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If you’re a tapestry weaver who does smaller format work, you’ve likely at least heard of Mirrix looms. I’m guessing you probably have one in your studio. The classic looms that are rectangular in shape and have a shedding device also come with a funny-shaped handle to shift the shed. If you’re new to this sort of shedding device, the way this handle works can be a little mysterious.
I was getting out of my car at the library yesterday and I had the two dogs in the car. They like a ride sometime and I didn’t have to stop anywhere for long so they got to come along. Sal was barking at some unidentifiable thing and a woman walking down the sidewalk turned around and asked if those were dachshunds barking. She said she’d know that bark anywhere. She also said they’re great dogs. Which they are. They’re smart and they love to help, especially Sal. She is bright and learns fast and she gets into all kinds of trouble.
I was searching for some tapestry teaching video footage on some old hard drives recently and came across the recordings from my senior recital in college. Most of you probably don’t know that I was a music major as an undergrad. I played piano and clarinet while attending Lawrence University in Wisconsin. I was a liberal arts major among a conservatory of bachelor of music majors. I knew I didn’t want to be a performer, but I was interested in teaching so I took a lot of piano pedagogy classes. My senior thesis was writing a piano pedagogy curriculum for preschoolers.*
For all the decades since I graduated from Lawrence I have avoided listening to that recording. And that is because of what happened in my piano playing before the recital.
Some time before my class at Harrisville Designs in New Hampshire, one of the students in the class, Kerri Keeler, emailed me that she knew about a tapestry just a few miles from our workshop that we should visit. She offered to take care of the logistics and I told her if she could set it up, I would be happy to encourage the group to go.
So Wednesday night during our color retreat, we caravanned to Peter Pap Oriental Rugs to see the lost Frida Hansen tapestry, Sørover.
While at Harrisville Designs (HD), I took another tour of the mill. I never miss a mill tour as I learn more about making yarn every time I go. The mill manager Sarah took my tapestry class on yet another great tour of the Harrisville Designs spinning mill. I made another video in 2013 about the mill which you can see on YouTube HERE. In that video, the mill was in a different building some distance from the rest of Harrisville Designs. In that video you can see the now-retired long-term mill manager Babs talking to us about the process.
They had to move the mill a few years ago due to a flood and if you want to hear some stories from very nervous mill workers, ask about moving this equipment! HD moved their equipment from the late 1800s and early 1900s to one of the original mill buildings. It is interesting to see the video linked above from 2013 because they’ve also updated their washing and skeining systems since then.
In late June I taught a week-long class at Harrisville Designs in Harrisville, NH. I love visiting Harrisville for so many reasons. I think the main reason is that it is a place full of heart. It is a beautiful small town filled with kind people. From the friendly greeting from the librarian to the chatty cooks at the General Store and the local mechanic who helped me after hours with a car problem^ to the oh-so-helpful postmaster who shipped my boxes home, the people are solid.
I can’t say enough good things about Harrisville Designs itself either. What a place of wonder it is. Any working mill is fascinating to me. Turning piles of fleece into yarn is magic.* The owners of Harrisville, Chick, Pat, and their son Nick Colony are so interested in what the students are doing. They embody the friendly, community-centered nature of the business and the town. The shopkeepers who will greet you with their knowledge of yarn, knitting, and weaving and make you feel like you’ve come home are all exceptional humans. I have to give a huge thank-you to Sara Parker who not only helped me run a successful workshop but she got me out of a self-imposed and potentially disastrous jam one night.
Last month I taught two tapestry workshops in New England. One was a retreat I ran myself in Plymouth, VT and the other was for Harrisville Designs in Harrisville, NH. In between the two teaching events I had 6 days and that is not enough time for me to go home even if I could stand the two extra days on airplanes. Instead I did the ultra sane thing and found a little cottage to stay in.
I was sure my time in eastern New Hampshire would result in lots of adventures but somehow the week flew by. There were a few including a hike, a trip to Portland, ME, and a few yarn stores.
