Well, I made the drive out to the Mannings on Saturday. Figured I should make one last visit to the place where I got my start in Weaving. There wasn’t much left. I bought 2 books. A baby blanket book by Tom Knisley, and a very interesting book on Rural Pennsylvania German Weaving from 1833 to 1857.
Anyway, as you may have heard, Tom will be starting up his own Weaving School soon. A majority of the looms left at the Mannings were scheduled to be moved to the new school sometime soon.
I bought my first loom from the Mannings back in 1981. It was a LeClerc Inca jack loom. 4-shafts, 36 inches wide. I still have it, although it was damaged a little in the flood we had a few years ago. I plan to restore it someday.
I’d like to say, “Thanks!” to the owners and staff of the Mannings for keeping it going these past 30 years. It was a quiet oasis of calm, history, craft, and sentiment. Best of luck to Tom and the new school.
Dave
