The Rice belt journal., 1908-07-24

To own a rug, a table cover or a curtain on
which the maker has expended his ideas and per
Sonality is a pleasure quite distinct from gazing
at a machinemade article which can be dup-
Gated in any one of dozen stores. And the fas-
cination of fashoning things with the hands, es-
peciay essentials of the household or articles
that add refining touch to a commonplace SER
vice, has led many women to abandon china
painting and fancy work for the more active work
Of the loom.
Though there are many amateurs in MaSsachu.
setts who make no attempt to market their wares
a good many have found weaving an attractive
commercial proposition Many of these have en-
rolled themselves in the Arts and Crafts asso-
citation. For them, rag carpet weaving provides
the most direct method of securing remunera.
ton for their work. Rugs of this sort are always
in demand, and there is ample room for the ex-
ercise of taste in developing simple patterns and
in the variation of colors
Most of the rugs are woven with grayish back
ground. For the piazza and the summer home
there are lighter patterns soft blends which will
absorb the sunshine or brighten up the tedium of
dlzzly day. For these it is necessary to use
white new rags in the warp and alternating cords
of pink or blue
The simplicity of these floor coverings affects
one with a strange sense of relief which may be
ineXplicable at first. 1t is the sense of contrast
with intricate machine-made designs which are
often as confusing tie rattle of the steel ten
taced machines thai made them.
Some Of these rugs are made in Boston, but
most of them come from outside towns Deer
field, Marbehead, bingham and Lynn are regular
stations Of supply. In Central square, Cambridge,
the Massachusetts commission for the blind has
an established factory where men weave rugs.
In 1904 the experiment of blind weavers was
first tried. They have proved in less than four
years that their work can rank with that done by
anyone Without prejudice, buyers are agreed
| to this and in many they insist that the
work is not only as good, but superior Of course
the rugs are made under the supervision of see
ing people, who select colors and distribute the
| materials.
An expert supervisor with the use of his eyes
FIRST teaches the mechanism to the blind pupil
WHO memories everything by numerical sys-
TEN After he has mastered all the movements,
| be soon can acquire the teChnicaties of pattern
weaving
BY numerical system" is meant the numbering
| of each thread as Well the arrangement of the
material: near the loom, so that once the position
is memorized no sight aid is required to locate
/ any color From trargles and circles progress is
made to the more intricate patterns. For some
of these raised proof of the design is hung above
the loom BY touching it with the fingers the
! pattern is reproduced on the cloth.
! The proficiency shown by the sightless weavers
: has eliminated the question of their ability to
execute the work. The question remains Where
shall they market their wares?
This problem is solving ITSELF for the number
| of people who buy handwrought articles is rapid.
| ly increasing. When Charles F. Campbell, su.
perntendent of the industrial department of the
Massachusetts commission for the blind was
asked where the department disposed of their
output, he turned up the label of the package he
was tying. 1t was addressed to Detroit, Mich
I'VE have shipped stuff to Duluth and San Fran.
CISCO" he added; so you see the folks out west
| aren't going to be distanced in this new twist