then and now

Among the countless amazing things we saw at the American Museum of Natural History and Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC last Saturday were, of course, some textile-related exhibits that caught my attention.

Weaving loom from Africa. Jesse tells me the loops at the bottom would go over the weaver's big toes and tilting the feet up or down would raise and lower the...heddles? shed? (Oh, I'm so not a weaver. Need to go ask my guys, but they're busy working outside.) So cool.

Woven spider silk from Madagascar. I kid you not. Natural color. There's a video here to tell more about it. 96 strands to make a single thread. Mind-boggling.

Then, Sunday included a visit to the USS Nautilus/Submarine Force Museum (where it was clear that submarines are not built for the likes of my 6'3" son) and historic Avery Copp Museum, which is basically a 19th century time capsule. Some of the beauties that caught my eye there were a full-size crazy quilt,

scads of knitted, crocheted, tatted, and Hardanger lace,

and an old set of wooden sock blockers resting on top of a wringer washing machine that's similar to the one I remember my Gram having in her basement when I was a kid!

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Yup, I Spy 3 is a pic from All About Eve. It's funny how those connections keep popping up in movies we watch.

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I'm hoping to get those fruit loop necklaces up on Etsy soon. Thanks for your patience and interest, everybody!