As noted elsewhere, Ellen has always been a fiber artist. Her first interest was in weaving, and she bought her first loom, an old four-harness counterbalanced about four feet wide when we lived in New Orleans. There are a few pictures of the many rug she made in New Orleans, 1968 - 1790 on her Weaving Page as well as more information on other weaving projects and how she got into the yarn business.
By the time we left New Hampshire, Ellen had many looms and spinning wheels and other related equipment and supplies, including yarn for weaving and knitting. Our first move was to Oklahoma, where there was little local or area interest in spinning or weaving. Quilting was the more popular craft there. As we moved about we found regional differences in which fibre arts were more popular, probably reflecting the climate, the local animal population, the ethnic make up of the area, and the pioneer history of the place. In warmer areas, for example, we found few farms raising sheep and little interest in spinning or weaving with wool. In areas of the country settled later, there might be more interest in crafts related to re-use of existing fabric, as quilting or making braided rag rugs. The origin of in-migrating settlers also seemed to affect present day interest in crafts locally.
With successive moves Ellen gradually downsized by selling off or giving away much of the equipment for weaving and spinning. By the time we got to Petersburg, Virginia, she was down to two looms, the large 8 harness Schacht 40" floor loom, the 8 harness Schacht Baby Wolf, and one spinning wheel. Ellen was still knitting and maintaining her stash of yarns, but in Petersburg she joined a local needle work group, the Southside Virginia Chapter of the American Needlework Guild. Here is the first sampler she did while living there and a second one exploring other techniques.
