The Haunting Thread Counts of the Vasiliev Tapestry Room
A muted, fibrous silence fills the Tapestry Room, where a penciled thread tally in a notebook stops mid-sequence, leaving intricate patterns permanently incomplete.
Life in Weave
These implements belonged to Anastasia Vasiliev, professional tapestry weaver (b. 1876, St.
Petersburg), trained in a city atelier specializing in decorative ecclesiastical and civic tapestries. Her Russian notes—careful, precise, and small—record thread counts, color sequences, and weave density. A folded slip referencing her nephew, Mikhail Vasiliev, “prepare blue wool skeins Thursday,” hints at a disciplined routine: dyeing, threading, and weaving daily, balanced with household management.
Tools and Fibers
On the main loom, partially finished tapestries hang, threads taut but awaiting continuation. Skeins of dyed wool are sorted by shade, some partially unwound. A ledger beneath a folded cloth tracks pattern sequences, stitch counts, and client orders. Several tapestry panels lean against the loom, edges curling, suspended mid-weave, frozen in the motion of handwork interrupted.
Patterns of Decline
Later ledger entries reveal repeated corrections to weave tension and color sequences. Several panels show uneven stitching; motifs misalign. A margin note—“client rejects sample”—is smudged. Scissors and needles lie scattered, one bent, showing fatigue and growing anxiety disrupted Anastasia’s precision. Partially completed designs remain on the looms, the regular rhythm of weaving broken.
In the Tapestry Room’s final drawer, Anastasia’s last thread count trails into unfinished sequences and incomplete designs. A penciled note—“verify with Mikhail”—cuts off abruptly.
No explanation clarifies why her weaving ceased, nor why Mikhail never returned for the remaining panels.
The house remains abandoned, its looms and threads suspended in quiet anticipation, preserving the interrupted rhythm of craftsmanship that will never resume, a hushed testament to abandoned labor and careful intent.
