Cireed fabric (glazed) worsted in plain weave and matching cording and tassels for some chairs at Granger Homestead.
Author Archives: Sara Ayers
The Wing chair at Granger Homestead
The wing chair at Granger Homestead finishes the room nicely but still a few other touches to come. Gwen Spicer did the upholstery. The fabric is our worsted and mohair baize embossed and the trim is a handwoven diamond trim copied from a fragment.
Anna Coit passed away this morning.
Anna Coit passed away this morning. She was a great supporter of all things historical. She was well over 104 and I knew her when I worked at Mystic Seaport in CT and when I went back to do research on the weaving trade in Stonnington she was a great supporter of all the efforts. There are few left who make the connection between centuries so poignant. She will be missed and so will her past knowledge and the world she grew up in. Her stories were wonderful touchstones. Rest in peace and thank you for all you have shared with us.
Ester Lippitt Blanket
Yesterday Vicky and I went to the storage facility at the Farmers’ Museum to document an interesting blanket.
This simple blanket with the initials of Ester Lippitt is dated 1829. From my perspective, I think the blanket is at least a decade or 2 earlier and is very similar in style to “Compass Rose” blankets, a style that appears early in the 18th century. We will be reproducing this blanket both for use in Lippitt House and also for sale.
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.
Reproduction Blanket
This blanket is a reproduction of one in the collection of Historic Huguenot Street, New Paltz, NY. It is unusual in some ways but a very good example of an 18th century blanket. Here is is on a bed in the Stanley-Whitman House in Farmington, CT.
Whole cloth glazed worsted quilt for the Henry Ford Museum
We just finished this whole cloth glazed worsted quilt for the Henry Ford Museum for the Noah Webster House. We put it on our bed in our show room just for fun. I guess we are stuck in a colorway! But it looks really good. The underside is glazed strie hemp linen. We quilted this with the same worsted thread as the top fabric. Its dated for future reference.
Special Sale on Blankets and Coverlets
It’s gonna be very cold in the Northeast in the next few days and oh my goodness Thistle Hill Weavers has its machine washable all wool blankets and throws on special sale! Throws $150. Queen sized blankets $375.
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.
Click here to register or call us at 518.284.2729.
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:
- What were considered middle class furnishing textiles for rural areas?
- Where did they come from? And how did they get there?
- Who was making them in rural America, and on what equipment?
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
