Weaving Tales: The Tools of Text

By Janice Horton

On a back road in an out of the way township in northeast Pennsylvania, a seasonal museum celebrates the crafts of spinning and weaving. A cluster of buildings new and old house a dozen bulky looms and twice as many spinning wheels. A corps of aficionados determined not to let the handcrafts die out are willing to spend all day talking about them. But the collection isn’t just to look at.

At the Home Textile Tool Museum, processes that were part of our great great great grandparents daily work are recreated. Some artisans take it from start to finish – shearing the wool,...