From TIMES OF THE ISLANDS by Donna Fee

Winter Issue 1999/2000

On the floors of hallways, living rooms, and dining rooms in a growing number of Nantucket’s houses is an art form thousands of years old. The hand-woven rugs of weaver Hillary Anapol are functional art pieces for the interiors of many island homes.

As Anapol finishes each woven creation, rich with colors and textures, she takes it off the loom, throws it on the floor, and allows you to walk on it. Possibly that’s why she considers herself a craftsperson - as opposed to an artist - or “maybe an artist with a little a, “ she says.

Each of Anapol’s rugs has its own color palette and, like the clients for whom the rugs are created, no two are alike. One rug might be woven with varying shades of blue to complement a favored reading chair; and another with the greens of someone’s preferred view just beyond the window sill; yet another with the browns and beiges of a freshly seeded garden. She even has one she calls confetti, because woven into a creamy background are flecks of pinks, blues, and yellows creating a rug so rich in texture that you can’t resist reaching down and touching it with your fingertips.

As one of the premier weavers, Anapol creates custom rugs hand-woven on wooden and metal looms. Only the energy and the imagination of the weaver power the looms on which Anapol’s rugs are created. She may well be one of the few craftspeople on the island not bothered by those occasional power outages we experience from time to time. “All I need is a little daylight,” says Anapol in her studio on Madaket Road.

Of course, looms are only one part of Anapol’s weaving. Before the loom is laced, which is the process of putting the warp, or vertical threads, onto the loom, Anapol meets with the client, interior designer, or architect for whom the rug is intended. Together they go over the colors and design of the rug.

“Sometimes,” says Anapol, “ the client teaches me something by using colors I wouldn’t have chosen, but I end up loving the colors after working with them.” As an example, she points out a large red rug in her studio. “I didn’t think I’d like this, but grew to love it as I was weaving in all the reds. It’s kind of cranberry red with some flecks of green woven in it,” she says, running her hand over the rug’s warm blend of colors - dark sage and the varying shades of red displayed by cranberries as they grow from fruit to harvest.

From the samples of color given to Anapol by the client, she creates a miniature rug about the size of a large placemat. On this scale, she is able to show clients the weave, colors and texture of the rug they are about to order.

Every rug she creates is incredibly sturdy and, as Anapol says “meant to be lived on”. They are reversible and can be treated with a protective coating, steam-cleaned, and vacuumed. A visit to her studio will allow you to see and feel the essence and quality of Anapol’s efforts.

Once the sample has been agreed upon and the size of the rug determined, Anapol laces one of her four looms, varying in size from four to twelve feet wide. She uses Irish linen because of how well it’s spun and because it’s the strongest material available. Then she fills a large wicker basket with chosen colors of cotton and cotton-blend fabric that have been torn into strips by the manufacturer. Anapol carefully blends these strips of color by knotting them end to end. Next, the fabric is wrapped onto the shuttle, a boat-shaped wooden tool holding all the blended of color, which, collectively, is called the weft.

The next step is to push the shuttle through the warp while pressing her foot on one or more treadles. The treadles are connected to harnesses that move the threads of the warp in in an organized manner producing the desired pattern. After each pass of the shuttle, she brings down the beater, a wooden frame built within the loom, combing down the fabric woven into the warp.

The entire process of weaving, according to Anapol, is logical and methodical. “Some days I’m totally in sync with the weaving. Everything comes together,” she says. “That’s what initially hooked me into it. The time required to create these rugs is unimportant; what matters is the quality, color, and texture.”

Anapol’s introduction to weaving was as a freshman at the Choate School in Wallingford, Connecticut. She and her sister had been doing needlework together, so taking a weaving class was the next reasonable step for her. By her senior year, she was teaching the class. Later, she majored in English at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and spent time further developing her weaving technique as a member of the Minnesota Weavers Guild. Memories of summers past spent on Nantucket with family lured her back to the island, where she met Margaretta Grandin Nettles, a local weaver of long standing and excellent reputation.

“I just called her and asked if I could apprentice in her studio, and she said yes,” says Anapol. “Margaretta was my mentor. She taught me about color and design. She also taught me about life in general. When you’re working side by side with someone for 14 years, you get to become intimate with them and know every detail about their life.

“The greatest lessons of value were learning to be patient. Margaretta is a warm and open and very accepting person, and those are traits she’s tried to pass on to me. I feel very lucky to have worked with Margaretta for so long.”

In November, 1998, she purchased several looms from Nettles and moved them into her newly shingled studio on Madaket Road, a space she shares with her cocoa-colored, web-footed Sussex Terrier named Jesse James. She looks at her looms all laced with upcoming projects at varying stages, smiles and says, “I’m thrilled to be weaving and have my own studio. It’s been my life’s dream".