Road Trip #2 The Mannings

combing flax for spinning



preparing flax - beating off the outer layer

 Off to the 43rd annual spinning seminar event hosted by The Mannings (http://www.the-mannings.com/) located near East Berlin, PA. They offer an extensive list of classes on everything from week long weaving, to spinning to working with natural dyes, plus they have an enormous shop filled with yarn, warping yarns, books, looms, wheels and just about any tool or gaget that you might need for working with fibers/knitting/weaving/etc.  It's worth the trip for any supplies or just browsing for ideas.  This annual event draws quite a crowd and has numberous exhibitors- this year 2 people working with natural dyes- reds and indigo blues and many demonstrations on how to use or care for fiber tools.

shearing sheep- from Roclan farm- a Cormo breed

I did make several purchases- it's hard to walk away empty handed!!!!! Some warping cones for weaving, new fibers to experiment in class (next Fall semester- made from corn and seaweed/lyocel), more bobbins and a book- my library is growing!
A nice surprise is that it rained all night and part of the day- so my garden got quite a watering while I was away- it was good that I added the new mulch around the plants as it prevented "mud and flood" syndrom!