Explore Handwoven Textiles from a Palatine German Collection

Willis Barshied Jr collected the textiles woven by his neighbors in the area of Stone Arabia, New York. The collection is from the Palatine German culture, dating from the 18th century through the early 19th century, and offers a unique look at everyday fabrics hand-spun and hand-woven within about a 40-mile radius.

Join Rabbit Goody for a weekend exploration of these textiles, learning how to identify and date towels, sheets, coverlets, and clothing fabric that have been stored in the White House at Kilts Farm, Stone Arabia, New York since Skip collected them. This is truly an opportunity to see, examine, date, and catalogue this very special collection.

The workshop will include the sharing of letters from Hannah Hayden and her family about living and producing textiles in Hartwick and Springfield in Otsego County. Hannah’s letters are extremely detailed and give specific information about what her family was spinning, weaving, eating, and the trade of her husband as a clothier. The letters reveal the economic history as the Haydens knew it and the interpersonal relationships between families that provided for each other. Hezekiah and Strong Hayden were early settlers who brought blue dyeing, fulling, and cloth finishing to their area of rural New York.

The two-day workshop includes:
- Lunch
- All tools for dating and identifying
- Handouts
- Copies of excerpts from Hannah

Students are encouraged to bring coverlets and other textiles from their own collections for identification.