Last week I taught at Harrisville Designs in New Hampshire. HD is a wonderful place to teach. The workshop room is very large and well-lit and it is full of marvelous shelves stuffed with Harrisville Highland and Shetland yarn. You get to use whatever colors you want! I had an excellent class of students who were light-hearted and willing to try just about anything.
A light-filled studio, Renee’s tapestry in progress, and a pretty good reference book on the table!
The workshop was called Learning to See Like a Tapestry Weaver. It was a techniques class where we looked at applying the techniques we were practicing to our weaving. Of course we could have used another few weeks and perhaps in the future I’ll pick just one technique to focus on for a bit.
Harrisville Designs is primarily a yarn manufacturer and that is the most marvelous of places to be. We got a mill tour which I always love. I made THIS video of the mill years ago. They’ve since moved the mill to a different building with significantly more light but the equipment is the same. HD also makes looms and I was thrilled to have a little time seeing a few new rug looms being assembled. They’re as beautiful as ever!
The photos below tell the story of my week at Harrisville Designs.
The students wove some wonderful things. The first gallery has some of their work in progress. Unfortunately I did not get a photo of everyone’s work. There were many pieces woven during the week that are not pictured here. There are also some photos of the workshop room and the retail shop. I found my book in every corner of that shop which is always fun for an author! And the students almost all had a copy on their tables as well. Thanks everyone for your book-y support!
We were able to get a mill tour. Below are a few photos from the tour. The fleece is dyed in bales elsewhere and then it goes into the picker (not pictured) to be mixed. Harrisville yarns are dyed in the fleece and the colors are made by mixing pre-dyed fleece. Then the fleece goes through one of two huge carders where it comes out the other end as pencil roving. From there it goes to the spinning frame where it is spun into a singles yarn. After that it is plied if it needs to be. And finally it is wound onto cones or into skeins.
I also took a peek at the loom-making workshop and the new Harrisville rug looms being made this spring. The Harrisville rug loom is one of my favorite looms ever. I love how beautiful it is but I also love how perfect it is for tapestry weaving. The worm gear and warp extender ensure tight and even tension. HD makes them every spring, so get your order in now for next year! They’re also assembling their smaller looms in this area. They have a workshop with lots of power tools right next door but visitors aren’t allowed in for good reason.
Harrisville Designs is a place full of good-hearted people. Harrisville is a mill town with a storied history. The people who live and work here have been part of that history for generations. I recommend a visit, supporting this business, and taking a workshop if you can! The yarn industry in the USA is in trouble and Harrisville Designs is one of the organizations that is working hard to keep it all running. Fortunately we can help by buying yarn and looms!
You can find more information on their website HERE. They have some beautiful short videos on the stories page HERE. That includes the story of the huge solar array they added to the roof of the mill in 2022.
There is another lovely video about the town of Harrisville on the Historic Harrisville Inc website HERE called Red Brick Village.
One of the main speakers in that video is Chick Colony, one of the current owners of Harrisville Designs. His family has been instrumental in the shaping of the town. I find the story of Chick starting Harrisville Designs 51 years ago on the heels of the Cheshire Mills’ closing to save the town’s economic future and viability inspiring. Chick, Pat, and their son Nick Colony run Harrisville Designs still and it is an example of a business run in a way to benefit the people of their town as well as the rest of us who use their yarn and tools.
The class at Harrisville Designs: Robin, Rebecca, Hanna, Mary, Cheryl, Lisa, Catherine, Renee, Kathy, Nancy, Gail.
Harrisville Designs in Harrisville, NH
Harrisville, NH
Have you been to Harrisville either to take a class or visit the shop or mill? Tell us about it in the comments!