Rural Missouri - October 2022 - 13

Fourth-generation loom weaver shares tradition
by Heather Berry | hberry@ruralmissouri.coop
T
here's something satisfying about hearing the
steady thump-thump as you walk into Ava Craft
Center in Burfordville. It's that unique rhythm of
the antique floor looms being worked by Lorrie
Yount and her mother, Sherri Killion, which help the duo
keep weaving history.
Ava Craft Center 2.0 SEMO is the evolution of a craft
center formerly based in Ava, Illinois. Lorrie's great-grandmother
- along with four other business partners -
began the original storefront. The pact made among the
original friends made the last survivor inherit the business.
Lorrie's great-grandmother was the youngest when
everyone else passed on.
" So she inherited the lot, " says Lorrie. " The looms,
showcases, building and contents. In 2019 we moved the
business to Marble Hill temporarily, then here when we
moved to the area. "
Lorrie, now 24, still has the original table mat she wove
under her grandmother's watchful eye.
" I'm a fourth-generation weaver. I was 4 years old when
my grandmother, Frances, began teaching me, " says Lorrie.
This year marks the 60th anniversary for Ava Craft Center
- now known as Ava Craft Center 2.0 SEMO. A charming
Burfordville church dating back to the late 1800s (and
formerly used for a business) was for sale and seemed like
the perfect setting for a studio. Lorrie's parents purchased
the building and became partners with their daughter.
Above, left to right: At Ava Craft Center 2.0 in Burfordville,
crafters can purchase kits to learn how to crochet. Nearly 60 artisans
works are sold at the center. Items include handmade baskets, wooden
toys, knitted gear and more. Old jeans are one of the most commonly
used fabrics used to create rugs. All of the fabrics used by the shop
weavers are donated to the center. Left: Lorrie Yount feeds dozens of
threads onto the floor loom spindles. This part of the weaving process
is tedious and can take hours to complete.
Besides being the third and fourth generation of loom
weavers, Lorrie and her mother are proud of their collection
which comprises nine antique Union Works No. 36
looms, two-harness floor looms where the rugs are woven
by hand. No longer in production, these looms continue to
help weave one-of-a-kind rugs, table runners, place mats
and more which will last the owners for decades.
" It's something you need to fall in love with, " says
Sherri, as she watches her daughter work. Sherri says
while she does weave, her main jobs are taking calls,
sales, fabric donations and marketing for the center so her
daughter can work on weaving projects.
It was Lorrie's father who gave the nudge to keep going
with the heritage art. " He said, 'Lorrie, I know you're passionate
about heirloom crafts ... do you want to keep this
going?' Mom and I agreed we wanted to continue with the
business, " recalls Lorrie. " Then he said, 'OK, you have two
weeks to find a building. Then I'm pushing this place in.' "
Union Loom Works in Boonville, New York made the No.
36 loom which Ava Craft Center has used from the beginning.
Known as the " workhorse of floor looms, " the Union No.
36 floor loom is one of the most solid, easy running, efficient
machines for the practical craft. Back in the early 1900s, the
new looms ran about $60. Today, a good, used No. 36 might
cost you $800 to $1,200 or so in good condition.
The business owners, Black River Electric Cooperative
members, say most of their rug orders are commissions
and the list of orders is several months long.
" The widest thing we can weave on these looms is 36
inches wide, but most run 26 or 27 inches wide, " says Lorrie,
" But they can be as long as you want them to be. "
A wall of shelves loaded with old jeans displays one of the
most common items used to weave into rugs. Other favorite
fabrics are bedsheets, corduroy, chenille bedspreads, old
shirts and even upholstery material. All of the rugs made at
the center are created from donated fabrics.
Another popular item is a memory rug made from the
jeans and shirts of a loved one who has passed on. Rugs
OCTOBER 2022 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 13
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Rural Missouri - October 2022

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