"A wife of noble character who can find?"

I have (in the past 20 years or so) desired to be spoken of as a "Proverbs 31" woman. Some of the younger women at church call us "older" ones by this beautiful name. What an compliment! Anyway, as a former weaver, I felt I was somewhat achieving part of these accomplishments. I think this (in Proverbs 31) is a real today's woman. She can, and does, do it all!

When I was working on my masters degree, there was a loom in one corner of an art room. I expressed interest in it and my advisor found a local weaver who came and taught me how to weave. Then that became my emphasis in that degree. I bought a loom and wove a bedspread, many "throws" and table covers, table scarves, and even fabric and then sewed this into a suit for our first grandson. I loved weaving--it is soothing with the shuttle going back and forth, laying in the pattern on the warp that was first strung on the loom. I collected yarns, as much to look at as to weave with. I did some dying the yarn with flowers and weeds, boiling these to achieve a color.

I had to get rid of all this when we moved, another sadness in changing of life styles. (But I cannot talk about that!) A really precious lady from Knoxville bought my loom and I know she is happy with it. John and I have a coverlet woven by my great-great-great aunt in the middle 1800's . She also wove "a jeans type fabric" and sent it to a nephew for his Civil War uniform. She wrote a letter telling him she was sending this to him, and my sister who died had this letter. It is a continuation of family to feel like a relative over 150 years ago and I both were weavers.

Most looms are 36 inches in width for fabric so antique coverlets are woven in three long lengths and these three sewed together giving the bed width. Then the top and bottom are hemmed. I have a book of many patterns and like quilts, these patterns have names. Some are "Tennessee Trouble", "Pine Cone Bloom", "Bonaparte's March"....you can get the idea... I have another very large book called "Of Coverlets".

I would pray to be somewhat of a wife like Proverbs 31..."A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth more than rubies..."