Weaving Words

This week was a creatively inspiring week for me. First I began a new weaving project trying a new finger weaving technique and using yarn I’d not used before. Definitely a hesitant beginning and a change of design early on. It showed me it’s fine to make mistakes, learn from them and either start again or adapt.

It was during this process, I began to think about stories to do with yarns and weaving. There seem to be plenty to do with spinning and spinning wheels or drop spindles. But for the life of me I couldn’t recall any to do with weaving.

So I did what any sensible person would do and called on the experts! With a short message on my Storytelling Facebook page, I waited to see what the learned and experienced storytellers could recommend.  Oh my word!  It has just confirmed how generous storytellers are with their knowledge, their time and their resources.  Now I have a wonderful collection of stories from all over the world to research and immerse myself in. The funny thing is I did know one story after all - The Emperor’s New Clothes!  In my eagerness to come up with a story, this one escaped me.

The week ended with an experimental filming of me telling that story as I finished weaving the new shawl.  I’m very happy with the weaving and am in love with the yarn and pattern. The filming… well, there is actually nothing wrong with the recording but I am not a fan of my voice. And as I was so focused on the last threads of weaving there are some very ‘interesting’ facial expressions. We are usually our own worst critics.

So, now I need to put together a collection of stories that I can tell while actually doing a simple loom weaving. Practice, practice, practice and then… watch this space.