Her Story
Weaving Anew
Pam Magee
Hers is a tale of adventure that spans the mills of Spain, to the warehouses of Wales, and the fields of Yorkshire, then lands here at home in Canada.
Once Upon a Blanket
How to Make a Mill
How does one go about creating a mill made up of century old machines scattered across the globe?
A good friend that knows the ins and outs of the world of weavers, (that, and a bit of stamina), is a good place to start.
2013
Spain
In 2013 on a trip to Spain, Pam's friend invited her to an artisan textile mill which he had set up and maintained for a friend from Yorkshire. She watched the loom and fell in love. It was a combination of her admiration for archaic technical invention, and the steam punk magic of watching thread made into cloth by a massive machine. The search for these old machines became an obsession.
2014
The Search Begins
With her friend John at her side, the hunt is on for Pam's own collection of machinery.
Pam's friend John began working in Yorkshire textile factories when he was fourteen years old and worked on these machines until they were phased out when he was in his twenties. During that time, he attended vocational school at night learning the mechanics and aesthetic capacity of these machines and is probably one of only a handful of people still living who know them well.
She feels lucky to have him at her side to navigate the dealings with suspicious weavers reluctant to sell to a foriegner.
2014 -2018
The Search Continues
After much time spent traipsing around the English and Welsh countryside, John discovers a cache of twenty-six old Dobcross looms in Huddersfield. The conundrum being how to get the owner to part with any of them. But, on a visit, John manages to ingratiate himself with the owner.
A few of the old Dobcross looms had not been used for decades. John repaired one of the old looms and began to weave a job which had been in it from years earlier. He told the owner they had to go to Scotland to look for old looms but would return to finish it. The owner said if they came back and finished, he would sell them two looms.
They returned and helped with the weaving, and two months following they were back for the big job of dismantling and shipping the dusty old looms to Canada.
2014-2018
And Continues...
As the pair begin to grow the collection of tools and machines needed to run a fully operational heritage textile mill sourcing various equipment on multiple trips to the United Kingdom, the vision starts to materialize.
As they accumulate them, they clean, repair and assemble the ancient machines restoring them to their former glory.
2019
Finally, Open for Business!
Five years after she set out to acquire the machinery to make a mill of her own, Pam opened Macgee Cloth and Company for business in the woods of Roberts Creek on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia.
Macgee Cloth quickly became a favourite of locals and a must see on the local annual Art Crawl.
2024
Then, The Mill Moves
The feats Pam undertakes are not to be underestimated. After five years in business, the East Coast called and Pam answered, packing up and shipping all of her equipment, materials and personal possessions. Across the country she went, her shipping containers following via train lines.
2025
The Mill, Tracy, New Brunswick Edition
Once the mill was set up at it's new home, the new power supply connected, the new labels printed, the mill is ready again for business.
One of the first collections off the looms is the Canadian Blanket - a blanket made entirely in Canada. Wool from Canadian sheep, woven and spun by Briggs & Little, a New Brunswick neighbour.
2026
Still Weaving
The more things change the more they stay the same. The mill is up and running, with new collections coming and selling out as usual.
You can find Pam winding, warping, and weaving at her mill, the one borne of an obsession, an obsession that reclaimed relics lost long ago and brought them back into the future.
A Macgee Cloth label on a Yellowstone and Tuscan Sun blanket
Continue Reading
There's More to Learn
The Fibres
Who can say exactly where the threads in their blankets came from? Pam can. Each and every fibre woven into a Macgee blanket has true provenance.
Discover the Origin
The Machinery
Discarded looms found in a shed in the fields of Yorksire, a warper from the 1800s, these are the machines of a bygone era, hulking dinosaurs that hum again.
Understand the Process
Make a Blanket
There's a lot more to crafting a Macgee blanket than weaving alone. From fabric and colour selection to warping and weaving to finishing each piece by hand.
Follow Step by Step
A close-up view of a Yellowstone wool blanket crafted in 2024