Today I flew from Denver to Boston, after being up most of the night because of a windstorm. After the 2 recent Boulder fires during windstorms, we are all on edge when the wind is howling. But I woke up on time, made my flight, and snapped a photo of a magical rainbow over the Boulder Flatirons as I rode to the airport.
After arriving in Boston, I got to see some of the coast and countryside on the way up to Manchester New Hampshire. My hotel room has a view of what’s left of the textile factory buildings, built in the 1800s on the Merrimack River, now renovated and repurposed. Manchester originally aspired to be like its namesake – Manchester the textile center in England. For awhile, Manchester NH was the largest industrial city in the world, powered by textile mills. One customer was Levi Strauss, whose riveted blue jeans were made with the indigo twill from the Amoskeag Mills.
The history of the textile industry stretches from one end of the globe to the other, and I am often delighted to find yet another historic remnant of spinning, weaving, dyeing and stitching, that I never knew existed. History is full of textile design and manufacturing, and I’ve enjoyed visiting textile museums and factories around the world. I love the art, design and color…but the technical execution of those ideas is what fascinates and inspires me. The 18th century silk looms in Lyon, France…the 400 yr old velvet looms in Venice…the 19th century hand looms for traditional obi wraps in Kyoto…the traditional spaced thread dyeing and ikat looms of Bali…the simple lap looms where Guatemalan artisans weave their colorful zigzag and geometric stripes…the vegetable-dyed embroidery threads stitched into wild floral patterns in Oaxaca Mexico…all of these beautiful historic fabric traditions continue to inform us as we investigate and explore the techniques that might inspire our next project.
This is my first business trip in over two years. I had mixed feelings about flying, and being around airport crowds. I am speaking at the closing reception of my curated exhibit “For the Love of Gaia” this Saturday afternoon at 1 pm, at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell Mass. I am spending the next few days touring the area with the museum curator Pam Weeks. We share a love for textile history so we have much to discuss. The history of fabric and quilts are woven into the history of our country, and the history of the world. Where there are textiles, there are always stories to tell.
Sharing your love of fabric,
Luana and Paul
Sat April 9 at 1 pm – Intl Quilt Trends lecture – New England Quilt Museum –
(Closing reception for Luana’s curated exhibit – “For the Love of Gaia“
