With left over Ravenstail warp and yarns, I wove a flexible container that straddles the headboard of my weaving loom, to help organize and keep at hand my weft yarns, scissors, straight pins, tapestry needles, measure tape, etc. - all the important tools to have handy while weaving Chilkat or Ravenstail. If you look closely, you will see the individual containers are cedar bark baskets; one woven by my mother, one woven by my daughter, one woven by a friend and one woven by me.
One of the things that I encourage my weaving students to create in their lives is organization. If we want to be an active Chilkat weaver, and we want to keep our sanity while weaving, we must be organized! If we are not born organized, Chilkat weaving will change that part of ourselves to become organized. And if we fight the requirement of becoming organized, then while weaving, we will spend quite a bit of your time sorting through things, trying to find something that was misplaced or lost, etc. When I am in the flow of creativity, the last thing I want to reach for is a tool that has been misplaced and I have to go searching for it, or untangle something or accidentally break something. This kind of act is quite disrupting to the flow of creativity; I work hard at avoiding distractions when I know I’m going into a creative groove; so I have a clean, organized surrounding. For those of you who are Chilkat weavers, for those who have recently learned Chilkat weaving and for those of you who have seen the actual weaving process, y’all understand what I am talking about!
A view from above the Chilkat weaving loom headboard container - notice most of the yarns are in front, while miscellaneous and extra tools are in the back half of the pouch
Why a “flexible” woven container instead of a rigid, wooden one? So that I can travel with it across town, across the inlet or across the continent. It is light-weight and easily packable – a valuable resource for a weaver in motion.
Stay tuned for future blog entries of additional Chilkat weaving equipment and tools.
Thank you for visiting!
Good advice, although I’m not a weaver. But as a writer I shouldn’t have to search for a notebook and pen. Love the design. Very clever.
Thank you, Vivian; sometimes I am, indeed, clever – usually out of necessity!
I hope you are settled into Kodiak; glad you have returned to Alaska – And will you email me your mailing address?
Brilliant as always.