Woodspirit School is dedicated to high quality craft instruction on the shores of Lake Superior, in Ashland, Wisconsin. We offer classes in Textile Arts, Wood Carving, Wood Turning, Basketry, Furniture Building, Green Woodworking and more.
Upcoming Classes & Events
Related Courses: Textile Courses
You also may be interested in: Craft Night June 12 Turning Flax into Cloth presentation & demonstration with Jazmin Hicks-Dahl. Watch or take part in the processes of making flax plants into fiber, thread and cloth.
Saturday, September 19, 1pm
at Heritage Hill Homestead
Mason, Wisconsin
Sign up for location & details of Community Flax Day & Harvest Festival at Heritage Hill Homestead.
Welcome! Woodspirit School has collaborated with Thomas & LeeAra Anglin of Heritage Hill Homestead to offer a family friendly Harvest Festival that includes hand churned ice cream, music, a hearty potluck, and visiting with farm animals. Roll up your sleeves to learn about and process flax plants into linen. Try out natural dyeing with flower farmer Marielena Accorda-Shaner of Boda Bayfield. We look forward to seeing you there!
Suggested Donation We would be grateful for your donations to cover operational costs. We suggest $5 per person or $10 per family. You can pay by cash at the event or via Venmo.
Flax to Linen We will be rippling seeds, breaking and combing retted home grown flax, then making stricks of linen—bundles of raw fiber for spinning and weaving into cloth. There will be spindles to try out spinning and a small loom for weaving. Textile people are welcome to spin along and/or show and tell their textile work. We’ll have dye seeds to giveaway.
Natural Dyeing Marielena will guide people in dyeing silk or cotton cloth with plants from her flower farm. $5-$15 material fee.
Farm Animals & Safety There will be guided animal visits including horse grooming, going to see the newly born calf, and if you stay long enough—watching hand milking at 7pm. Please mind your children and make sure they do not enter pastures and pens—there will be electrified fences in certain areas. Please do not pet farm animals unaccompanied. Please leave your pets at home.
What to bring
A hearty potluck item with all ingredients listed
Your own eating dishes, cutlery, napkins, serving spoons
Picnic blanket or chairs
Clothes that can get dirty, a dust mask, and gloves if you plan to process flax
Water bottle, sun hat
Optional: Your homegrown retted flax, spindles or spinning wheels to spin flax, other flax processing tools, textiles to show & tell
Event donation, Natural Dye materials fee
Schedule of the Day
1pm Welcome
1:30 Learn all the steps in Flax Processing
Spinning and Weaving Demonstration
2pm Roll up your sleeves and process flax
3pm Natural Dyeing
Dye seeds giveaway
4pm Hearty Potluck
Music by Eric Bruskotter
4:30pm Ice Cream Churning
Farm animals guided tours
7pm Hand Milking
Location Heritage Hill Homestead near Mason Township, WI, (address will be sent after registration)
REGISTER so you can receive updates and details about this event!
As of 7/21/26: COMING SOON!!
Related Courses/Events: Textile Courses
Dates:
Optional, but highly recommended!
Thursday, November 12, 6pm What They Wore Craft Night Series presentation with LeeAra Anglin, historical sewer, crafter, and homesteader who will talk about historical hand sewing and her other creative adventures.
Class times: Friday, November 13-Sunday, November 15, 2026 9:30am-4:30pm
Description: Slow down and go back in time while learning to hand sew a wool or linen Swedish Bocksten Tunic.
One of the best examples known to us of extant early medieval garments is from the body of the ‘Bocksten man’ who was found in a peat bog in 1936 in Varberg—an area in what we now consider southern Sweden. It is one of the most complete and significant surviving pieces of early medieval European civilian clothing, dating between 1250-1520. The wide range in centuries shows how prevalent this particular style has been throughout history and therefore how difficult it is to date. It was originally made of wool.
Similar styles have been found in medieval Greenland, Ireland, and in other countries across Europe spanning many centuries. There are even similarities in construction to an 18th century shift.
LeeAra will teach you fundamental hand sewing techniques, basic stitches, turned hems, inserted gores and pattern drafting for your specific body. No prior hand sewing experience needed!
Yardage will be determined with LeeAra based on your size and chosen length. She will contact you after registration to sort it out. You may need to complete your project on your own at home.
Please Bring:
Fabric
Bring unwashed wool fabric or machine washed and dried heavy weight linen fabric.
Yardage will be determined with LeeAra based on your size and chosen length of garment. She will contact you after registration to sort it out, including any consultation on the weight of your chosen fabric.
The Woolsome Shop is a good source for wool fabric.The Linen Lab as well. The thin twill, herringbone, or diamond weave would be historically accurate.
Machine wash and machine dry linen fabric prior to class. This assures that the bulk of any shrinking has already occurred and softens the linen for sewing.
Burnley and Trowbridge is a source for high quality Irish linen and Fabrics store is another decent source for linen fabric.
Sewing Kit
Pin cushion
Pins
Sewing needles
Fabric scissors or otherwise sharp scissors
Thread to match fabric choice if matching is desired. LeeAra suggests using natural 50/3 linen thread from Burnley and Trowbridge
Reading glasses/headlamp if you need them
Seat cushion optional
Course Fee: $300
Material Fee: None required. Students provide their own materials.
LeeAra Anglin has been hand sewing for the better part of the last 6 years. Her projects range from 18th century gowns, petticoats, and shifts to replicas of 11th century extants found in southern Greenland and much in between that catches her fancy. She was taught by a young lass named Anna Eklund, who has handsewn gowns and outfits for renowned reenactors and weddings at Colonial Williamsburg. LeeAra absolutely adores the work of the hand in the construction of garments and is excited to share this love with you. She lives in a handmade house on a homestead in Mason with children, farm animals, and gardens. @heritage.hill.homestead
Related Courses: Basketry & Textile Courses
Date: Saturday, December 5, 2026 Choose: Morning: 10am-12:30pm or Afternoon: 1:30-3:30pm
Description: Jazmin will guide you through making her design of a woven birch bark star ornament with wool pompoms and tassels, just in time to dress your Christmas tree or winter window. All materials will be provided.
Bring:
Small pointed tip scissors
Needle nose pliers (optional)
Workshop Fee: $40 Choose Morning or Afternoon Session
JAZMIN HICKS-DAHL studied birch bark weaving with Jarrod Dahl and Vladimir Yarish. She designed this star ornament several years ago and is excited to share how to make them in this class. She makes indigo dyed textiles both stitched and handwoven for Woodspirit Handcraft, a traditional craft business she runs with her woodworker husband. She spent 8 yrs teaching children in the SF Bay Area where she grew up before moving to the Northern Lands. Her background includes art & design, a love of natural materials, fine threads, folk textiles, and an obsession with indigo since her teens.
News
Jarrod Dahl, spoon carver, wood turner, instructor, and craft geek will show and tell his wooden spoon collection from makers around the world at the next Craft Night. Jarrod teaches Wooden Spoon Carving September 5-6/7.
Our Wooden Spoon Collection at Craft Night on September 4
View our 2026 Calendar
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Support our developing school
We began construction in 2021, the same year we ran our first season of classes. We are almost done! Help us with storage sheds, patio paving, classroom set-up, scholarships, and expanding our offerings. Thank you!
What People Are Saying About Woodspirit School
“As a retired educator, I am really critical about the quality of instruction when I attend workshops, and Jarrod was excellent! He introduced the various spoon carving topics, performed demonstrations, and spent time one on one when needed, which is very helpful. I came away from the class feeling like I can carve the next spoon!”
— Spoon Carving Student from Brillion, WI
“It was an all around great experience: awesome instructor, beautiful workspace, and generous hospitality.”
— Danish Cord Stool Student from Bayfield, WI
“I truly appreciated Mike sharing his skills and creative process. He didn’t just have me carve a bird—he taught me skills that I will continue to use and build on.”
— Bird Carving Student from Madison, WI
“Great history/background information and examples, wonderful, casual teaching style, time well managed, left me wanting more! The classroom space was beautiful, comfortable and inviting, and the light was amazing for handwork.”
— Indigo Dyeing & Shibori Class Student from Ashland, WI