Going Batt-y! The 2025 Open House Event
November 1, 2025 / 9 am to 4 pm
Cornell Cooperative Extension Building, 24 Martin Road, Voorheesville, New York
Featuring internationally known textile historian, weaver, and spinner Rabbit Goody, workshops, door prizes, make-your-own batts at the blending board playground, and more!
Make this part of a weekend of fiber fun!
On Friday evening October 31, there will be a Spin-In at a local yarn shop, Cece’s Wool in Guilderland NY. She also has a large motorized drum carder, and you are invited to make your own batt.
On Sunday November 2, the Fiber Festival of New England is taking place less than 2 hours east of our location in Springfield, Massachusetts. Or you are invited to the meeting of our local fiber guild, Golden Fleece Spinners and Weavers, in Schoharie, NY. Gigi Matthews will be giving a talk on Plants to Cloth.
Open House Schedule
Friday, October 31:
For early arrivals, a Spin-in at Cece’s Wool and More, 2080 Western Ave, Guilderland NY from 4 to 8 PM. Drop in any time. There will be a motorized drum carder available for use (with an experienced user) if you would like to try making batts. Some base fiber will be available, feel free to bring your own and any you may have to share. There are several restaurants just one or two doors away in the plaza, and we will have trick or treat!
Saturday, November 1:
Open House event, 9 am to 4 pm
Cooperative Extension Building
24 Martin Road
Voorheesville, NY
More detailed descriptions are below
9:00 – 9:30 am Arrivals and Swap Table set up, Blending Board Playground available all day
9:30 – 10:00 am Welcome, introductions, orientation
10:00 – 11:30 am Rabbit Goody presentation, Q&A
11:30 – 12:30 pm Lunch, Swap Table, door prizes, Blending Board Playground, workshop set up
12:30 – 3:30 pm Workshops
3:30 – 4:00 pm Farewell
4:00 – 5:00 Board meeting
Swap Table: If you have extra fiber in any form (or small equipment you no longer want), please bring them for the Swap Table. Please label as completely as you can. Items will be put out and can be taken on a first come basis. This is a donation event, not a one-to-one swap. Members who bring items for the table will get first choice. After noon, anyone may pick an item. At 3:30, everything must go home with someone – either a new owner or the one that brought it.
Blending Board Playground: Blending boards can be used to make batts, rolags, or roving. We will have a table with multiple blending boards and brushes/accessories available for all to use, with instruction available. We will have some base fiber available to use, but please BYOF. It would be great to bring some fiber to share and have a combined resource that all could use.
Lunch and refreshments: There will be tea, coffee, water, and other beverages available during the day, as well as some snacks and fresh New York apples! We will take orders for lunch sandwiches until October 17. If you register after this date you are welcome to bring your own lunch entrée and share in the other offerings.
10 AM Presentation: Spinning in Rural New York: 1790-1840 A Look at Hannah Hayden and Family. Rabbit Goody is an internationally known textile historian, researcher, lecturer, and teacher. Her talk will be an inside look at textiles in the 18th and early 19th centuries through the letters of Hannah Hayden. Rabbit owns Thistle Hill Weavers, a textile mill in Cherry Valley, NY.
Afternoon Workshops
Note: If you are coming from a distance and would like to borrow a spinning wheel, hand cards, or other equipment for your workshop please contact Elaine Larsen 518-872-1797 or ECL25@cornell.edu. Limited equipment will be available to borrow on a first come basis. If you have any equipment you would be willing to bring and lend to a fellow member, please let Elaine know and she will try to coordinate.
Spinning Flax with Rabbit Goody: We will work from partly hetched line fiber and dress distaffs, spin linen and possibly tow. I will bring hetchels, flax fiber, and some extra distaffs. No prior experience spinning flax is necessary, but spinners should be experienced enough to spin a continuous single. If any participants have flax equipment or antique wheels, please bring them. Flax fiber will be provided, no materials fee. An up to date tetanus vaccination is always a good idea when working with natural materials and sharp tools.
Equipment needed:
Functional spinning wheel with accessories needed to spin (at least one bobbin, oil, threading hook, etc.)
A small container for water (some will be available to borrow)
A distaff if you have one – there will be distaffs available to borrow
Level: Advanced beginner spinner or above, should be able to spin a stable single on your equipment.
Limited to 10 participants (CLASS FULL)
For more information on Rabbit Goody: ThistleHillWeavers.com
Even More Flax Spinning with Andrea Myklebust: Andrea Myklebust is a shepherd, spinner, and weaver based in Southern Vermont. She grows flax and fiber hemp, and teaches traditional hand textile-making techniques at folk schools and museums across the US.
In this workshop, we will learn how to spin line flax and flax tow fibers. We will dress distaves in several different ways, and discuss how to create a distaff for use with a wheel or hand spindle. The instructor will provide materials and will bring distaves for people to use during the workshop, no materials fee.
Equipment needed:
If you have a spindle or working wheel with a distaff, feel free to bring it to the workshop to use. If you have questions about a wheel you would like to bring, please reach out to us ahead of time to discuss.
Level: Advanced beginner spinner or above, should be able to spin a stable single on your equipment.
Limited to 10 participants
For more information on Andrea Myklebust: mountainheartvt.com
Woven Landscapes: Tapestry Weaving with Handspun Wool & Alpaca with Sarah Boink: Explore the art of tapestry weaving in this hands-on workshop led by fiber artist and educator Sarah Boink. Using richly textured handspun wool and alpaca yarns, participants will create small woven works on portable frame looms—perfect for capturing the organic beauty and depth that only handspun fibers can provide. We’ll cover warp setup, basic tapestry techniques, and ways to incorporate color blending, texture, and shape into your design. Whether you’re inspired by landscapes, abstract forms, or simply the tactile pleasure of working with natural fibers, you’ll leave with a unique woven piece and the skills to continue weaving at home.
All materials, including handspun yarns, will be provided. Please bring the $20 workshop fee with you to class, payable to the instructor. No previous weaving experience is necessary—just a love of fiber and a willingness to experiment.
Sarah Boink is a fiber artist, educator, and founder of Sizz Handmade, based in Schenectady, NY. Her work blends traditional weaving techniques with contemporary design, often using natural and reclaimed materials to explore themes of resilience, place, and memory. She has exhibited widely, taught workshops across the Capital Region, and is passionate about connecting people through the shared language of fiber.
Sustainable Spinning with Gigi Matthews: Take your spinning in new, eco-friendly directions, making yarns that will surprise and delight! We’ll have fun creating colorful skeins using warp ends, thread and yarn snippets, and fabric and ribbon remnants. Next, we’ll make imaginatively themed yarns by blending various animal and plant fibers, including nettles, jute, eri silk, and wood shavings. Finally, we will sample wool from rare breed sheep and find out how spinners can help save endangered sheep – and why this is crucial for sheep worldwide.
Equipment and materials needed:
Functional spinning wheel with accessories needed to spin (several bobbins, oil, threading hook, etc.) or drop spindle(s)
Blending tool: hand cards are best, although a drum carder or blending board may also be used
Materials:
4 ounces of a base wool: this can be top, roving, roving remnants, or washed fleece – any wool will do; a principle of sustainable spinning is to use what you have around you. There will be some available at the workshop as well.
Additional fiber: 3-4 ounces of assorted materials to share and spin. This can be roving/top, leftover bits and pieces, yarn bits and thrums, clean locks, plant or animal fibers.
Level: Advanced beginner spinner or above, should be able to spin a stable single on your equipment.
Limited to 16 participants
Learn more about Gigi Matthews
The Open House is free for NHA members! To join, please go to our membership page. Once you are a member, please register for the Open House to choose a workshop and lunch option. There is a small charge to order a lunch sandwich. There will also be beverages, apples, and snacks available to all if you wish to bring your own main course for lunch.
The Open House is free for NHA members, and anyone may join, including on the day of the event.