Inside Textile Designer Elizabeth Eakins's 240-Acre Farm
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1/13Photographs by Victoria PearsonAt home in Kansas, married couple Elizabeth Eakins and Jerry Wigglesworth, shepherds and croppers since 2002, are hands-on with their flock of Border Leicester sheep. They use a mixture of preventative care and genetic chronicling to achieve superlative fleece.Photographs by Victoria PearsonAt home in Kansas, married couple Elizabeth Eakins and Jerry Wigglesworth, shepherds and croppers since 2002, are hands-on with their flock of Border Leicester sheep. They use a mixture of preventative care and genetic chronicling to achieve superlative fleece.
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2/13Photographs by Victoria PearsonOne of Elizabeth Eakins' prized Border Leicester sheep, whose wool will become one of her handwoven rugs.Photographs by Victoria PearsonOne of Elizabeth Eakins' prized Border Leicester sheep, whose wool will become one of her handwoven rugs.
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3/13Photographs by Victoria Pearson“Limestone is to Kansas what trees are to Connecticut,” says Eakins, describing the plentiful hand-chiseled locally quarried stone from which Swedish builders fashioned the original 1846 dwelling.Photographs by Victoria Pearson“Limestone is to Kansas what trees are to Connecticut,” says Eakins, describing the plentiful hand-chiseled locally quarried stone from which Swedish builders fashioned the original 1846 dwelling.
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4/13Photographs by Victoria PearsonScandinavian influence continues in the dining room where an antique dining table and chairs from Circa Antiques complement Elizabeth Eakins's cotton Elkhorn Stripe rug and her own linen upholstery fabrics. The chandelier belonged to Wigglesworth’s mother.Photographs by Victoria PearsonScandinavian influence continues in the dining room where an antique dining table and chairs from Circa Antiques complement Elizabeth Eakins's cotton Elkhorn Stripe rug and her own linen upholstery fabrics. The chandelier belonged to Wigglesworth’s mother.
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5/13Photographs by Victoria PearsonWool, durable and so perfect for dyeing, is Eakins’s longtime favorite fiber. To ensure the most lustrous and strong staple from their sheep, she and Wigglesworth fortify the animals’ diet with minerals and keep them outside year round, safely penned and guarded by three Great Pyrenees.Photographs by Victoria PearsonWool, durable and so perfect for dyeing, is Eakins’s longtime favorite fiber. To ensure the most lustrous and strong staple from their sheep, she and Wigglesworth fortify the animals’ diet with minerals and keep them outside year round, safely penned and guarded by three Great Pyrenees.
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6/13Photographs by Victoria PearsonThis wool is used exclusively for Eakins-branded Private Reserve, the highest quality rug collection handwoven in her Connecticut studio.Photographs by Victoria PearsonThis wool is used exclusively for Eakins-branded Private Reserve, the highest quality rug collection handwoven in her Connecticut studio.
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7/13Photographs by Victoria PearsonThe living room’s pale perimeter is offset by bright Elizabeth Eakins pillows, an antique bergere upholstered with a Brigitte Singh tablecloth and an Eakins rug in melon.Photographs by Victoria PearsonThe living room’s pale perimeter is offset by bright Elizabeth Eakins pillows, an antique bergere upholstered with a Brigitte Singh tablecloth and an Eakins rug in melon.
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8/13Photographs by Victoria PearsonA balance is struck between farmhouse ease and provenance with linen slipcovers on a down sofa, antique glass lamps from George Terbovich and a portrait of Jerry as a young boy.Photographs by Victoria PearsonA balance is struck between farmhouse ease and provenance with linen slipcovers on a down sofa, antique glass lamps from George Terbovich and a portrait of Jerry as a young boy.
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9/13Photographs by Victoria PearsonThe bedroom features a seamed custom rug, a handwoven throw by Elizabeth Eakins, Swedish antiques and 100 botanical engravings.Photographs by Victoria PearsonThe bedroom features a seamed custom rug, a handwoven throw by Elizabeth Eakins, Swedish antiques and 100 botanical engravings.
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10/13Photographs by Victoria PearsonRelying on the farm’s plentiful limestone for its foundation, architect Robert Schultz designed the loom house in the prairie vernacular style. It houses a creative work space plus a bedroom, bathroom and sauna.Photographs by Victoria PearsonRelying on the farm’s plentiful limestone for its foundation, architect Robert Schultz designed the loom house in the prairie vernacular style. It houses a creative work space plus a bedroom, bathroom and sauna.
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11/13Photographs by Victoria PearsonAn old teak drawing table from Circa Antiques holds work-related materials while an antique wicker sofa with an array of Eakins indigo textiles offers a resting spot.Photographs by Victoria PearsonAn old teak drawing table from Circa Antiques holds work-related materials while an antique wicker sofa with an array of Eakins indigo textiles offers a resting spot.
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12/13Photographs by Victoria PearsonThis is what natural looks like—“Diamond” and “Blossom” Private Reserve using pale gray fleece.Photographs by Victoria PearsonThis is what natural looks like—“Diamond” and “Blossom” Private Reserve using pale gray fleece.
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13/13Photographs by Victoria PearsonEakins calls the loom house her think tank; recently dyed Private Reserve wool yarn awaits her experimentation.Photographs by Victoria PearsonEakins calls the loom house her think tank; recently dyed Private Reserve wool yarn awaits her experimentation.
This article appears in the November 2015 issue of CTC&G (Connecticut Cottages & Gardens).
