Dollmaking & Quilting

Instructor: Brenda Linnell

Biography:
My name is Brenda Linnell and I have been teaching doll making and quilting for over 20 years to groups of students that share a passion for reproducing antiques... My love for antique dolls and quilts has always given me great pleasure and satisfaction in creating my own designs to teach and sell. A lot of my designs have been fashioned from old time creations. I have designed patterns and used other patterns to create one of a kind collectable reproduced art to be displayed, played with and sold to enthusiastic customers and former students. Attached you will find pictures of dolls and quilts created by me for class, private use and purchase. Enjoy………………..

Class Description :(Dollmaking)
Each fall and winter brings a new array of projects to be completed. Again this will depend on the skills of the student. Some may be easy as a fabric stuffed body, or a fabric stuffed body which we will then sculpt and detail with either needles or sculpting mediums. Sewing is required as are “good hands”. A lot of what we do is using our hands to create these beautiful works of art. The most amazing thing of all is that each student creates a doll unique to her talents to take home an display.

Class Description:(Quilting)
In this class the beginner student will do a hands on small project, either a table runner or small quilt. From the beginning you will be taught rotary cutting, assembly, sewing, layering and quilting. This will either be done by hand or by machine. If time allows, you will be able to start another project that is of your choice.

Knitting

Biography:
Dori Betjemann has been an active participant in the local knitting community for more than 20 years and teaching at Hill Institute for 10 years. She also works at Webs Yarn Store – in sales, teaching and was involved in the design of the store’s knitting- skills curriculum. Some of her designs have been published in books or by individual yarn companies. She says, “I love teaching ! From the first stitches of the beginner to the advanced knitter who no longer needs to follow someone else’s pattern, it’s exciting to see solid skills develop! And it’s a challenge because there’s always something new or an alternate technique to try. There are so many how-to blanks in commercial knitting patterns – my goal is to provide the necessary instruction to enable knitters to be competent, confident and creative.”

Class Descriptions:
Beginning Knitting – Offered in the Fall semester. This structured class begins with the most basic information about knitting, and skill builds with a specific topic addresssed each week. The lessons include: casting on, knit stitch, purl stitch, ribbing, binding off, fixing errors, increasing, decreasing, reading a pattern, introduction to gauge, and the use of all types of needles – straight, circular and double-pointed. These skills are applied in the projects – a hot pad in a stitch pattern, a scarf in the knitter’s choice of several patterns, and a hat knit in the round so no seaming is required to finish it.

Advanced Beginning Knitting – Offered in the Spring semester. This is a structured class with specific objectives each week. We assume basic skills, and proceed to explore sweater-knitting skills. We begin with the analysis of gauge to understand the relationship between gauge and sizing. Students learn to make cables. Interpreting a written pattern, choosing and using increases and decreases, picking up stitches neatly, and basic finishing techniques which include invisible seaming and blocking, are covered. Knitting a toddler-sized sweater and matching hat are the class projects.

Project Knitting – Knitters work on whatever project they choose, and I do my best to provide technical support on an individual basis. Sometimes several people in a class want to work on a specific topic or technique, and a study group or class project evolves. Participation in these projects is totally optional.

Weaving Program