marshfield school of weaving: June 2016

Before handing you over to Lem & Jessie's account of how they came to MSW and how it changed their lives I just need to add that they have also significantly changed ours. Due to their overwhelming generosity, we have been able to start the "Lemuel and Jessie Hudson Scholarship Fund" to help students in need find a place at the school. We are honored to have them be a part of the MSW family!

"Marshfield, Vermont. That’s what it said. Marshfield, Vermont. Where on earth was Marshfield, Vermont? Having googled “beginner weaving class” the web had brought me to Eaton Cemetery Road. (I did wonder if that cemetery was where the less than successful students ended up.) I mustered all my courage and phoned to make arrangements for me to take my first class. I was so relieved to speak to a warm and very helpful person who was very glad to accept my registration. My husband had been very supportive of my plans but assured me that he would stay and at home and “tend things” so that I could go. The next day I was calling to change the reservation to include the two of us. “Yes, that will be my husband and myself”, I said. “Oh....not so many husband and wife weaving teams?” Hum, maybe not such a good idea. But we forged ahead. Having braved the New Jersey Turnpike and lived to tell the tale we were nearly giddy as we arrived at the school. Monday morning came and we met Kate, Norman, Lynnette and Justin in the barn and I suspect verified that we were indeed “Southern” in our mind set. We went to work and joyfully have never looked back. Lem was as Kate put it, “like a fish thrown into water”. He wove a wool throw and a baby blanket in his first class. I finished my wool throw and our lives were forever changed. Then Lem found Kate’s stash in the barn. It was filled with old looms that just needed some love and soon we were making plans to return to load our truck with the carcasses of looms that would become projects in his wood working shop. Now we have built a studio on our farm where all those old looms have come back to life. There are several new weavers joining us to learn and explore weaving in nearly every fiber and fashion we can find. Bi-yearly visits to Marshfield insure that Kate and the gang continue to hone our skills for us and everyone at MSW have become like family.
Why learn to hand weave? Not exactly sure...but for us it was similar to the calling that those early 20th c. proponents of the “Craftsman” movement, or the Shakers - “Hands to work, Hearts to God”. Marshfield School of Weaving has changed our lives and enriched them immensely. It is our sincere hope to see to it that this school and those who have given their skills and hearts to it will remain for a very long time. Thank you dear friends....you have given us the skills to fill our retirement with productive joy!"