries and holly grapes in the Colorado mountains and chokecherries in North Dakota. Those passions remained as she added culinary skills in addition to becoming a professor of environmental science, ecology and botany at Parkland College. She started Berries and Flour in Champaign as the synergy of several passions: culinary, ecology, growing of plants, foraging and teaching people about the plentiful Midwest land.

Ann Coddington utilizes a variety of ancient fiber techniques including twining, looping, and netting in her sculptural forms. Her work has been shown across the United States and internationally with recent exhibitions, including currently at the McLean County Arts Center in Bloomington as well as recent shows at Gallery Jennings Kerr in New South Wales and Basketry Now at Textile Center in Minneapolis. Ann is a Professor of Art and Graduate Coordinator Emeritus from Eastern Illinois University. She received her MFA from the University of Illinois Sculpture Department, and her BFA from the Colorado State University Fibers Department. She is active teaching sculptural twining workshops around the world, recently at the Fibre Arts Australia and Fibre Arts New Zealand and this fall at the Penland School of Arts and Crafts. Coddington is an active member of the National Basketry Organization.

Experience Level: Beginner (all ages; parents/guardians are not required to register with their children, but they are encouraged to be present for those 13 and younger.)

Create a unique piece of art out of locally sourced alpaca fiber at Needlefelt Snowman on Monday, Dec. 1 from 5 to 8 p.m. in The Studio.

Stephanie Block of Sundrop Alpacas will walk students through the needlefelting process to make a snowman, which can be customized to make them look authentic, whimsical or anything in between. The class is perfect for those wanting to learn a new art form.

Take advantage of a fun opportunity to bring a friend or family member for just a $10 add-on fee as you work together on a single project kit!

$65/person* + $10/person for add-on (limit one). Register here.  Registration will close Nov. 1 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

*A $15 discount is available during registration for those who bring their own needlefelting tools.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting 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

Stephanie Block is the co-owner of Sundrop Alpacas near Bement. She has been producing popular yarn from her own alpacas since 2016. Stephanie’s spinning style is self-taught, and she is continuously learning so that she can share that knowledge with others.

Experience Level: Beginner

Experience the joys of the season at Wreath Making on Wednesday, Dec. 3 or Thursday, Dec. 4 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the  Mansion Carriage House. (Each date covers the same material.)

Maggie Taylor of Delight Flower Farm will share basic wreath building and design techniques to help students craft a unique, seasonal decoration. Students will use locally sourced supplies (fresh evergreens, berries, pinecones, tree nuts, ribbons, dried flowers, etc.) to make a beautiful holiday wreath to take home (about 20 inches in diameter).

A cash bar will be available.

$65/person. Registration will close one week before each course begins, or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

— Dec. 3
— Dec. 4

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.

About the instructor

Maggie Taylor is a farm owner who has been growing flowers and leading workshops since 2011. Trained as an artist, she loves turning natural materials into objects of joy and empowering others to as well. Depending on the time of year she may be teaching about fresh flowers or winter evergreen wreaths. Maggie’s teaching style is accessible, informative, encouraging and often humorous! Other capable farm crew members assist in teaching large groups.

Experience Level: Beginner

Experience the joys of the season at Wreath Making on Wednesday, Dec. 3 or Thursday, Dec. 4 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the  Mansion Carriage House. (Each date covers the same material.)

Maggie Taylor of Delight Flower Farm will share basic wreath building and design techniques to help students craft a unique, seasonal decoration. Students will use locally sourced supplies (fresh evergreens, berries, pinecones, tree nuts, ribbons, dried flowers, etc.) to make a beautiful holiday wreath to take home (about 20 inches in diameter).

A cash bar will be available.

$65/person. Registration will close one week before each course begins, or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

— Dec. 3
— Dec. 4

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

About the instructor

Maggie Taylor is a farm owner who has been growing flowers and leading workshops since 2011. Trained as an artist, she loves turning natural materials into objects of joy and empowering others to as well. Depending on the time of year she may be teaching about fresh flowers or winter evergreen wreaths. Maggie’s teaching style is accessible, informative, encouraging and often humorous! Other capable farm crew members assist in teaching large groups.

Experience Level: Beginner

Learn the basic mechanics of using a spinning wheel to make your own yarn at Learn to Spin Yarn on Wednesday, Oct. 29 and Thursday, Dec. 11 from 5 to 8 p.m. in The Studio. 

After a brief introduction from instructor Stephanie Block, students will have time for hands-on spinning practice and the opportunity to spin alpaca fiber into yarn using Ashford scotch tension Traditional or Traveler wheels. Discussion of fiber production and preparation methods will also be included.

$130/person. Registration closes one week before each course begins, or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting 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

Stephanie Block is the co-owner of Sundrop Alpacas near Bement. She has been producing popular yarn from her own alpacas for more than nine years. Stephanie’s spinning style is self-taught, and she is continuously learning so that she can share that knowledge with others.