A while ago, my friend Jess had to go to New York and pick up a pair of production weaving looms. She is the lovely lady that taught me how to weave on my loom and raises angora goats! We are buddies… when she asked me if I wanted to go, well, I thought about two minutes and said, yeah! Why not? I haven’t gone anywhere in forever! Just can’t really afford to vacation. And then when I realized that she was going to a fellow bloggers that I just adore reading her blog about weaving… oh my gosh! I was a little star struck! I mean… gosh! I’ve been reading Hilary’s blog for years now and it was a lot of the inspiration I needed to take the plunge and buy my own loom. Oh boy, was I excited or what?
Well, I got to Jess’s pretty early and visited her gang of goats for a few minutes and then we were on the road. It was going to be a there and back kind of quick trip, but we were going to stay over night at Hilary’s house because it was just a little too far to try and drive all in one day. She lives in the beautiful upstate New York area! I’ve never been that way and was very excited to see just how beautiful it was… 
Our trip was going to take us about 10 hours one way. Jess was driving and we were making pretty good time. We hit Cleveland in no time flat! Of course, we were chatting and giggling like school girls on holiday! It was delightful… We never ran out of things to talk about!
Once we actually got into New York, I was very surprised to see SNOW! Still! Now this was about a month ago, but in our little Ohio valley, we had no more snow. But as we climbed higher and higher into New York… there were still left overs of winter peeking out here and there.
I was so excited to see Sharon Springs! I just love reading the Beekman Boys blog and all that they are doing with 1802 Merchantile and such. Clever marketers for sure! I’d like some day to stop in and see the little town they have made famous… visit the store. But not this trip! We were on a mission and just really didn’t have any time to sight see.
I wish I had taken more pictures of the trip there, but we were so excited and visiting… I forgot! That is crazy, eh? But the nice thing is that all the houses and buildings were so beautiful and old! You kind of forget that this area of New England is very old… in fact the house we were going to was build in the late 1700’s! Pretty neat. I just loved this old church though. Beautiful!
We arrived fairly late in the evening, around nine or so and it didn’t take us all but five minutes to start talking about looms, weaving and then getting the tour! Oh my gosh! Hilary has so many beautiful looms and weaving supplies… but she also has some very cute kitties! Just loved how sweet and friendly they were. I do believe they own the place.
Love this Swedish band loom…. like a floor style inkle loom if you ask me!
Hilary maintains her studio and store here, selling all her beautiful woven things. I loved how she was working to mesh her new living space with the studio space as she and her husband are downsizing and selling their other home in a nearby town. It was time. I think she is looking forward to the change and also resisting it a bit! I know I would, change is always a little tough, isn’t it? But I think once they get settled in and are not torn between the two places and so much to do, they will be happier in this delightful space.
She is selling off some of her looms to make this transition easier and also because some just suit her better than others. One thing she said that really resonated with me, is that some looms suit you and some don’t. Keep the ones that fit your needs and sell the ones that don’t.
Pretty common sense, I know. But it’s easy to get caught up in these beautiful old works of art and think that you need to keep everyone that comes your way. But her words are very true. We just sold a small loom that we bought and refurbished and just wasn’t for us. It was lovely and beautiful, but in the end, it has a new home and that lady is just in love with it! Perfect! I will try and remember her words about keeping what suits you!
The following are just pictures I snapped, with her permission of the studio and the store. Just lovely. There was a sweet warmth and light in the place that just felt so delightful. I wish that we could bring that into our own studio and we are getting closer. Enjoy the following pictures!
Just everywhere I looked there was charm and delightful little bits of weaving and fiber fun. Just so nice. We were up till 2 am talking and enjoying each other’s new friendship! And then we were up at like 7 am to a lovely breakfast of fresh eggs from Hillary’s hens and English muffins! Then it was load up the truck and get started back on the journey. 
We hit some rain on the way home and we were sure tired out. I think I slept the whole next day I was so tired! But it was so fun and special and I’m so glad that I went. I was just a ride along passenger, but it was nice to get out and enjoy a road trip with a friend.
And meeting Hilary and learning so much from her, it was just so worth the 20+ hours in the truck! Hopefully, someday we can get a chance to wander back that way and see a little more of the countryside. It was truly beautiful. And my head is still dancing with all the weaving possibilities and the eye candy that I beheld…
You can visit Hilary’s blog at: Crazy as a Loom….
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