Royal Ontario Museum and fiber--Sat. morning

Okay, now a bit about yarn and stuff. The Royal Ontario Museum has a small, but quality textile department. I only spent a little time there. Just took pics of things that interested me and moved on.
This is a pine and walnut four shaft loom originally from Northern Ireland. It arrived in Lake Huron County in 1845. Samuel Pentland became a professional weaver and used it to weave a variety of woolens for garments and the home.

I learned to weave on a loom of similar design and antiquity at the Hezekiah Alexander home in Charlotte. But not in the 1800's.
This tapestry loom uses rocks to weight the warp and provide tension. Looking at looms through the centuries always make me respect the intellect and ingenuity of fiber workers. I'm going to build one of these some day and weave this way just to see the problems.
This is a two shaft strip loom common in western Africa. The weaver suspends this from a tripod and ties the warp to the house to maintain tension. Like Kinte cloth, the final yardage consists of many of these strips sewn together to achieve the desired width.
This is a vertical single heddle frame loom. It was typically used in Togo and Cameroon. The yardage is wider than the loom above, but still needed to be joined together to get more than a table runner.

I'm not just a weaving freak. I also love antique clothing. Can't you just see turtlegirl76 in this. It is handmade.
I skipped the lectures on kimonos and costumes. I've seen that often. Instead I headed down to the First People's exhibit. I'm a nut about Native American stuff. On the way, I was stopped by some Chinese art. This Buddha was impressive and very decorative.


This is a Chinese tomb mound--specifically the tomb mound of General Zu Dashou ofYongtai Village near Beijing. 1656, Qing dynasty. Inside is stone coffin platforms for the General's body and for each of his three wives. I had to wait until someone showed up so I could put them in the photo to show the scale of this thing. (see guy in left lower corner)
I loved the carriage. Always do. The red earthy colors remind me of lots of yarn in my attic.

Check out this detail of the wheel. I think I can knit both the wheel and the side panel.

Yes, most of my photos are for designing purposes.

At the First People's exhibit, I found this inspiration.


And for a friend . . .
In the gift shop--I can make that!!!