What's New at Thistle Hill Weavers

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.

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.

July 27, 28 and 29, 2018, at the Marshfield School of Weaving, Marshfield VT

The Textile History Forum is an open forum for anyone doing research on any aspect of the study of textiles from prehistory to present day. For 2018, we are meeting at the Marshfield School of Weaving and will be especially interested in papers and presentations that relate to textile tools, textile process and textile availability. The Marshfield School has acquired many spinning wheels, looms and small tools from the dissolution of the American Museum of Textile History. Demonstration and research related to these tools will be part of the Forum, as well.

The Textile History Forum, which began in 1990’s is an informal but intense weekend of papers, demonstrations and works-in-progress open to any one interested in and enthusiastic about textiles, textile tools and material culture.

Written papers are published in our Proceedings at the time of the Forum, and are given to all participants as part of the Forum’s philosophy that discussion and active participation with others is the best way to explore our interests and further our research. Authors retain copyright of their papers and are free to publish elsewhere. Works-in-Progress and non-paper presentations are also included in the Proceedings.

Presenters from all areas of textile interests are encouraged to share their research; no formal academic credentials are necessary. We encourage anyone to submit a short one page abstract for review by January 15, 2018. Selected papers and details of presentations are due May 15, 2018.

In the past, the Forum has included papers about prehistoric footwear, contemporary fashion designers, historic dye analysis, ingrain carpet factories, coverlet weavers of Ohio, rose blankets, glove making, knitting traditions, weaving in Ecuador on traditional card looms, quilts, reed making, corsets and undergarments, white work, textile tools, labor in early mills, textile production in Lowell and much more.

S. Rabbit Goody began the Textile History Forum in response to the Dublin Seminar on New England Culture in the late 1990’s. It has met every few years since and published papers in the Proceedings, which is available to participants, libraries and by purchase to the public. The intent of the Forum is to encourage new voices to share their research in a scholarly but non-academic setting. At this upcoming Forum, we especially encourage those who have been doing research in traditional hand process to share what they know so that traditions are not lost. We learn more from each other and we learn the most over a good lunch!

Please think about presenting a paper or works-in-progress at the Textile History Forum at the Marshfield School of Weaving July 27 – 29, 2018.