by Markita Hall-Gumble
In June 2023, PatternReview.com held their in person event in Lowell Massachusetts. Besides getting together with the sewing tribe, we visited the Boott Cotton Mill Museum and the New England Quilt Museum.
The Boott Museum is part of the National Park Service and is so worth a visit, as it documents an important part of textile history in America.
The kitchen towels I purchased in the gift shop remind me of the fun we had that weekend.
In addition, we made a stop at the Western Avenue Studios. This large factory building has been repurposed for working artist shops. We had a silk painting, resin pouring and visited with many artists of all types.
PatternReview.com has over 550,000 textile friends across the world. In addition to the once per year U.S./Canada in person meetup, local meetups are encouraged as well.
by Markita Hall-Gumble
Watching the automatic weave machine, reminded me of doing it by hand to make rugs. My grandmother had several of the large machines in her basement for people to make rag rugs.
Thanks for the review. Question – The looms weaving mechanically were so fast and efficient. Were they warped by hand or machine?
There was a warping machine. We did not see it in action but they still use it for the demos.