Handloom yellow and tan placemat, Buckland, Mass., circa 1950
Handloom yellow and tan placemat, Buckland, Mass., circa 1950
Item Information
Title:
Handloom yellow and tan placemat, Buckland, Mass., circa 1950
Description:
Yellow and tan hand-woven cotton placemat with a hand-sewn edge measures about 14 inches by 16 inches. The pattern is a simple coarse weave made on a handloom. It is presumed the mat was created by a member of the group known as The Buckland Weavers, probably between the mid 1940's and the early 1960's when this group was quite active.The Buckland Weavers formed their group shortly after Miss Eleanor Clark (1902-1958) and her aunt, Hattie Bertha (Sanderson) Wilder (1867-1958), came to live together at the Wilder Homestead in Buckland, Mass. in the early 1940's. There were antique looms, spinning wheels, and yarn winders at the Wilder Homestead. Both Hattie, known to most everyone as Aunt Bertha, and Eleanor soon discovered a love and talent for pattern design and weaving on treadle looms. In 1944, Eleanor was appointed the Postmaster of the Buckland Center Post Office, which was housed in a building she owned on Upper Street. The building had an apartment that Miss Clark converted into a two-room studio for teaching weaving. She gave lessons in setting up the loom and designing patterns for projects. Other weavers brought their looms and set them up to work together. The group became known as The Buckland Weavers. Eleanor also took on the task of teaching weaving to a group of 4-H girls, known as the Buckland Busy Bees. There were seven or eight girls aged ten to sixteen who learned how to set up a loom, work a pattern, and weave a piece to proudly take home.
