Weaving Time at Thistle Hill Weavers

Cecelia Eure, WPAMC ’24

When I saw on the schedule for the WPAMC Northern trip that we were visiting a weaving shop in upstate New York, I assumed that it would be a hand weaving shop a la Colonial Williamsburg. While that would have been fabulous, and there was some hand weaving happening at Thistle Hill Weavers in Cherry Valley, NY, I was thrilled when I walked into Rabbit Goody’s mill and saw machines dating from 1890 to 1940.

Thistle Hill Weavers recreates 17th, 18th, and 19th century textiles and produces modern custom textiles. All of the machines in the shop are reclaimed and purchased from mills that shut down in decades past. Inside the mill, which has an open door policy, workers and visitors wear ear plugs because of the loud clangs of the machines. I was amazed by what Rabbit and her staff were able to create. Unfortunately, the mill does not allow for any photos taken inside to be posted online.

In our tour of the shop, Rabbit also emphasized the importance of the skilled craftspeople in her shop. The use of mechanical looms allows for her to keep as many people employed as possible, putting money into the local community. In running her business, Rabbit manages to do the historical work she loves and fuel the local economy.

The magic of the early twentieth century mechanical loom, opposed to more modern electric looms, Rabbit told us, is that they are able to be manipulated more easily than an electric loom while still working quickly, unlike a hand loom. On her website, Rabbit writes “We are able to make our looms do things that they were never designed to do partly because they are mechanical and not electronic. We are able to fabricate parts and to change them when necessary, giving us unheard of flexibility.” 

Rabbit manipulates time through her textile work. To address the present-day needs of historic sites and homes, the mill produces textiles intended to blend in with objects from centuries past. The use of early twentieth century machinery sets Thistle Hill Weavers’ work apart from other historical reproductions. By not using methods contemporary to the time that the product was initially designed or methods contemporary to the present day, Rabbit’s shop complicates things. By making the mechanical “looms do things that they were never designed to do” the weavers at Thistle Hill engage with and expand upon traditional weaving tradition to produce efficient and authentic products.