Textile History Forum 2019 – Final Schedule
Marshfield School of Weaving and Kate Smith’s Eaton Hill Textile Works Saturday, July 27 – Sunday, July 28 The Mechanization and Powering of Textile Production 1700 to 1860. This July, explore transitional textile technology with us. How did innovation create tools, and machines that allowed for the powered production of textiles that ultimately changed the way we wear and use cloth? The forum will be both discussion and hands-on demonstration of some of those processes and equipment that changed fiber preparation, weaving and cloth finishing. Unlike other forums, this will be an intensive two days in which participants will learn and discuss some of the technology that allowed the development of ingrain carpet production, coverlet production, the production of napped and sheared cloth, the cheap production of cotton fabrics for the poorer classes and the interplay in rural America between the fancy weaver, the clothier and the local production of fiber. Some equipment will be set up for hands-on opportunities for participants. The registration fee of $225 includes all sessions and lunch on both days, as well as the optional visit to the Vermont Historical Society on Friday afternoon. If you have already registered but want to join the Friday Tour, please Contact us to confirm. Saturday morning session Saturday afternoon session one: Saturday afternoon session two: Sunday morning session Sunday afternoon session one: Sunday afternoon session two:
Notes on This Year’s Textile History Forum
The Textile History Forum was an amazing event. This year’s Forum surpassed our greatest expectations. I know that that sounds very cliche but there are no better ways to express how grateful we feel for the time well spent. Seventy five people, all with an interest in textiles came together to network with each other; sharing knowledge, good food and a waulking of woolen cloth in a joyously beautiful Vermont setting. And from this we have forged ahead with plans for the future. When I began the Textile History Forum in 1998, I did it with the hope that we could present academic papers in a relaxed and sharing way. It has always been the goal to have the Proceedings published and available the day of the Forum and that each Textile History Forum would include diverse current research in all aspects of Textile History. Now it’s time to expand on the Forum’s mission to include academic papers one year, and hands-on textile technology sessions on alternate years. 2019 July 26th, 27th and 28th Textile Technology: Coverlets. Carpets and Weavers’ Drafts The evaluation forms indicated that folks would love a truly hands-on set of sessions next July and to that end we are planning on a Forum of activity without formal papers. Textile technology is a very broad field and we are planning to have sessions that involve demonstrations and hands-on workshops on several aspects of weaving and spinning technology. We are putting out a call for presenters who are involved with any aspect of textile technology and who want to share their knowledge in a hands-on session. One of the sessions will be on figuring technology for coverlets. I have an ingrain carpet head and Kate has a hand Grosse Jacquard head that we can use to explore the development of figuring technology side by side with our extensive collections of coverlets. 19th century spinning technology, especially the development of patent heads and multiple spindle equipment will also be a part of the Forum’s technology sessions next July. Proceedings of the Textile History Forum For Sale The Proceedings are available for those who didn’t attend or for anyone who would like additional copies. $35.00 includes mailing fees. Lastly, the Forum has a domain of its own now. TextileHistoryForum.com. It still gets you to the Thistle Hill Weavers website, but more directly I hope. Please plan on joining the fun next July and pass it on. We look forward to seeing you then.
Schedule for the 2018 Textile History Forum
Here is the schedule of events for the 2018 Textile History Forum on Friday, July 27, Saturday, July 28 and Sunday, July 29, 2018, Please note that some of the events have limited sizes and the overall Forum attendance is capped at 75 people. If you wish to register and pay through our online store, you may do so here.If you wish to register online and then pay via check, credit card or Paypal, you may do so here.
Winter Newsletter
Schedule for Textile History Forum, April 29 – May 1, 2016
Friday April 29 9:30am: Introduction to Hyde Hall by Jonathan Maney 10am: How do we know what we know? Basic textile identification with Rabbit Goody 12:30pm: Lunch 2pm George Clarke, The Builder – Receipts That Tell Us So Much by Jill Maney 3:15pm: Break 3:30-5pm: Hands-on identification…practical experience in fiber analysis and technical recording of textile information. Dinner on your own. Saturday April 30 9:30am: What should the windows look like? with Bruno Lopez Poulin 10:30am: The special textile collections at Hyde Hall – identifying and dating the red worsted damask and cataloging textiles for Hyde Hall 12:30pm: Lunch 2pm: More special textile collections at Hyde Hall – Identifying, dating and cataloging textiles for Hyde Hall 5:30pm: Wine and cheese reception for the Board of Trustees and donors at Hyde Hall and dinner with Hyde Hall Staff Sunday May 1st 10am: The Textile Roadshow – identification of participants’ textiles 12:30pm Lunch 2pm: Trims and their importance: The Collection at Hyde Hall and Tassel and Trim Making in the 19th Century. Hyde Hall has an extraordinary collection of curtains and gilt valances from the Great House Dining Room and Drawing Room. Together we will piece together the physical evidence and work with experts to understand and reassemble the parts of the surviving drapery so that we can reconstruct the magnificent window treatments as they once were. This is a unique experience for anyone who is interested in textile history. Together we will “remake” history at Hyde Hall.
Register for the Textile History Forum 2016
When: Friday April 29 through Sunday May 1, 2016Where: Hyde Hall in Glimmerglass State Park, Springfield, NY 13333Click here for driving directions. Please join us for a very special Textile History Forum on Friday, April 29 – Sunday, May 1, 2016. This year we are planning a hands-on forum to identify and date the surviving drapery fabrics at Hyde Hall. This is an unprecedented opportunity for anyone interested in historic fabrics to work with experts and help catalog this amazing collection of early 19th century fabrics and trims. Hyde Hall has an extensive collection of curtains and gilt valances from the Great House Dining Room and Drawing Room. As a group, we will piece together the physical evidence and, with the help of experts, reassemble the parts so that we can reconstruct the magnificent window treatments as they once were. Lunches and one dinner are included in the registration fee of $225.00. Single day participation is $100.00 Please contact us if you have questions. We look forward to a great experience at this wonderful historic mansion. Click here to register.
Register for the Textile History Forum 2012
You can register two ways: click here to pay through our online store or give us a call us (518) 284-2729 Please click here to view or download the schedule for the 2012 Textile History Forum in PDF format. About The Textile History Forum: Historic Hyde Hall will be the setting for this year’s Textile History Forum, which will take place June 8-10. Anyone with a serious interest in textiles is encouraged to attend. The Forum is an eclectic gathering of textile enthusiasts: collectors, curators, scholars, weavers, spinners, knitters, quilters -amateurs and professionals – who get together to share current research, exchange information, tour area museums, and participate in workshops. They also enjoy networking opportunities and a banquet on Saturday evening, a tradition established by the Forum’s founder and director, Rabbit Goody. Goody is a textile historian and owner of Thistle Hill Weavers, a commercial mill producing accurate historic reproductions of interior furnishing textiles for museums, the film industry, designers, andhome owners. This year’s Textile History Forum will feature presentations on Hand Loom weaving in Scotland, 1750-1825; Quilt Making during WWII; Textiles in the New Netherlands; Early Calico Production in New York State; Paisleys in Portsmouth, NH; Textile Production by African American Women on Plantations from 1750-1830; Decorated Hetchels; an original film on Cotton Fiber Art in Ecuador; a comparison of Architecture and Textile Technology; investigations of historic Mitten Patterns in New York and New England; early Spinning Mills in New York, and more. Friday, June 8th and Saturday, June 9th are devoted to paper presentations, discussions of works in progress, textile collection tours, and workshops. Participants are encouraged to bring textiles to share and discuss. On Sunday the Forum will host an “Antiques Roadshow” style Textile I.D. day at Hyde Hall, which is open to the public and helps raise funds for the restoration of Hyde Hall. Bring your textile treasure to Hyde Hall, and for $7 the Forum’s textile experts will identify and date it. Hyde Hall, a 50-plus room stone mansion at the north end of Otsego Lake, is an outstanding representation of romantic classicism in America, one of the “two or three greatest houses in America,” according to Brendan Gill, architecture critic for the New Yorker. Designed by Philip Hooker and built by George Hyde Clarke between 1817 and 1835, Hyde Hall is a National Historic Landmark, on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a New York State Historic Site. The mansion sits inside Glimmerglass State Park, a lake front park with 42 campsites, beach, showers, boating, and picnicking facilities on Otsego Lake.Registration is $150 and includes lunch both days. There is an optional banquet on Saturday evening as well. For registration information and questions, please contact us.
2007 Textile History Forum Proceedings
The 2007 Textile History Forum Proceedings is available for $25.00 plus $2.50 shipping and handling. We accept checks, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Please contact us to order or for more information. Contents, with a foreword by Rabbit Goody:
2003 Textile History Forum Procedings
Contents, with a foreword by Rabbit Goody:
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…..