Bartimaeus

There was a whole lot of honking going on from the geese nearby of a morning and some strange neck action and chasing too. They didn’t seem keen to look for food though so no close encounters with their beaks, just plenty of flapping, splashing and honking.

For a quieter life Shane suggested visiting the Silk Museum. It was open limited days so now was the perfect time. On the way into town Shane was navigating and I wasn’t sure he was listening, but I soon stopped in my tracks and swivelled as I spotted a crafts shop. I don’t need more wool but still no harm in looking. It seems to be open every day so no excuse to go right away. There were some interesting coils in the window. I had just had the disappointment of completing a hat and finding it was far too small. It barely fits me, let alone the intended recipient. Still having a new project to look forward to might be cheering, or finding better wool to remake this hat. I like the pattern but the sizing is tricky. I found someone in the pattern comments had also said it had come out small and other people had added extra pattern repeats or an additional brim to add length to it, so I wasn’t alone.

The museum is free and there were some machines that could be made to run briefly for demonstration purposes. Macclesfield was particularly known for silk and the workers were sometimes called the best dressed as they ingeniously patched together outfits of varied patterns, made from the offcuts. What a gorgeous material it makes but not an easy job. Artists used offcuts for banners too.

I was interested in the swifts and spools and fabrics. Shane and another man fell into a chat as they were in awe of a wooden machine for winding many spools into skeins. I normally wind skeins into balls but the silk skeins were being prepared for dying. Spinning spools with turning guides added extra twist for strength. 

We didn’t have time to see it all in one sitting so decided we could return the next day. On the way back we took a different route that didn’t take us past the wool shop. I will have to try to find it another day. The route did take us past a topical mural though. It was beside a car park with a high fence. At first I was envious Shane had found a higher spot for photography and has his own added height to help, then I realised I could just walk round the fence and into the car park for a better shot. Shane called that cheating. These aren’t Canada geese, like the ones we’ve been seeing and hearing, but one at the front looks like it is honking alright.

Today we planned to get to the museum in the morning as we had a three day mooring and needed to get the charge up after being stationary for that length of time. We didn’t want to get caught by an early sunset. We made some purchases at a nearby bakery. Their special loaf was a seasonal twist on the usual recipe variations, pumpkin and cheese loaf, not pumpkin seeds, that was also available in a multi seed loaf, but pumpkin flesh. Shane also chose a mushroom and cashew roll and a cinnamon twist pastry.  I chose a mini pumpkin tart.

We arrived at the museum meeting a guide with a group emerging. He said he was just starting a tour and we could join it or go in the next one. We paid for our places and jumped on to the group straight away. As an added interest, we found another of the group had actually raised silk worms many years ago and I found that Shane’s  uncle had worked as a chemist in the textile industry. We handled cocoons and I was amused by the giant moth made of raw silk.

What a knowledgeable and interested guide Den was! He was loving that the mill was not a replica or reconstruction, but the actual machinery as it had been on the day the mill closed. He had learnt to weave to demonstrate and worked with weavers and fabric designers on making new designs. He took us through the process of punching holes in cards and ran machines for spinning dyed thread onto spools, preparing the shuttles and the warp threads and then weaving on a jacquard loom.  His own background was not textiles but music and computing. He said working a loom required the coordination of a drummer, with all the limbs moving separately and rhythmically.

At the end of the tour I asked about a machine we had passed that was different. It was for knitting silk tubes and could be used for stockings or ties. Another woman on the tour struck up a conversation about knitting with me. We had had an enjoyable time and we’re ready for our lunch of bakery items back on Bartimaeus. They were all very tasty.

Then we had to get going to get the batteries charged before dark. We were almost immediately through the urban landscape and into pastoral scenes. We saw a kingfisher darting in and out ahead. Another turnover bridge took my attention and people were going in each direction. They met in the middle of the twisting ramp.

We passed lots of sheep and a field with both geese and sheep. We kept a lookout for potential mooring spots then at a winding hole, as we planned to turn back on ourselves. Shane turned tightly round and came back past the sheep and geese grazing, then to one of the few spaces we had seen. We are facing back towards Macclesfield prepared to return shortly.