Maggie's Rags Special Events

Knitting and Dyeing Workshops, Book Signings, Conferences, and Festivals

This page was updated 22 November 2023. Additional events will be added as they are confirmed. See the Classes page for information on sponsoring and scheduling workshops taught by Margaret Radcliffe.

October 23 & 30, November 13 & 20, 2023 - Shave 'Em To Save 'Em (SE2SE) Babes and Tots Fiber Challenge, The Livestock Conservancy
This is a "Pick 3" challenge for SE2SE fiber artists. You will make 3 different Layette items of your choosing using one or more SE2SE breeds. The challenge is open to all fiber artists (knitters, crocheters, weavers, felters, etc.), but the lectures will be focused on knitting.
A series of four online classes, meeting on Mondays at 2 pm ET/11 am PT via Zoom. If you cannot attend in real time, recordings will be available through the challenge's private Facebook group. You can also gain access after the live sessions end through The Livestock Conservancy's Teachable site.
More info and registration here.

November 6-9, 2023 - Deborah Robson's Explore 4 Shetland Wools Retreat, Friday Harbor, Washington.
Margaret will be attending and hopes to see you there! This week is currently full but there may still be space the following week, where Deborah will cover the same material.

December 12, 2023 - Edges Bordering on Perfection: An Introduction to Knitted Borders, John C. Campbell Folk School on Lessonface
Online Zoom class. Learn to prepare for borders with neat edges on your knitting and how to pick up perfectly every time. More information and registration.
Single 2-hour session at 7 pm ET/4 pm PT.

January 11 to February 1, 2024 - Fiber to Fabric for Knitters: How the underlying fiber informs the knitted fabric, John C. Campbell Folk School on Lessonface
Online Zoom class. From dependable sheep's wool to tricky rayon, every yarn is individual. Each type of fiber, from a specific breed of sheep or other fiber-bearing animal, from plants like bamboo, hemp and flax, manmade or remanufactured, brings its own distinct benefits and challenges to a knitting project. Learn to evaluate the potentials of your particular yarn and approaches that ensure success in your hand knit garments. More information and registration.
Four 2-hour weekly sessions at 7 pm ET/4 pm PT.

February 11-16, 2024 - Intentional Dyeing for Knitters, John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, North Carolina
Studio-based hands-on class. Learn to dye wool yarn to produce the effects you want in your knitted projects. We ll explore space dyeing for repeated colors, random dyeing, dyeing for stripes and dots, dip dyeing, and gradients. Class will cover studio safety, dyeing safely in your home, designing colorways, preparing your yarn, and matching your yarn to a project. No previous dyeing experience required. Crocheters, weavers & spinners welcome. Pairs well with Knitting with Hand-Painted Yarns, the following weekend. Registration and more info

February 16-18, 2024 - Knitting with Hand-Painted Yarns, John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, North Carolina
Love multicolor yarn but hate the way it looks knitted up? Play with stitch count, pattern stitches, and combining yarns, and learn to recognize which projects work best with which yarns. Spend the weekend experimenting, select a small project to complete, or begin a larger project. Use variegated yarns dyed by you, by someone else, or commercially produced. Yarns from Intentional Dyeing for Knitters the preceding week are perfect for this class. Experienced Beginner and up (should know how to knit, purl, cast on, bind off, increase and decrease). Registration and more info

February 24, 2024 - Advanced Knitted Borders: Bindings for Enclosed Edges, John C. Campbell Folk School on Lessonface
Online Zoom class. Knitted bindings are the perfect finish to enclose an edge if you want to make a project reversible, to enclose cut edges at armholes and neck on a stranded sweater, or to hide (and avoid weaving in) a multitude of ends on a striped project. Learn three ways to pick up and work borders that enclose the edge of your knitting. More information and registration.
Meets 10am-12pm ET/7am-9am PT and 3pm-5pm ET/12pm-2pm PT. The 3-hour break allows time for students to complete knitting assignments.

March 18-21, 2024 - Deborah Robson's Explore 4 2024 Spring Four-by-Four Retreat, Friday Harbor, Washington.
Deborah describes this as four days, four compare/contrast breeds. Margaret will be attending and hopes to see you there!

September 1-7, 2024 - Maine Knitting Cruise, 2024 Sailing Schedule. Topic for 2024 will be color knitting. Choosing colors, tricks and tips for working stripes, 2-handed 2-color stranding, and more.

September 2024 - More workshops, retreats, and lectures are planned for Spring and Fall 2024 in New England and online. They will be added to this page once they are confirmed.

October 5, 2024 - My Journey Through the Heritage Sheep Breeds, online lecture for the Southeast Fiber Arts Alliance, 5pm Eastern time. Since early 2019 Margaret has been exploring the most endangered of the heritage U.S. sheep breeds. Along the way, she documented the challenges and successes of her work with each breed. This lecture will follow her more than four-year journey of exploration, her discoveries about selected breeds' distinct characteristics and provide information about The Livestock Conservancy's Shave 'Em to Save 'Em (SE2SE) program.

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