Linen Flax – From Seed to Fiber, From Thread to Cloth with Wendy J. Johnson
Discover the world of Linum usitatissimum—linen flax—one of the most ancient of fiber plants. When spun, linen flax magically becomes the linen strands revered for exquisite weaving and knitting. Our presenter, Wendy Johnson, will give an overview of the plant’s biology and discuss the qualities of linen flax, reveal where and how flax is grown and processed today, and demonstrate the hand-processing steps to prepare the fiber for spinning linen thread. An activity with the flax stalks will allow the audience to experience the process firsthand.
Wendy J. Johnson has been spinning, weaving, and knitting for most of her life, and has been teaching spinning, dyeing, and knitting for over 25 years. Her Swedish heritage, from provinces heavily involved in flax and linen production, significantly influences her life’s work. Her love of Swedish “hemslöjd” is reflected in Wendy’s successful efforts to bring the work of Swedish knitting designers to the U.S. via past exhibits at the American Swedish Institute and by writing about and promoting Swedish fiber art traditions within her patterns, books, and teaching. Through her fiber arts creative and retail business, Saga Hill Designs (SagaHill.com), Wendy is a professional dyer and has created a custom colorway of dyes for protein fibers (the Lake Minnetonka Colorway). She has been awarded exhibits at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum (“One in 10,000” in the Tree-ol-ogy outdoor exhibit, 2008, and “Earthly Coat” in the Dirt-O-Rama outdoor exhibit, 2012). She is the author of “Yarn Works: How to spin, dye, and knit your own yarn” (published by Quarto/Cpi), with published patterns in several other books as well as over 30 self-published patterns. Wendy received a 2022–23 American Swedish Institute (ASI) Teaching Tools Grant for linen flax processing tools. Among the locations she has given linen flax presentations are: Nordic Handcraft workshops at the ASI, Weavers Guild of Minnesota, the Minnesota State Fair, the University of Minnesota Department of Agriculture Flax Field Day, and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Wendy has had a linen flax-growing venture for the past three years at Gale Woods Farm in the Three Rivers Park District, where she has grown a linen flax plot and harvested and processed the flax at public events on the farm. This year, 2026, she also has a plot at a private farm for her own use in teaching and demonstrating. Wendy also teaches flax spinning at the Weavers Guild of Minnesota. When not working in the creative visual arts, Wendy runs an “indie” publishing business, Elder Eye Press & Design, that helps authors publish their own books.
PAST KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS:
| 2020 CANCELLED | DUE TO COVID | ||||
| 2021 Oct 8-10 | Jeri Olson-McCoy | Weaving Commissions; Trials and Tribulations | |||
| 2022 Oct 7-9 | Steven Be | Be Inspired! | |||
| 2023 Oct 6-8 | Becka Rahn | Trailblazing an Art Business | |||
| 2024 Oct 4-6 | Alethea Kenny | A Walk Through Her Life and Farm | |||
| 2025 Oct 3-5 | Elizabeth Bayer, Diane Nelson | Heart of the Lakes Weavers |
