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Testing Huron County Arcott wool
In preparation for choosing a wool for the reproduction of Herbert Wheeler’s knitted gloves, I’ve been knitting up a few test swatches using a locally produced wool, a Huron County Arcott. The sport-weight wool is a medium grade with a tendency to create a natural nap on the surface after wet finishing, according to Deborah Livingston-Lowe, experienced weaver, textile designer and owner of Upper Canada Weaving. Upper Canada Weaving was founded in 2010 by Deborah to reproduce 19th century Ontario textiles such as coverlets, rag carpets and linens. I can tell you, fellow knitters, that Huron Arcott, sourced from a Brussels-area farm and purchased through Upper Canada Weaving, is an…
- Historic Textiles in Our Local Museums, Knitting, museum reproduction, Needlework, Needlework History, Pattern Recreation
The Huron Wristers: a story of connections part 2
Continued from The Huron Wristers: a story of connections part 1 Was there a family tie to either Estonia or the British Isles? The answer would help to identify the glove pattern perhaps. When an instagram post by Best Dishes, a Goderich business owned by Sarah Anderson, appeared in my feed one day identifying the wristers pattern as based on a family heirloom, chance had dropped the perfect opportunity. It was time to connect. A couple messages back and forth and the story unfolded… History of the Wheeler Family Sarah as it turns out, is the daughter of Richard Anderson, great-nephew of Herbert Wheeler. Richard sent the following information about…
- Historic Textiles in Our Local Museums, Knitting, museum reproduction, Needlework History, Pattern Recreation
The Huron Wristers: a story of connections part 1
The story of the creation of the Huron Wristers is a story of connections: the connection of past to present, of generation to generation. Back in 1972 Pearl Wheeler donated a pair of knitted gloves that once belonged to her husband Herbert to the Huron County Museum and Historic Gaol. The museum’s record notes that at the time the gloves were thought to date from 1870 and were knit by a man. Herbert and Pearl lived in Belgrave, Ontario. Herbert had seven siblings, four brothers and three sisters. His parents were Charles Wheeler and Mary Ann Wilkinson. Herbert was a carpenter and apparently also the local barber. How long the…
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Exploring historic textiles in our local museums
I enjoy reading about and researching historic textiles. For me, these vintage textiles provide a invaluable, tangible link to our past. And as I work at reproducing old knitting patterns and recreating vintage knitted items, I find that the local museums hold a wealth of reference material in their textile collections, providing wonderful period pieces to help with pattern identification and reproduction. Recently I enjoyed the privilege of seeing (virtually, of course) textile items from the collection of the Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre. I saw many wonderful, beautiful items, some knit, others crocheted, some embroidered, others sewn and so on. From knitted coverlets and clothing, cross stitch samplers,…
inspired by vintage needlework
