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.
The ups and downs of working with historic textiles
The ups and downs of working with historic textiles. We are warping a reproduction of a Venetian carpet that I have wanted to weave for a long time. The surviving piece is in the collection of Old Sturbridge Village but it is very similar to drafts in the Silas Burton account book. It contains Plaids that make the carpet unusual. That’s going very well at the moment. The downs are that for no apparent reason after running perfectly at the start up the camel hair running on the little S6 took out about 150 ends on each side of the warp. The cloth will be beautiful but unexpected crashes aren’t a joy on a Friday.
Damask Venetian Carpet for Hyde Hall
Damask Venetian Carpet on the loom
I thought you might want to see the steps a little further along. The Damask Venetian Carpet for Hyde Hall is now running. Come see it this weekend or next! Here is the complete warp, beaming the warp and the beginning of tying in to the existing carpet.
Blankets for Turn (Washington’s Spies)
We wove these blankets originally for the HBO series Turn ( Washington’s Spies) and now they are available through OutLaw Franky and Thistle Hill Weavers We are also doing them in a beautiful dark blue
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
Working on a few interesting projects…
Here’s a soldier on a figured Venetian carpet. Hard to find good references! Working on a few interesting projects. Maybe a new film on King Arthur and getting ready for our Open House which starts in less than one month! If you have been watching the HBO series “Turn” about Washington’s spies in the revolution you’ll see some of Thistle Hill’s fabrics. We may also be doing a remake of the Lincoln shawl, now there’s a story!
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.
A Damask Venetian Carpet for Hyde Hall
Working on a Damask Venetian carpet for Hyde Hall. Trial carpet is striped but in very different colors than it will, be but we had to trial the pattern. Images to follow. This is a very unusual carpet construction that is mentioned in George Clarke’s receipts and mentioned in a few obscure places. Not being reproduced by anyone else that we know of but very interesting construction. Here is an image of a surviving piece. I have a fragment to work from but that’s all. Article coming out in Early Homes mag on unusual carpets of the 19th century written by Jill Maney and me.
Warping a very complicated but beautiful Venetian Carpet
20 creel changes across. Lots of weavers knots to start each section. This is an adaptation of a surviving carpet done in worsted wool carpet yarn spun for us by Jagger Bros in Springvale, Maine and dyed by ChromoTek in Georgia.