Weaving in the ends.

 

I have mentioned the old barn on the croft before.  We intend to renovate it as a working part of the croft.  It is a long building with a living room at the far end, a storage area with a couple of animal stalls in the larger end - a fairly typical arrangement, and one we will probably stick with.  

The room at the far end may have originally been an actual family living area, but latterly it was used as a weaving shed.

We did know this, and indeed most of the crofts would have had weaving sheds complete with looms at some point.  In fact, our neighbour from across the road, who is a woman in her 30s, said she still finds it strange on Summer nights not to hear the sound of the looms.  Now, there is only one weaver left in the village.

A few days ago, as we were pottering around outside the barn, clearing the path, a man came walking along the road. He is a local builder and was working at a house up the road.  He said his father had worked for the weaver here, as a boy, setting up the warper, and he wondered if the warping frame was still in the shed.  Of course it was  - and he was delighted.  He explained to us how the warp threads were arranged on to this frame and then transferred to the loom. It was wonderful to have such a live connection to the past, and to imagine the work that went on in that very room.  We were left with the delightful feeling that, here we are, yet another colour being woven into the warp and weft of the history of this croft.

A subtly different shade, perhaps - a slight variation in the design, maybe,

but still in tune with the colours and patterns of the land.