missing in action

I’ve really been missing in action! Sorry! I have been working hard on the book, and then we had a trip to Geelong to watch The Gymnast compete in her first national gymnastics competition. (She did brilliantly well!)

On the day we arrived in Geelong, Mum (my parents came too) said to me, “The National War Museum is here in Geelong.” I wasn’t really sure why she told me this. I can’t say that fact really excited me! However, some days later I realised that she’d said The National WOOL Museum! I had actually known the wool museum was there, and was looking forward to going there.

We both enjoyed our visit. There were two temporary exhibitions of art quilts. I knew that a friend of mine had a quilt in one, but also found there were two other exhibitors who I knew as well. I really loved some of the quilts. Some didn’t enthuse me that much. I particularly enjoyed the ones that used hand embroidery, and there were quite a few of those.

Within the museum itself, we saw samples of different merino wool grades. Being the mother of a child who learns by touch, I was pleased to see that there were samples for people to touch (though not take!). It also meant that you could smell the wool too, with its very strong lanolin smell.

We saw a display of brushed wool fabric, including the little spiky seed pods, called teazles, that they used to use to brush the surface. Again, they were able to be touched, but not taken.

Elsewhere in the museum we saw Axminster carpet being made on a machine. It was quite fascinating. Like the velvet weaving looms I saw in Venice at Bevilacqua, the pattern for the carpet was fed into the machine with punch cards. I suppose the whole process was a *little* like the velvet weaving, though on a larger and coarser scale. And the carpet weaving was mechanised, whereas the velvet weaving was not.

We also got to make some sock length using a sock knitting machine, which was rather like a huge mechanised knitting Nancy. (Is that just an Australian term? If it’s not familiar to you, Google it. That should work!) We weren’t sure how they got the heels into the socks. I suspect they didn’t, rather like the socks they used to give out on airlines.

The museum had a great mix of displays to look at, things to touch, and things to do. If you’re ever in Geelong, and are interested in the process of wool, from the sheep’s back to yarn and fabric, I highly recommend visiting The National Wool Museum.