Wooly Weekend Retreat is back for Year 14!

**Please save the date for our 2027 event, located at the Brown County Inn in Nashville IN. We’ll see you January 29-31. We can’t wait to see your smiling faces!**
(This is a picture of a prior Goodybag- our 2027 Goodybag is still top secret!)

Please excuse the mess as we finalize workshop details and pricing!

Registration Opening Soon!

There are 2 registration options:

Brown County (in person) and Wooly To Go (you get the goodybag and a selection of class videos, but we are unable to live stream classes for 2026. Please consider coming in person!).

We’ll be taking 100 Fiber Artists for 2027- don’t wait too long to register!

Register here for the Brown County Winter Wooly!

Register here for Wooly To Go!

Note about meals: Traditionally, meals were included in the Winter Wooly Retreat package, but now you are able to opt out of meals if you prefer to go to the restaurant at the Brown County Inn or explore the wonderful restaurants of Nashville!

If you selected the meal package, you’ll be given a voucher for breakfast in the restaurant. You’re welcome to join us for breakfast, but you’ll need to pay your own way if you opted out of the meal plan. Thanks!

Questions? Comments? Please email PaigeShipleyDesigns@gmail.com.

Happy crafting!

-Paige

2027 Classes

Welcomer Dinner: Tossed Green Salad, Lemon & Herb Grilled Chicken, Green Beans, Wild Rice Pilaf, Biscuits with Apple Butter. Vegetarian Option Available - please note dietary requests in registration form

Friday Night Welcome Craft!

It’s a secret! Our first official event is a knitting-adjacent craft appropriate for all skill levels. The kit is provided in your Goodybag.

New! Friday Afternoon Classes

Twined Basket

Interested in discovering the possibilities within the world of basket weaving? Twined basketry is a great starting point. Its versatility and flexibility make it welcoming to all skill levels.
Within this class, you will learn the fundamentals of weaving a twined basket by creating a set of two bowls. Demonstrations will discuss topics such as how to start and finish a basket, how to modify the basket’s shape, as well as how to add patterned designs.
Discussions about pattern generation will include a variety of global traditions including ones that are textile and non-textile based, digital and non-digital. By the end of the class,you will be able to incorporate your own creativity to make functional pieces you can share.
***Note: This is a 2-part class. By signing up for this class, you are automatically signed up for the second part on Saturday morning.***
Teacher: Brother Jean Fish
Prerequisites: None
Needles and Notions: All materials provided in class

Dumpling Bag

Teacher: Jessica Condra
Prerequisites:
Bring your….

Saturday Morning Classes (Pick One)

Breakfast: Breakfast Buffet in the restaurant

Mosaic Knitting

Cool Knitting content!
Teacher: Heather Robinson
Skill Level:
Prerequisites:
Needles and Notions:

How to Write a Pattern!

All about this new and exciting class!
Teacher: Evie Phelps
Skill Level:
Needles and Notions: Size ____ Knitting Needles

Beaded Knits

Beads add a delightful touch of whimsy to knits! Generally, beads are pre-strung and carried along and dropped into knitting at intervals…but Paige does it a little differently. You’ll fall in love with this delightful detail and find ways to sneak beads into all sorts of projects!
We’ll be making a cute little strawberry bag with glass “seeds” and a drawstring closure. Pattern coming soon!
Teacher: Paige Shipley

Materials Provided: Yarn, beads, beading hook.
Needles and Notions: your preferred style and size of sock needle for fingering weight yarn.

Twined Basket Part 2

This is the Saturday morning session for the Twined Basket class by Brother Jean Fish.

Lunch: Soup & Salad Buffet

New!

Lecture & Demonstration: TBD

After lunch, we’ll have a lecture from…someone

Saturday Afternoon Classes (Pick One)

Pin Loom Weaving

Explore weaving on the Kiss Looms square, triangle, and hexagon weaving looms. Many sizes are available to try out during the class. You will learn how to weave on each type of loom and seaming techniques to make them into larger projects, such as pillows, scarves, blankets, bowls and shawls. Yarn and looms will be available during the class. Looms will be available for purchase after the class.
Teacher: Kelly Jones
Prerequisites: None
Needles and Notions: Provided in class, with the option to buy looms after class.

Freeform Knitting & Crochet

Heather is going to say something really cool here…
Teacher: Heather Robinson
Needles and Notions: Who the heck knows at this point?

Reversible Cables

Oh snap, this class is going to be awesome!
Teacher: Sarah Roth
Prerequisites: Confidently knitting and purling. Reading a pattern.
Helpful Skills: Provisional cast on
Needles and Notions:

Needle Felting

Shelly makes really cute things! And after this class, you will too!
Teacher: Shelly Hayes
Prerequisites: None
Needles and Notions: Provided in class

Demonstration: TBD

Working on it…..

Dinner: Pot Roast & Gravy, Steamed Vegetables, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Dinner Rolls, and your choice of Chocolate Cake or Sugar Cream Pie.

After Dinner: Pajama Party!!!

Sunday Breakfast: Breakfast Buffet in the restaurant

Social Sunday

There are no official classes on Sunday. It’s a great day to catch up with friends, get last-minute assistance from teachers or shop! Breakfast is served and we recommend grabbing a friend and enjoying lunch in beautiful Nashville.

Meet the Teachers!

Sarah Roth

quilts, (occasionally) crochets, and is a rare left-handed knitter—but not to worry, she loves teaching according to whichever way YOU prefer to knit. Her handknits have won top prizes at the Indiana State Fair in two consecutive years, and her illusion knitting patterns have thousands of downloads on Ravely. She loves puzzles, “mental gymnastics,” learning new techniques and tackling complicated patterns. Her favorite things to knit are anything with interesting texture and shape. During non-crafting (aka working) hours, Sarah is a clinical research coordinator and wrangler of her 9-year-old boy—who is a budding crafter too! She also volunteers as a community educator raising awareness about Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia.

Brother Jean Fish, OSB

is originally from Poway, CA, has been a monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey since 2019. He started basket weaving in 2021, following his experience taking a basket weaving workshop at Arrowmont School of Art and Craft. Following his completion of a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from University of Alabama in Birmingham in 2024, he has been sharing his passion for basket weaving through teaching classes and workshops.

Shelly Hayes

(aka Michele) has always loved color and the arts. She has been a Marketing Director, a Graphic Designer, and an Art Teacher. But, her dream was to open a shop in Nashville, Indiana where her family calls home. In 2011 the dream was fulfilled when she opened The Clay Purl. The Clay Purl offers beautiful and unique fibers, yarns, tools, spinning wheels and looms. In 2021 The Brown County School for the Fiber Arts was launched with a weekend of fiber-y fun! Classes are offered throughout the year. In 2023 she launched "Color County Yarns and Needle Felting"--a line of creatively hand dyed yarns inspired by the beauty of Brown County, Indiana and original needle felting kits. Shelly loves to create things, and loves the fiber arts!

Jessica Condra

never set out to be the hero. That all changed when she pricked her finger on a radioactive sewing machine needle.

Heather Robinson

learned crocheting at 10 years old when she broke an arm (her own) and had nothing else to do that summer. She's never stopped crocheting since that summer, having now become addicted to making crocheted amigurumi. She later learned to knit in college when her character in a play was supposed to knit for income, talk about method acting! For two decades Heather has been designing and teaching knitting and crochet, but her heart lies in curating her yarn collection and buying fiber art tools of all sorts. Heather will never refuse a tasty cracker, chips, or anything crunchy. She also likes bread. Mmm... bread. Heather is co-owner of Brenda and Heather Yarns, as well as the creative genius behind their amazing creations, but don't tell Brenda she said so.

Paige Shipley

knits, crochets, spins and sews as often as possible. She began Good For Ewe Yarn in 2012 and designed, dyed, and distributed until 2021, when she decided it was much more fun to run retreats and teach classes. She will talk about Fair Isle knitting until you make her stop. When she’s not knitting, she’s working in environmental law and writing romance novels. She can often be found with her backside up in the air, muttering to herself and weeding the garden. She has a boisterous 8-year-old daughter, a very patient husband, most of a cat, the laziest dog on the planet, and entirely too many plants.

Vendors:

Massage Therapy by Grant Morrison- offering 15 minute chair massages, and longer massages by appointment

The Clay Purl - Brown County, IN yarn shop

BaH (Brenda and Heather) Yarns - dyers of gradient and self-striping yarns

Rebel Purl - Bloomington, Indiana yarn shop specializing in handpainted yarn in small batches

Wibbly Wobbly Crafts- Hand crafted toys, memory animals, dice bags, notebooks, etc.

Cozy Bliss Creations Handcrafted items - Book-related crafts and gifts, and project bags that can be personalized at the retreat.

Wooly Weekend Merchandise Table - leftovers from the goodybags, all proceeds go to booking the conference rooms for the following year

Winter Wooly Retreat 2027