revivalproject | Time For Some Weaving

Entry tags:

Time For Some Weaving | Open

WHO: Lark, Anyone
WHERE: The Hotel
WHAT: Teaching Spinning, Sewing, and Magically Weaving
WHEN: Early July
WARNINGS: None

Network Text
Good Day All!

I would like everyone to know that now that my rooms are set up for it, I shall be offering sewing, spinning, and other cloth related lessons in my workroom. This shall be open for people to join me in doing in the evenings after dinner. I can also at that time accept any clothing people might need repaired.

In the mornings, if I may find someone to offer their hands for assistance, I shall work on magical spinning or weaving. Until such time as we have a larger supply of thread and a full loom is completed, this will be the best way I can provide for us, but I cannot do this alone. I would ask any who might offer me assistance allow me to know so we might arrange days for this purpose.

On days I do not spell work, I will be meditating in my work room at the hottest part of the day, and any are free to join me. I reside on the third floor of the hotel, in the room second from the left after leaving the main stair. My work room is the adjoining room. Please let me know before coming over.

1. Spinning Lessons For All!
Lark didn't even bother to look up if someone entered for her lessons. She smiled and watched her spindle, careful to let her thread lose enough speed to reverse. Once she was ready she caught the end of the spindle to hold it still so she could wind the thread she had made onto it and set it aside. Only then did she rise and offer the newcomer a bow and a warm smile. Clad in her forest green robes tied only with a soft length of cord, she could easily be linked to a monk. Which was not entirely inaccurate.

"Good evening to you. Have you come to learn, or do you need some repair work done?"

Because truly she could do either. She had even learned of the replicator and had spent her monthly rations on drop spindles and wool carders. She was all ready to get to some serious work.

2. A Mage's Assistant
An agreement, once made, was a happy one to fulfill. This morning, or any morning she had an agreed upon assistant, Lark rose early to eat and clean and then return to her work room to throw wide open the windows and turn on all of the lights. Then she set up the work table for the tools of the day. A large pitcher of water, a basket of food, a comfortable chair to sit at.

Then she waited. Starting pattern magic without someone to protect her from the spell itself would be foolish. Now she just had to wait to train a new assistant and hopefully create something everyone needed.

"Mila, watch over me," she found herself praying quietly as she waited.

[OOC: If someone wants to meditate with Lark just lmk on plurk or discord and I'll set up something for that.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Yeah, I suppose those would make it difficult, but unfortunately, this world didn't think to bring those with you."

Shiro looked at the items that she was picking up from the table, watching curiously.

"Of course. Start wherever you need to."

Yes, it didn't. Part of her soul hurt to be without Rosie, but she would manage. Rosie would be disappointed if she couldn't. They were strong women, they would survive this.

"Alright then. First, are you left or right handed, Shiro?"

"I'd say, probably left-handed? If I need to be able to feel something, that's the better one."

As modifying literally all of his clothes for it hadn't made sense and after the glitter incident, he had more reason than before to keep it covered than before. But he decided to show her at least part of it as he took off his glove, showing off his prosthetic - a completely metal hand.

"I'm actually right-handed but this might make it difficult."

Smart man. Because he needs to be able to feel. She selects a spindle already holding a starter thread and offers that over to his right hand. Then she hands a rollo of wool to his left before taking up her own spindle to demonstrate.

"Threads catch on themselves quite readily. We're going to start by teaching you to feed the wool in, and how to keep the spindle from spinning backwards. Even if you get it wrong at first, don't worry. We can recover the wool and start again. This, as in all hand crafts, is something needing practice."

Shiro put the glove back on before reaching over to take the spindle from her. He knew that the metal hand was not completely smooth and he didn't want any threads to get caught on it. Might make it a little hard to work with...

"Sounds good. I'll follow what you tell me to do."

The metal hand was actually not going to need to worry, it would be focused on spinning the spindle itself.

"Alright. Holding the wool in your left hand, you tease out some fibers, like so," she said, pushing some threads between her pinched forefingers and thumb, giving them a small twist as it went. These she overlaid on the leader thread and gave those a half twist as well.

Shiro nodded, taking the wool that was offered and doing what she said with it and how she demonstrated it, giving it a bit of a twist before completing it.

"I see what you mean, how it catches on itself."

"The natural world is full of many great wonders, and this is one," Lark agreed with a smile as she showed how to feed more fibers between her fingers. Then she took her spindle in the other hand and held it with the point against hte ground.

"Now here is the hardest part to learn. The spindle must always turn in one direction. If it spins the other way, everything will untwist and the work must be started again. The true secret of spinning thread is controlling the flow of fiber from your hand, and knowing how to keep the spin going. You need to hold the line taut when you stop as well."

She moves to demonstrate, starting her spindle to spinning on the ground with a quick left-handed turn. And then she was carefully feeding her wool in, a small but at a time with a push of her fingers.

"Truly, it's something that takes practice."

Shiro practiced what she showed him and then it was time to try out the spindle. He did exactly what she demonstrated arranging the spindle the same way.

Of course, when he tried spinning it the first time, he spun it a little too hard and it turned too vast so he couldn't do what he was supposed to do and it was starting to turn back the other way.

"Oops. Too hard."

"Yes," Lark agreed, reaching out to catch his spindle with her free hand. Her own was still going very well. ONce she had his steadied she returned her hand to her own, offering another twist.

"I know you can do it though, Shiro. You'd be able to do this with your eyes closed."

"Thanks. Guess I don't know my own strength."

Which he already kind of knew that, but at least it was just a spindle. Once he had control over his own spindle again, he gave it another turn. This time it seemed to be good. No wildly out of control spindle. Took a bit of coordination to try and get the wool spun, but he was sort of making thread.

"Often it's less about strength and more about lack of practice. Too hard and fast and the thread will tear from the fibers. Too slow and it will be a loose thread. One learns, as with all things, through repetition and determination."

The thread wasn't perfect, but even thread mages weren't very good from the word go. No apprentice carpenter made a flawless piece on their first turning of wood. No smith made perfect blades on their first time with the hammer. No, it was a first attempt, and while not flawless, it worked for now.

"You're going to get nervous when it comes time to spin the spindle again. You may reach with the wrong hand, or forget to feed the fibers. It will be okay."

He nodded. "I'll do my best."

For something so simple, it was deceptively simple. He certainly had to experiment with how hard he was turning the spindle. One time, not enough. Another, he had to slow it down again.

"Yeah, this definitely requires practice."

Many basic hand crafts seemed simpler than they were. But people learned them anyway. Over many, many years one got better and better, faster and more reliable. And yet it could still be learned quickly.

"It does," she agreed with a warm smile, continuing to work the thread easily. And when most of the rollo was out of her hand she reached out to grab another to keep feeding thread.

"I find at times it helps to not have all of one's mind on the task. May I ask you some questions?"

He could see that she was doing it easily. Having been trained the way he was, being a pilot with the Garrison's space missions and being a leader, he knew that wasn't a failure on his part, but a credit on hers. Just meant he had to work on it some more.

"Sure thing. Ask away."

"You may ignore this first question of course, but your arm, I have never seen magic like it."

Yes, she was crass there. She'll apologize so many times later.

Well, he had shown her so it was normal for the question to be asked.

"It's powered by a crystal that my teammate gave me. It allows me to control it as those it was actually my hand."

A powered crystal. Strangely enough, that made more sense to Lark than might be assumed. After all, mages in her world could infuse power into crystals, and she had seen false legs made of living metal stretched over a frame of iron rods.

"They are kind to grant you such a beautiful creation."

"She's a good friend. She knew that it would difficult for me without an arm and when what they originally tried wasn't working, she gave up the crystal for me."

Allura was a good person. He would always trust her.

A very good person. Lark smiled and nodded.

"Well, we shall make sure the kindness she offered you is not for nothing. When you get home one day, you can tell her stories about how you learned to spin thead or yourself."

He smiled. "I'm sure she'd like to hear that. I'm sure she'd be interested in all of the stories from this place."

Especially small glowing horses, which since they were nearly at the pasture now, the escapee's family had come to see what was going on.

"Then I hope she, and any other friends you have, might get to hear them and find they were full of learning and happiness and safety," Lark suggested.

With that she nodded at the door beyond the glass walls of the area.

"Would you be so kind as to open that?

"Yeah, I hope so too. Allura would definitely be interested in hearing about the people here. She and Coran would probably most interested the magic. I'm sure Allura would be interested in the weaving as well... She was always busy so it might have given her a good chance to relax."

[ooc: please ignore reference to Glownie. This one forgot which thread this was]

Someone that would be interested in magic and weaving. Yes, Lark thought she might like this Allura person.

"Well, if you ever wish to speak of them, just to better remember them, I do so love a good story. We used to tell them over dinner, when the children were at Discipline more."

But most of her children had grown up and left the nest. Not that there weren't always more children for her to foster.

"Stories are always good to tell. I'd be happy to tell you more at some point. Allura also has some good ones. If she shows up here, I'll remember to introduce you."

He glanced down at the wool he was spinning. Well, it wasn't completely even but it was better than when he had staring at it the whole time.

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