ORIOLE MILL

Today was our June PTA meeting. Member, Georgia Bonesteel, arranged for us to tour Oriole Mill in Hendersonville, NC.  The opportunity to see a working weaving mill in operation is very special. Be sure to follow the lint above to learn more.

The following 3 photos are examples of some of their designs....we all loved the colorful pieces. The mill is expert at Jacquard weaving......watch this video....the speed of these machines will blow your mind.

 This 73,000 sq/ft. facility is on 4 acres, run by a very small yet high energy staff who are dedicated to keeping the tradition of this area alive.  If I'm remembering correctly, this is only 1 of 4 mills remaining in this state.

 Because I'm not a weaver, it took me awhile to comprehend the process, even though we had a guide who shared tons of information.


This gigantic machine was dedicated to making the warp....which is the set of lengthwise threads/yarns that are held in tension on a frame/loom...or in this case the huge industrial machines.

 That process begins with super sized spools of real true fine Egyptian cotton thread.....

 The threads come off hundreds of spools  and are threaded through various tension disks that ultimately merge down to one end.  

 In this case each 'set' of warp was over 400 threads.

Many, many 'sets' are then loaded onto these huge spools on the machine. It can take a week to set up a machine with the thousands of warp threads!

Here several members are being tutored on how the weft threads are woven. (the horizontal thread that is sandwiched between the warp)

 

To conclude our day, owner/textile designer, Bethanne Knudson brought Georgia Bonesteel (left) an original Bonesteel Hardware store wood ruler.  The store is where Georgia had her quilting corner and where Lap Quilting began.


Bethanne's 80 year old mother's birthday was approaching and she hoped Georgia would autograph the ruler so she could present it to her Mom who is a big fan of Georgia's.

What a small world......Georgia was flattered, Bethanne was thrilled, and all PTA members were happy that we can call Georgia a friend!