Last weekend I had the great good fortune to teach at The Gathering 2010, a biennial fiber retreat sponsored by the Northeast Handspinners Association. The event was held at a delightful ski resort, Mt. Snow, near West Dover, Vermont.
I also had the great good fortune to travel with another instructor from Michigan, Letty Klein. Along with Ann Brown, she is the author of The Shepherd’s Rug. Letty raises Karakul sheep (see her website and blog) and she creates fabulous braided rugs from roving. It was a true pleasure to spend the weekend with her. We were in my trusty Subaru for two days on the way to Vermont, we roomed together at the retreat, and we travelled together for two more days back home. Letty is a nice, nice lady, with loads of knowledge about sheep and fleeces. Not only has she taught her braided rug techniques throughout the country, but she has also been the sheep and fleece judge at numerous fiber festivals.
Spending time with her has made me even more inspired to try her rug braiding technique. I’ve got a few bins full of shetland rovings that are not all that nice for spinning, but now I’m convinced they’ll work well for rugs.
I also had the great good fortune to travel with another instructor from Michigan, Letty Klein. Along with Ann Brown, she is the author of The Shepherd’s Rug. Letty raises Karakul sheep (see her website and blog) and she creates fabulous braided rugs from roving. It was a true pleasure to spend the weekend with her. We were in my trusty Subaru for two days on the way to Vermont, we roomed together at the retreat, and we travelled together for two more days back home. Letty is a nice, nice lady, with loads of knowledge about sheep and fleeces. Not only has she taught her braided rug techniques throughout the country, but she has also been the sheep and fleece judge at numerous fiber festivals.
Spending time with her has made me even more inspired to try her rug braiding technique. I’ve got a few bins full of shetland rovings that are not all that nice for spinning, but now I’m convinced they’ll work well for rugs.
Letty gave me a good close up look at some of her rugs. The one I wanted to take home was a beautiful rug made from natural colored wensleydale wool. Lovely!
Both Letty and I taught Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I was teaching spinning workshops and Letty was teaching rug braiding. And we both travelled with the supplies we needed for these workshops. Needless to say, my car was on the full side. The view out the rear window was somewhat compromised on the way to Vermont, but I had a clear view on the way home.
We travelled through Canada (Port Huron, MI to Niagara Falls, NY). This was the second time this year I’ve used my “enhanced” drivers license to cross the USA-Canada border. Despite having a vehicle jam packed with fiber, we had no customs trouble crossing the border.
It was a great trip with great company. Thanks, Letty!
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