
DATE: Friday, September 12, 1997            TAG: 9709110231

SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON   PAGE: 06   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: COVER STORY 

SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  134 lines

SPINNING HER WHEELS RETIRED BEACH TEACHER MARY SCOTT HAS A FEW LITTLE LAMBS ON HER FARM, PLUS A STUDIO FULL OF WHAT'S NEEDED TO WEAVE.

PUT A RED LINE through that Norman Rockwell-like picture of a dear lady sittin', spinnin', smilin', starin'.

Today, the loom in the parlor is - gulp! - computerized - programmed to tell the weaver which threads to lift to make the design that is on the computer.

Mary and Gary Scott's farm and studio in Suffolk is filled with spinning wheels, and yarns and wool for spinning. That is in the studio.

The farm portion has a nursery rhyme look: Mary has a little lamb - well, several - their fleece is white as snow or black - and whatever Mary Scott weaves, their wool is sure to go.

Scott, who recently retired after 23 years as a teacher in Virginia Beach, was at the Suffolk Museum recently doing a weaving demonstration at the opening reception for a September rug exhibit.

At the Scotts' farm, Mary Scott demonstrates the art of sheep calling - similar to the way most folks call their dogs and cats.

It is time for the woolly ones' afternoon meal. Scott opens the gate. ``Hey girls, c'mere - c'mon - good girls.''

They show up for supper. The Scott sheep are raised for shearing, not chopping.

The Scotts raise the animals, have them sheared and sell them.

``I used to have 350 sheep, went down to 175, now have about 50,'' she said, rattling off the brand names - Lincoln, Corriedale, Merino, Romney, Columbia, plus some crossbreeds.

``They're black and white - they all have wool that's good for spinning,'' Scott said, adding that her animals are sheep and shear show prize winners.

If there are sheep, there must be shepherds.

The Scotts keep their sheep in line with the help of an elaborate security system - two guard donkeys and two Great Pyrenees.

When Mary Scott is not working the sheep, she is working at Mount Vernon where she is the lone weaver. She expects to return there in October for Colonial Days, working in a replica of a tent used by George Washington.

The Scotts' current house was built about 60 years after Washington's presidency. They call their home/place of business, Serendipity Farm & Studio, because, she said, ``Serendipity means a lifetime of searching for that just right place. We've finally done it.''

At home, almost the only items not piled on tables or stacked in boxes are wool-related - wheels, looms, wools and the products she makes from them.

Scott makes and sells such things as rugs, shawls, scarves and baby blankets. She washes and brushes wool, sells yarn and spinning and weaving supplies, and also gives lessons.

The 55-year-old Elida, Ohio, native is the first weaver in her family, and its first college graduate.

The shepherdess has a masters in education from Old Dominion University. Although retired from Virginia Beach schools, she still enjoys working with children.

``That's why I can't wait to get to the museum,'' she said. ``I'll be working with some elementary students from an art talented group.''

Weaving is a craft. Visits, such as those at the museum, ``are designed to promote the craft,'' Scott said. ``Weaving is becoming more and more popular.''

Before you have the wherewithal to weave, you have the springtime shearing.

``We use a shearer from New Zealand. He's there half-a-year, in this country the other half. Last year, we used a fellow from Poland. He did a nice job, too,'' said Mary.

When Gary Scott is not working as program manager for Allied Signal Field Engineering Services in Portsmouth, ``he's my fetcher, toter, hoof trimmer,'' Mary Scott said. ``He gives inoculations, and deworms the sheep.''

Gary Scott is also adept at - to be delicate - forking and shoveling.

The couple have three children and five grandchildren.

The lone granddaughter, Ashlyn Dixon, 12, was the recipient of grandma's first spinning wheel.

Otherwise, Scott sells spinning wheels - about 25 varieties. And, she sells lots of wool - ``on and off the sheep, spun and unspun,'' she said.

In this day and age, people like color in their lives. She obliges.

``I dye the wool with such things as lichen, mushrooms, weeds and flowers,'' Scott said and, with a bow to modernity - ``Kool Aid.''

She said that her interest in sheep, spinning and weaving is the result of ``a 4-H project gone amok.''

It was a project by her son, David. She helped. She was hooked.

``The hardest thing is putting the threads on the loom, then developing the correct rhythm for an even beat on the fabric which results in consistency,'' said Scott, who finds it with the help of music - what a variety - ``classical or West Virginia mountain.''

It works.

``We have one of the few flocks in the state listed, by the Virginia Department of Agriculture, as Virginia's Finest Wool,'' Scott said, referring to the state's famous registered trademark.

And, there is praise for the product.

``Many knitters enjoy the feel of our yarns, which have not been carbonized or acid bathed,'' said Scott who, for seven years, has been Virginia representative of the Handweavers Guild of America, which, despite its name, is an international organization.

Scott and her sheep are close. The house is filled with pictures of the animals. The license plate on the family van is EWE NUT, the pickup plate reads EWE WHO.

The Scotts wanted to get a vanity plate for the trailer they use to carry their sheep to and fro, but Virginia does not issues such plates.

You won't be seeing EWE HAUL. MEMO: For information on the Serendipity Farm & Studio, call 986-2010. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos including color cover by MICHAEL KESTNER

Mary Scott harvests and dyes the wool from her sheep similar to the

way it was done in Colonial times.

Scott's handwoven clothing and rugs are on display in the Suffolk

Museum's ``Rags to Riches'' exhibit through Sept. 21.

Mary Scott dresses for the part when she demonstrates weaving the

old-fashioned way at the Suffolk Museum's ``Rags to Riches''

exhibit.

Graphic

ABOUT THE SHOW

What: Rags to Riches

When: Through Sept. 21

Where: Suffolk Museum, 118 Bosley Ave.