SAGA HILL – Talks & Events

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presentations & events on various fiber-related subjects, often with a historical perspective

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Presentations & Book Signings

A comment made by the president of the Västergötland Society after Wendy’s "The Threads That Connect Us" presentation…

Our speaker, Wendy Johnson was a well-kept secret! She is so gifted and talented, in all things related to textiles...specifically from Sweden...and more specifically, from the province of Västergötland. She has written books and is a pro regarding Swedish knitting! She covered Swedish wool, linen, and cotton textiles. The Ekelund Company is a premier textile manufacturer in Sweden...she challenged ASI to host an Ekelund Exhibit! Wendy...Tack sa mycket!..Tusen tack!...for an "over the top" presentation!

Visit Ingebretsen’s Needleworks Shop blog “Celebrating Swedish Knitting Tradition” for a story about Wendy’s Swedish knitting design work.

UPCOMING PRESENTATIONS & EVENTS

EDUCATIONAL LINEN FLAX PLOT AT GALE WOODS FARM
SPRING–FALL 2024
For 2024, I secured a large plot for growing linen flax at Gale Woods Farm (an educational farm in the Three Rivers Park District). I will be giving demonstrations of flax processing using the flax from the project at the Gale Woods Fall Fest, October 13, 10 AM–4 PM. (See my blog link below.) Click here to go to the event page at the Three Rivers Park District website.

Visit my blog to follow the project as it grew and was processed throughout the summer and fall of 2024.

PREVIOUS PRESENTATIONS

  • Flax Spinning Demonstration – American Swedish Institute, Midsommar Festival
  • “Linen Flax: from seed to fiber” – a talk on the subject of linen flax growing and processing, and a flax processing demonstration – Weavers' Guild of Minnesota, Open Book Performance Hall
  • “Working With Flax: from seed to linen” – a talk on the subject of linen flax growing and processing, and a flax processing demonstration – University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Friends of the Library quarterly meeting
  • Flax Processing Demonstration – American Swedish Institute, Midsommar Festival
  • “The Threads That Connect Us: The rich history of the textile industry in Västergötland, Sweden – American Swedish Institute, Västergötland Society
  • “Fiber Is To Dye For!” – Llama Magic Festival
  • Guest Speaker “Behind the Scene – the Production of Yarn Works” – Minnesota Knitters’ Guild
  • Flax Processing Demo – Ingebretsen’s Needlework Shop
  • Flax Processing Demo – Gale Woods Farm
  • “Silk: Dyeing and Spinning an Ancient Luxury the Modern Way!” – Mother Earth News Fair
  • Flax & Silk Spinning Presentation, Workshop, & Book Signing – Carole’s Country Knits at Rocking Horse Farm

PREVIOUS BOOKSIGNING VENUES

  • North Star Farm Tour
  • YarnOver (Annual Minnesota Knitters’ Guild Conference)
  • Shepherd’s Harvest (Minnesota’s Annual Sheep & Wool Festival)
  • MidWest Weavers’ Conference
  • Mother Earth News Fair
  • Spelmanstämma/Hemslöjden (Swedish Handwork – Needle, Hook, & Shuttle)
  • The Bookcase (Wayzata, MN)
  • Ingebretsen’s Needlework Shop (Mpls, MN)
  • Gale Woods Farm – Three Rivers Park District
  • Iowa Sheep and Wool Festival
  • Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival
  • Knit One (Pittsburgh, PA)
  • New York Sheep and Wool Festival

If you have a venue in which you would like me to speak about my book, design process, fiber, spinning, dyeing, and/or knitting (particularly Swedish knitting tradition), please contact me.