Home(spun) Resistance: Spinning, Weaving, and Wearing in the 18th and 19th Centuries

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Tuesday 27 Oct 2026, 7pm

at the Congregational Church of Harvard, 5 Stillwater Rd., Harvard MA

Homespun Resistance

Award winning educator and historian Michele Gabrielson and Civil War period reenactor and educator Marie Porteus promise a lively and informative presentation on how spinning, weaving, and wearing became acts of resistance in the 18th and 19th centuries. From homespun cloth and boycotts to the garments people chose to wear, everyday textiles carried (and continue to carry) powerful political meanings. This lecture considers how textile-making and dress challenged authority, expressed identity, and helped communities shape their place in a changing world.

headshot of a woman in 18th century clothing

Michele Gabrielson is an award winning history teacher and historic interpreter of the 18th century. She specializes in interpreting the history of colonial women printers, 18th century chocolate, and revolutionary playwright and poet Mercy Otis Warren. Gabrielson additionally serves as the secretary for the nonprofit Mercy Otis Warren Society, and is on the Friends Board for Minuteman National Historic Park. She was awarded a 2024 Rising Star Award for Public History by the Massachusetts History Alliance for her programming titled, “The Revolutionary Classroom,” and named a finalist for the 2024 Massachusetts History Teacher of the Year. Gabrielson was the Massachusetts Daughters of the American Revolution’s Outstanding History Teacher of the Year for 2025 and the 2025 winner of the Fred Graham Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati.

Marie Porteus is a Civil War living historian for over 25 years and has focused her learning on the experiences of women and families in the South. This study has incorporated the narratives of women living through the war, the material culture, and the everyday domestic skills practiced through this time period. Women’s ingenuity in supporting the war efforts as well as maintaining their households in the face of deprivation is of particular interest. Marie began incorporating weaving at events over the last few years, teaching about both the political and practical aspects of Southern Homespun cloth and about various woven textiles used.

Guests are welcome.
7 p.m. – social time, library open
7:30 presentation starts

September 22 Meeting

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The Early Origins of Weaving; a history of weaving in the world

with Sara White

Tuesday Sept 22, 2026, 7pm in person only, at the Congregational Church of Harvard, 5 Still River Rd VENUE CHANGE FOR TONIGHT: we will be meeting at the Holy Trinity (St. Theresa, the Little Flower) Church, 17 Still River Road, Harvard. Just a couple of doors down from our usual meeting place.

Membership dues are now due! Please bring $25 cash or check to the meeting or send them to: PO Box 50, Harvard, MA 01451. Make check payable to NVWG. Everyone is welcome! (Please speak privately with an officer at the meeting if you need financial assistance.)

The Early Origins of Weaving is an educational exploration of the arcs of human history. It reveals elements of weaving tied together by changes in climate, mass
migrations, innovations in loom design, human efforts to protect our bodies with cloth, and the abilities to demonstrate our particular capacities for art, engineering, and information sharing. Sara pulls this together in a cogent story with links to surprising avenues of history. It starts with the earliest of humans and ends before the Romans arrive – so much happens!

Sara has been weaving for 15 years following retirement from her work in college administration and prior work as a dancer and movement educator. Since starting to weave, Sara has been interested in weaving education and the roots of different expressions in weaving. She participates in workshops, and Convergences and various regional conferences. Sara is a member of the Weavers’ Guild of Boston. She led a Guild study group for New and Occasional Weavers (NOW) for four years ending in 2025. Her interest in understanding the origins of weaving led to a self-initiated year-long study on the origins of weaving — searching print and online archaeological research to connect the tracings of weaving history. She recognizes some of this dedication as the same interest that resulted in a master’s degree in Regional, Economic, and Social Development from UMASS – Lowell. She is currently on the Program Development Committee for NEWS 2027.

7:00 pm – Social time, with snacks, library and show & tell

7:30 pm – Sara’s presentation begins

2026-27 Programs Announced!

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The 2026-27 meetings have been added to the website calendar. This year’s theme is Celebration of America’s Weaving History!

All meetings are at the Congregational Church of Harvard, 5 Still River Rd, Harvard, MA, with the exception of January and February. Except for December, gathering begins at 7pm, and the program begins at 7:30. For Zoom meetings, a link will be sent to members and guests about a week prior to the meeting.

Sept 22, 2026Sara White – The Early Origins of Weaving; a history of weaving in the world
Oct 27, 2026Michele Gabrielson and Marie Porteus – History of Textile Protests
Dec 1, 2026, 1:00 pmJoan Paul – Finger Weaving (hands-on workshop)
Jan 26, 2027 on Zoom onlyDiane Taraz – The Natural History of Clothing
Feb 23, 2027 on Zoom onlyAllison Horrocks – The History of Slater Mills, how they started, and what they made
Mar 23, 2027Brittney Walley – Indigenous Weaving
Apr 27, 2027Book Discussion – 3 Bags Full by Leonie Swann
May 25, 2027Laura Busky and Penny Lacroix – Plimouth-Pawtuxet Blankets
June 22, 2027Annual Meeting and Pot Luck

June Meeting: Guild potluck June 23 2026 6PM

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The NVWG annual potluck is coming up! Here are the details.

Tuesday 6/23, starting at 6pm
At Marie Porteus’ home (see Members page for address)
Parking is on the driveway or diagonally on the grass in front of and to the side of the house.

What to bring:
Dish to share (with ingredients listed)
Beverage for yourself
Place setting (plate, cup, silverware, napkin)
Lawn chair
2026 Challenge project – Weaving from around the world.
Dress for being outside (including bug spray!) If it’s rainy, we’ll be inside. If it’s hot, the ‘water park’ will be open.
Besides eating, show & tell of our challenge items and catching up with everyone, there will be a brief meeting to elect our new officers. The officer slate will be sent in a separate email.

If you want anything from the Guild Library to read over the summer, please contact Kathy librarian@nvwg.org by Monday 6/22. You can browse what’s available in the library on our website. https://nvwg.org/library/

May meeting on Weaving in Norway

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Tuesday May 26, 2026, 7pm in person only, at the Congregational Church of Harvard, 5 Still River Rd

The Tabletweaver – Scotland 850CE
by D. Sven Lindauer

What does “Norwegian Weaving” mean? Is it a historical nomenclature? Is it a modern style? Is it a specific structure or structures? NVWG member Penny Lacroix will give a presentation on weaving in Norway. Scandinavia in general has a reputation for a particular style of weaving (perhaps perpetuated by IKEA?) Zooming in on Norway, we’ll take a look at some historical weaving as well as modern interpretations. Among the topics will be warp-weighted loom weaving, band weaving, krokbragd, “picture weaving”, rya, and other techniques. We’ll also look at motifs and colors that are associated with Norwegian weaving. Lastly, we’ll take a look at a modern factory producing fabric for traditional garments.

Krokbragd coverlet
Vesterheim Museum

Penny Lacroix has been weaving for over 25 years and is a long-time member of the NVWG. She teaches at A Place to Weave and other venues. One of her delights is seeing what her former (and current) students are weaving!

7:00 pm – Social time, browsing the library, snacks and show & tell
7:30 pm – program begins

Warp-weighted Loom at the Weaver’s Croft

What is a Fibershed?

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Come learn about it at our April meeting!
Tuesday 4/28/26, at the Congregational Church of Harvard, 5 Still River Rd
Presentation starts at 7:30, but please come early!

Michelle Parrish will introduce us to the concept of a fibershed, their history, and details about the Western Mass Fibershed. (Unfortunately, Peggy Hart will not be able to join us.)

Western Mass Fibershed is a local affiliate of the broader Fibershed movement, working to rebuild regional textile systems and build thriving and sustainable regional fiber economies. Western Mass Fibershed is committed to understanding and strengthening connections and collaboration between farmers, fiber processors and spinning mills, weavers, dyers, and other fiber artists, clothing and shoe designers, retailers, and consumers. As part of Fibershed’s soil to soil philosophy, Western Mass Fibershed utilizes wool from western Massachusetts to create products ranging from soil-enriching waste wool pellets for gardening to blankets and fabric, to yarns for knitting and weaving. We have recently incorporated as a 501c3. For more information please see our website.

Peggy Hart and Michelle Parrish are two of the Western Mass Fibershed organizers and board members. Peggy is a textile designer and weaver who weaves on 1940s vintage Crompton and Knowles dobby looms to create limited edition blankets and throws and custom blankets for farmers using their own wool. Read more about her work on her website. Michelle is an educator with a passion for plants, fibers, and understanding more deeply how we’re all connected on this beautiful planet. You can check out her natural dye and flax projects here.

Schedule for the evening:

  • 7pm – Library browsing, social time, snacks, and show & tell
  • 7:30 – Fibershed talk begins

Visitors are welcome!

Mihoko Wakabayashi to talk on SAORI Weaving

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Tuesday 24 March 2026 in person only at the Congregational Church of Harvard, 5 Still River Rd, Harvard MA
Start time is 7pm, with the program beginning at 7:30.

Mihoko Wakabayashi

SAORI Weaving is a contemporary improvisational weaving from Japan. It is based on Zen principle of spontaneity and simplicity. There are no mistakes in SAORI. We embrace any accidental issues such as “Happy Accident”. Mihoko Wakabayashi, a Japan native and an owner of Mihoko Textiles has taught many people of all ages and all abilities in her studio and a variety of organizations and festivals for 25 years. She believes that SAORI weaving is a great way to express inner creativity, connect with others and the world, and build friendships with fellow weavers. She will explain about SAORI weaving and the activities of her studio through a slide show and demonstrate a freestyle weaving on a loom.

Mihoko Wakabayashi was born and grew up in Japan. Her major in college was education. She learned weaving by working with young people (K-12) who had difficulties in school in Japan and continued learning weaving for seven years. Since she opened her studio “SAORI Worcester” in 2000, she has taught many people including people with various disabilities and become involved in the community. Besides regular classes, she has taught many workshops at different organizations, has conducted one-week fiber camps for children, and has guided a two-week tour in Japan. She made a public art installation SAORI Bridge Project at Elm Park in Worcester in 2021 and developed a program Seed to Fashion to teach weaving with yarn dyed with indigo that people grow together for six years. She continues teaching creative weaving, spinning, dyeing, and sewing through her studio and creates her one-of-a -kind wearable art as Mihoko Textiles.

SAORI Bridge Project at Elm Park in Worcester

People gather for snacks, library browsing, and Show & Tell at 7 pm. Mihoko’s program will start at 7:30. Visitors are welcome!

February Meeting on Zoom – corrected!

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Barbara Setsu Pickett to talk on Velvet

Tuesday 24 February 2026 on Zoom only
Start time is 7pm, with the program beginning at 7:30.

Barbara Setsu Pickett will compress 45 years of research on contemporary velvet weaving practices throughout the world into her Power Point presentation. She’ll begin with her Fulbright Fellowship at the Foundation Lisio and highlight her explorations in 10 countries at ateliers where the 40 masters of velvet weaving work their artistry. She’ll conclude with how a studio artist in the USA can approximate the process using standard looms and equipment.

Barbara Setsu Pickett, an Associate Professor Emerita in the Art Department at the University of Oregon, focuses her art and research on velvetweaving, shibori, book arts, and natural dyeing. She has studied velvetweaving in Italy, France, Spain, England, Japan, China, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and India. Currently she is investigating the Andalus connection between Valencia, Spain and Fez, Morocco. She has received support from the NEA, Fulbright Commission, Institute of Turkish Studies, Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation/Bellagio, and Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. She and her son run Mihara Shibori Studio and create highly textured silk scarves. Her current research trip is supported by two grants, the Dee Brown Memorial Grant and the HGA Mearl K. Gable II Memorial Fund.

A Zoom link will be sent to all current members before the meeting. Visitors should contact us to get the link.

Happy New Year!

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Churro sheep

Our first meeting of 2026 will be on Tuesday 27 January on Zoom only!

Myra Chang Thompson will present

The Connection Between Spanish Colonial Trade and the Role of Churro Sheep

In this presentation Myra will introduce the textile trade during the Spanish Colonial Period (1650 to 1800) which importantly involved the Churro sheep.

Spanish colonists were completely stranded from their mother country, Spain, geographically, economically, socially and, linguistically at various times during the Colonial period. It is then that a realization that their survival greatly depended on how they reacted to their situation. With many of the technologies and skills from the Old World, the colonists adapted to their surroundings and the natural environment in which they were settled. The textile “cottage Industry” played a large part in the colonists’ survival. The Churro sheep consequently were at the center of it all.

Myra was born in Northern New Mexico. Her maternal grandfather raised sheep in New Mexico. She has had a lifelong interest in fiber of all sorts. She was a member of the Stockton, CA Weavers Guild. There she met and learned from E. E. Gilmore, loom builder. Eventually she and her husband, Bill, moved to Massachusetts. She taught special education in various public schools and joined the Weavers Guild of Boston. She loved the changes of seasons but missed the longer summers.

Family events led to a return to New Mexico. Myra has been active in the Fiber 2 Finish Fiber Arts Guild of Valencia County, serving as president for 10 years. She is also a member of Las Arañas Spinners and Weavers Guild in Albuquerque for 20 years and is the current president. She’s been a member of HGA for more than 40 years. She teaches regionally and nationally (Convergence Knoxville and Wichita.). Her guild experiences have given her a unique appreciation for learning, creativity, volunteerism, team building and lifelong friendships. She maintains a studio in her home under the careful eyes of two sister cats and a loving dog. She teaches a variety of classes at Fiber Arts on Fourth in Albuquerque.

A Zoom link will be sent to all NVWG members before the meeting. If you are a visitor and would like to attend, please email programs@nvwg.org.