MAINE VILLAGE WEAVER

  “Check your Attitude” Scarf hand woven with American merino wool Scarf available from www.hangar207.com Click here to go to website Scarf available from link The inspiration for this hand woven double weave wool scarf is the instrument panel on small planes  Go to the link above to learn more about vintage airport hangers and small planes  Supporting local artists and producers  Also videos on Instagram hangar_207  Awesome !  

In my Etsy shop I have cotton weaving yarn www.mainevillageweaver.etsy.com If you want to know more scroll down This yarn is awesome . You can warp your loom with it , weave it across as the weft , make towels ,rugs , and use in tapestry weaving . Washes great and gets softer with use . My all time favorite and I have some to share in my Etsy shop  www.mainevillageweaver.etsy.com  www.mainevillageweaver.etsy.com

Black and gray linen napkins Recently I finished lovely linen napkins . https://www.etsy.com/listing/708666130/napkin-linen-black-gray-check-hand-woven?ref=listing_published_alert You can see more in my Etsy shop listing  They pair up nicely with my black and white place mats also available in my Etsy shop for purchase

Then I visited Buckwheat Blossom Farm from Wiscasett, Maine  and found her having her Coop worth sheep  wool dyed with indigo , a calm grey blue ,like fog on the coast . Another great color for my shawls and wraps . Talking with her made me feel confident that we could work together to make beautiful items . Here you can find them on Instagram Buckwheat Blossom Farm  There is so much more to find so I recommend getting there to see for your self ! 

I was able to go to Fiber Frolic up in Windsor Maine yesterday, it is still going today Sunday June 2 2019 . If you can , go to it. Maine fiber farms are alive and well and could use more business to keep them going . Packing up to be there away from their animals is a big deal . There were booths there stocked with precious skeins of yarn ,roving , fleeces and sheepskins Lavender was on the wind from the Lavender grower there. Soap, rug hooking , and patterns A few animals on display to keep the young and old entertained. I went on the hunt for the farm that grew , spun and bonus!  dyed their yarn . That’s what I want  to work with . Mark and Carrie from Waggin Tail Farm in Pittsfield , Maine www.waggintailfarmme.com I found Alpaca yarn dyed with madder

 Article by James Goldsmith

A look at the weaving industry in England at the time when our country was young . The Weavers there wanted  us here in America to trade goods , as a British colony . I know here in Maine there was plenty of white oak for ships masts and building of wooden boats. Anyway this video takes you through the stages of weaving into the industrial revolution . A good explanation from over the pond. Watch it . https://youtu.be/CHxnVNZAZXQ Industrial Revelation

                                          Celebration of American Craft Week Phyllis Leck will be on hand to demonstrate her weaving and let you try you hand at weaving on one of her looms . A 10 % sale will be on all items local crafts as well! Phyllis and her metal artist husband Andy have set up their workshop and outbuildings to display and sell local crafts all through the summer/fall season American Crafts week highlights this and ends the season for them. After this the crafters take home their items and you can see Andy or Phyllis by appointment as the weather sets in and the folks in Maine hunker down for their long winter nap. Just kidding  we are working long hours with our long johns on,ha!

it has been a busy summer ! Thanks to all who visited and purchased from us ! We appreciate your support . Recently I can across a group studying the forgotten art of growing and working with flax and linen. There was a workshop I wish I could have attended in Historic Deerfield village in Massachusetts. Here is their link New England Flax and New England Flax and Linen Also this summer I have been fortunate to be dying from knotweed making a soft grey brown color that looks fabulous woven into a shawl ! The subtle colors enhance your features and go with a natural look ! Customers suggestions have been wonderful as they said to put it on a table or on the window too as a window dressing

Early Homes magazine featured MaineVillage Weaver in the editorial page with her Red Blue Tan hand dyed wool scatter rug for Spring Summer 2016 

Phyllis Leck with her favorite customer Kathy Fuller showing off her custom woven tablecloth Phyllis Leck dba Village Weaver at the Walker Homestead Show What a perfect day in Sept at the Walker Homestead show! Sold out of my newest work ! Hand dyed yarn woven into scarves and shawls. Go to my web site www.mainevillageweaver.com  to see and purchase a scarf. I use golden rod for a yellow gold color, knotweed for a grey green color and black walnut for a light brown.  As a shawl it can also be a curtain in a pantry or "buttery" . Customer modeling my Grey green color shawl 

My next show for VILLAGE WEAVER is Sept 28 2013 at the WALKER HOMSTEAD in Brookfield, MA .This community is not far from Sturbridge Village and Angel House . Both great places to visit.. Our Show will be from 10-4 pm rain or shine. It is a warm and inviting place to visit. On the property of Paul and Kris Casucci  is their home an old restored tavern. Farm animals , wonderful gardens and plants for sale. A very Harvest fall celebration. If you love antiques then come and browse and shop. Tents are set up through out the gardens and fields. Artisans of the 18th and 19th century have their work on display and sale . I will be set up in the back field . Food and entertainment as well to cheer you on.Book signings of Mark Kimball Moulton '  new book "Twas the night before Christmas"s and Circa  Home Living will be set up inside the tavern section of their home..

All kinds of wild material was used to make these yarns I have come up with some very primitive lookwith these new colors and a new weave for scarves

Village Weaver throw over an Angel House chair  Justi magine a chair done in my fabric by Village Weaver Phyllis Leck? My booth at Brimfield .Lots of cool fabrics and curtains woven by me ready for sale Another view of my booth  at the Brimfield show  Brimfield Ma Spring show in 2013 I will be back for the FALL Brimfield 2013 near the Country Crossroads section Central Park field.

Wool Rug  Hit and Miss Burnt Orange and Sable and Beige   This is a close up of my wool rug that will be in "Early American Life" magazine this fall I love this rug .The yarn is so wonderful. It responds so well and takes a lot of  wear . Shake or vacuum this rug , it cleans very easily. I think this would be the perfect rug for a stair as a stair runner. My favorite color is burnt orange but the color can be substituted  for  any color . A dark brown,black , burgundy, navy or teal , lime green or dark green all will work well  with this backgrond color of beige and sable.www.mainevillageweaver.com mainevillageweaver.com

Bed spread in Sand tan and Mustard ticking stripe with my antique boat shuttle         look in my Etsy Shop

Hand woven ticking stripe in red rust and sand all cotton  will soon be available from off the loom as of March 5 2013. I will be making a bedspread like the one below with the same pillow shams . The Red Rust solid will also be available by March 20th and ready to ship. If interested you can contact my at  email: leck@midcoast.com first come first serve quantities limited.

What? What is CVM wool? Well this is lovely 2 ply yarn that I have been working with to make the Organic wool blankets for the The Bridge Farm. CVM sheep are a heritage sheep breed that is great for wool fiber and as a meat breed for small farms. I read about them at a web site of a local farm that also spins yarn for sheep farmers .This was NEWAIM yarn fiber mill. Well I am hooked. This is lovely wool that has luster and smooth not itchy at all. My job is done with weaving the blankets and now I am in search for more. The hunt is on. I almost forgot CVM stands for California Varigated Mutant , thats right . Check Out the web site NEWAIM .

King Size wool blanket The blanket for The Bridge Farm in Dresden Maine is completed! Didn't it turn out wonderful? It is organic beautiful wool woven in a twill weave . Hand woven blanket has two panels sewn together to get the width for the blanket I had sewed the seam . The owners wanted an edge that was fringed. I stay stitched the edges to keep them from unraveling. When the yarn was spun it had an oil used to keep control of the spinning. I washed the wool after it was sewn and it bloomed with a lovely heather brown and grey full yarn. Not too thick or heavy. It didn't even smell "sheepy " the wool when it was wet. I will deliver the blankets to the farm and they are going to have them on display at their open house on Dec 1. Call before going to be sure. They will have their beautiful animals in the field and goodies for sale.

I was asked by the folk at the Bridge Farm in Dresden Maine to weave blankets from their yarn grown by their very own flock of sheep! Here are some photos describing the process of weaving the yarn on my floor loom. First I want to say that  they had the yarn spun at a fiber mill outside of Maine. It was done by Stonehedge Fiber Mill. They did a lovely job! I have not encountered any problems with the yarn and it is sturdy enough to hold tension on the loom.It weaves beautifully and there has been no dust or pieces of foreign matter showing up( twigs or hay) or knots.   the threading of the yarn through the heddles before you can weave Close up of the wool blanket being woven  I am weaving this in a straight twill threading and treading it the same way. I have doubled the yarn in my shuttle to add body and less stiffness to the blanket. Picture above and below shows the shed opening and the shuttle being thrown in between the yarns. When the blanket is do...