Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1908-07-23

To own a rug a table cover or a curtain on
which the maker has expended his ideas and per-
sonaty is pleasure quite distinct from gazing
at a machine-made article which be dupli-
Gated in any one of dozen stores. And the fas
Cnation of fashioning things with the hands, es
pecialy essentials of the household or articles
that add a 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-
settg Who make no attempt to market their wares
a good many have found weaving an attractive
commercial proposition. Many of these have
rolled themselves in the Arts and Crafts
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
ercise OF taste in developing simple patterns and
in the variation of Colors.
Most of the rugs are woven with a 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
drizzly day. For these it is necessary to use
white new rags in the warp and alternating cords
of pink blue.
The simplicity of these floor coverings affects
one with strange sense of relief which may be
inexplicable at first. 1t is the sense of contrast
with intricate machne-made designs which are
often confusing the rattle of the steel ten
tacled machines that made them.
Some of these rugs are made in Boston, but
most of them from outside towns Deer
field Marblehead, bingham and Lynn are regular
stations of supply. In Central square, Cambridge,
the Massachusetts commission for the blind has
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 rank with that done by
anyone. Without prejudice, buyers are agreed
to this, and in many cases they insist that the
is On1v blIt
the rugs made under the supervision of see
nng people, who select colors and distribute the
materials
An expert supervisor with the of his eyes
first teaches the mechanism to the blind pupil
who memories everything by a numerical sys
tenn After he has mastered all the movements
he soon can acquire the technicalities of pattern
weaving.
By numerical system" is meant TIE numbering
of each thread as we'll as the arrangement of the
materials near the LOOM that once the position
is memorized sight aid is required to locate
any color From triangles I'D circles progress is
made to the 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 the cloth.
The proficiency shown by the sightless weaver
has eliminated the question of their ability II
execute the work. The question remains: Wher
shall they market their wares?
This problem is solving itself for the numbe
of people who buy marlborough articles is rapid
" increasing When Charles F. Campbell ST
perintendent of the industrial department of tn
Massachusetts commission for the blind wa
asked where the department disposed of thei
output, he turned up the label of the package h
was tying. II addressed to Detroit, Mich.
I'VE have shipped stuff to Duluth and San FraI
~risco" he added; so you see the folks out ives
aren't going to be distanced in this new twis