way of translation: Warp is the set of lengthwise yarns held in tension on the loom. Weft is the yarn that is inserted crosswise over-and-under the warp threads. "Fulling" is - well, you just have to take the class ... after hours.
When class is over, the good news for workshop-goers is that they get to explore Coupeville and Whidbey Island.
The town was named for homesteaders Thomas and Maria Coupe, who arrived in 1852. Their home built, of redwood and brought from San Francisco, still stands near the bluff at the edge of Penn Cove.
Some ideas for after class:
? Take the self-guided walking tour of historic homes and structures, ranging from the Coupe home to the circa-1889 Methodist Parsonage. Print out a detailed guide from Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve website: nps.gov/ebla/upload/WalkingTourPanels.pdf
? Stroll through shops and eat your way along historic Front Street, edging Penn Cove. Dip a walnut caramel roll in a cup of hot coffee for breakfast at the Knead and Feed bakery/cafe (4 N.W. Front St.), a town favourite since the 1970s. Later slurp a cone of rocky road at Kapaw's Iskreme, in the building that was the Island County Abstract Office (21 N.W. Front St.) when it was built in 1890. (Insider information: A "single" cone is three scoops, and you get to choose three flavours.)
In the old post office, the Touch of Dutch shop (11 N.W. Front St.) offers 35 types of licorice, while the Front Street Grill (20 N.W. Front St.) offers a dozen styles of fresh-from-the-cove mussels (coconut green curry is the star, going really nicely with a glass of sauvignon blanc).
? Tour the Island County Historical Society Museum (908 N.W. Alexander St.) to see Whidbey Island's first automobile (steered with a tiller, from 1902) and the old coffee roaster used by the Stewart brothers, specialty-coffee pioneers here in 1969 (when Starbuck was still just a character in Moby-Dick).
? Explore the historic, gull-crowded town wharf, jutting 152 metres into Penn Cove and offering front-row views of Mount Baker. Kim's Café gets raves for its chowder and Vietnamese pho soup.
If a cool breeze blows in off the Juan de Fuca Strait, just a few miles to the west, wrap a cosy muffler around your neck. Don't have one? Better sign up for the next weaving workshop.
