>Second Weaving Trip!

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Late last week I visited Shelburne Falls, Mass, with a couple of weaving friends.  It was open studio week at Vav Stuga.  We had made our plans too late to participate in weaving on the looms, but we were happy to make the trip to visit the town and check out this weaving studio!

Shelburne Falls is known for its “Bridge of Flowers,” and we learned that the bridge has been turned into a small botanic garden, planted with trees, vines, shrubs and many perennials.  In May there is a lot in bloom!  Azaleas, wisteria vines, iris, Solomon’s seal, columbine, poppies….well, I just cannot name them all!  There were plenty of summer blooming perennials starting to bud! 

The Bridge of Flowers was started in the 1940s by a group of volunteers on an old trolley bridge .  For many years it was known as the “Bridge of Weeds.”  It is now supervised by a professional gardener, but still requires the hard work of many volunteers.  While my friends and I walked across, we saw one volunteer hauling numerous wheel barrow loads of black dirt onto the bridge. 

We stopped at WEBS on the way up and had a fun shopping spree!  Their spring sale was in progress, and we each got some wonderful things!  My most exciting purchase was two cones of tencel in complimentary colors to recreate the two-block twill fabric that was on Bonney’s loom when I got it.  That’s the fabric I wrote about earlier this month!  It will be wonderful to have my own version!

On our first evening in Shelburne Falls, we met the business manager of Vav Stuga who happens to be living at the Dancing Bear, where we stayed.  She mentioned that there was one cancelation for Friday, and after a little discussion, my friends agreed that I could take the spot!  Lucky me! So while my friends toured the town on Friday morning, I wove at one of the looms!  It was a rep weave project in colors that were just perfect for both my kitchen and my family room!  I loved the studio (sorry, no photos…but you can check out the website! I was too busy at the loom!), and I enjoyed weaving in this setting!  Now I hope to visit again for one of the week long classes.  Becky (owner), Susan (business manager) and Celeste (apprentice) do a wonderful job of creating a calm setting with lots of good weaving energy.  The studio and living spaces make you feel like you’ve just entered a Karl Larsson painting!  It’s lovely.

Here’s my runner!