Knitting Weekend at Slater Mill

The impact of the textile industry in New England is mind boggling.  The industry affected all: Farm girls helping their families, immigrants in need of work, child labor laws, storekeepers, boarding houses, civic groups, unions, fire safety, housing developments, hospitals caring for the ill, transportation, water rights and river flow.

Slater Mill Library

I have a deep love of automated equipment, especially old textile equipment.  Slater Mill has restored a spinning mule, a braiding machine, a sock knitter, and a circular knitting machine into working order. I am particularly smitten with their warp-face narrow tape loom, similar to the jacquard looms I worked on as a young graduate.

Slater Mill Library

Slater Mill Teaching Facility

I am grateful there are museums such as Slater Mill looking to honor this history, and moreover, celebrate our history through hands-on learning. It is a challenging task, and the kind folks at Slater are hard-working and committed.

Knitting Weekend featured a presentation by Gudrun Johnston on the Shetland Islands, refreshments and live music, a trunk show of Thea Colman's designs, my Dress + Cardigan display, a book signing of Barbara Parry's Adventures in Yarn Farming, a marketplace of outstanding vendors, and classes taught by myself and Thea.

I taught a class on using multi-color variegated yarn. We studied and demonstrated the ways and nature of this challenging yarn, and then we explored pooling, shaping, texture, needle and stitch size, stripes, slipped stitches, stranding, peek-a-boo stitches, and embellishment. And everyone went home with a pastry box of yarn goodies.

I also taught a class on working two Fried Chicken Mittens at the same time on one long needle.  My students were champions: They were all new to the magic loop method, but they bravely jumped right in.

The knitting community is good people. I am convinced.