Summary

Slide showing the unplying machine designed and built by Ervins Apinis to assist his wife Anna's weaving when they first arrived in Australia in the 1950s. This machine unplies the plyed knitting yarn into a form more suitable for weaving. Until this time, Anna had been unplying by hand as weaving supplies were difficult to find in post-war Australia. Ervins was actively involved in helping Anna with her craft and designed many weaving devices used by her.

Anna attended weaving lessons in Liepaja in Latvia from 1930 to 1933 and had a loom constructed for her with wood scavenged from bombed-out ruins, during her time in a Displaced Persons camp in Memmingen, Germany. She used her loom to weave ancient Latvian designs using the threads from old scraps of fabric. Anna brought her loom to Australia when she migrated in 1950. She became one of the few suppliers of fabric for Latvian national costumes in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s, and exhibited her weaving nationally. Anna kept her cultural traditions alive through her daughter Anita who continues to weave and is involved in the Australian Latvian community.

Description of Content

Colour Slide depicting the unplying machine designed and built by Ervins Apinis in Parkes, NSW in the 1950s. The slide was taken in Melbourne, circa 1985.

Physical Description

Colour Slide.

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