Coverlet Symposium at Hyde Hall, Cooperstown, NY
Friday, May 1 – Saturday, May 2 – Sunday, May 3, 2015 Common or Uncommon? What makes a coverlet special? This is a symposium for coverlet collectors, museum curators and textile enthusiasts. Let’s explore why we think some coverlets fit a particular tradition and others are out of the box. Historic Hyde Hall is located inside Glimmerglass State Park. Contact us at Thistle Hill Weavers for more information. Cost for this symposium is $155.00, which includes lunch all three days.
Join us for our annual Holiday Open House!
Visit our showroom of historic fabricsSee what we’ve woven for the moviesTour our weaving mill with equipment from the early 1900’sGet a glimpse into the weavers’ trade past and present Holiday gifts for sale: shawls, scarves, blankets, placemats, runners and carpets, all at our special holiday sale! Saturday December 6, 10am-4:30pmSunday, December 7, 12-4:30pm We will be open all week long, 10am to 4:30pm and again on Saturday, December 13 10am-4:30pm2 pm Lecture by Rabbit Goody: The Ghosts of Carpets Past
Double Cloth and Double Width Weaving Class
Weave a shawl in your choice of fiber using double cloth, double width, and layered cloth techniques. Some weaving experience helpful. Two day workshop with Rabbit Goody at her studio. All materials included fee is $195 for both days. Saturday, November 15 – Sunday, November 16, 20149:30am – 4pm.
Pattern Drafting for Handloom Weavers at Thistle Hill Weavers
Saturday, March 29, 2014 – Sunday, March 30, 2014 Taught by Rabbit Goody, this two day class is a theory and practical workshop for understanding how weave structures and pattern drafting work to create woven design. Once you are able to draft and thread patterns, you can create your own designs in structures that will work for their intended purpose. The goal of the class is to help weavers feel comfortable designing woven patterns of their own. The class is primarily a theory class but we will be weaving some patterns and structures on a variety of hand looms. Beginners through practiced weavers are welcome. This should be a fun and energizing class to get you excited about all the wonderful aspects of textile design. As always, lunch is included both days and the studio will be open Saturday evening and early Sunday morning for extra time. The class fee is $185.00, with all materials included. Class begins at 9 am on Saturday and ends on Sunday at 4:30. Click here to register or or call us at 518.284.2729.
Chenille Weekend Weaving Workshop at Thistle Hill Weavers
Taught by Rabbit Goody, this workshop is open to beginner through practiced weavers. We will be weaving luxurious rayon chenille in beautiful colors for scarves, shawls, and garments. The workshop will take you through warping, threading, sleying and weaving chenille scarves or yardage. We will finish the chenille and learn the trick of making it bloom! Dates: February 8 – 9, 2014 9:30am to 4:30pm. Tuition: $185.00, includes lunch both days and all materials.
Textile History…To Have Or Not: How Available Were Interior Furnishing Fabrics in Post-Revolutionary Rural America, 1790-1825?
August 23-25, 2013 (A 3-day workshop)Fee:$195.00 Looking at the wealth and commerce of rural New York in 1800, we’ll establish some context for examining this period of textile production and consumption: To answer these questions we will start with a short session on How do we identify textiles and how do we know what we know? Discussions will include working with these sources: probate inventories, auction records, bills of lading, account books, draft books, city directories, tax records, gazetteers, fair premiums, newspapers and court and patent records. We will look at historic interiors and interior décor illustrations – the Vogue versus the reality, and then we’ll examine historic documented textiles. Instructors will include: Rabbit Goody, Textile Historian, Founder & Owner of Thistle Hill Weavers, Jill Maney, Independent Scholar & Business Manager, Thistle Hill Weavers and Jon Maney, directer of Hyde Hall, Cooperstown, NY There will be a period dinner served as part of the program in the Briggs Tavern on the evening of Saturday, August 24 at a charge of $25.00 per person. To register for this program, please CALL 518-284-2729 or email rabbitgoodythw@gmail.com
Upcoming Events: The Textile Forum and a Coverlet Symposium
The Textile History Forum dates are set for 2019! Put it in your calendar: Friday, July 26, Saturday, July 27 and Sunday, July 28 at The Marshfield School of Weaving and Eaton Hill Studio, Marshfield, Vermont. This year’s Forum is a hands-on exploration of transitional technology from hand to mechanical power. Spinning, weaving and finishing technologies will all be included. Presenters Wanted: We are looking for presenters who have done research and have skills with traditional tools and process and would like to share their knowledge with others. We have acquired a few rare pieces of early technology to share including an 18th century “Slubby Billy.” Sessions will be small hands-on workshops. Its a chance to dig deep into textile process with traditional tools. We learn so much when we can actually try different methods and process to form a better understanding of the methods used in the past. Coverlet Symposium We are thinking of holding another Coverlet Symposium here at Thistle Hill Weavers and Hyde Hall in late May or early June, but first I would like to find out if there is interest again in exploring historic coverlets. The symposium would allow us to view our collection and an opportunity to examine any coverlets in your collection. The possibility of adding to the data base on coverlets would be an additional goal but mostly I would like to get together with folks who want to learn more about coverlet structures, makers, and their place in material culture of rural America. Do contact me if you are interested in the Symposium. Your responses will inform us whether to move ahead or not…..