[Elegant Weave] Elegance in blues

by **Elann** on July 29th, 2015, 5:06 pm

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Timestamp 39th of Summer, 515AV

With graceful steps Elann winded through the city streets toward the Elegant Weave that was nestled in the warehouse district; the home of her new workplace. Evidently her interview went well enough that Navia Druva, the Elegant Weave’s owner, asked her to come in and get set up for work today. As she approached the shop, she could see the beautiful dresses and clothing in the window. They were things the Benshira girl didn’t not have and desperately needed in order to fit into this city.

She instead wore the same traditional robes she had on her back when she had left home not more than two and half months ago by ship. Newly arrived and somewhat lost, she was surprised she had found the shop again and was not late. Instead she was early, quite early. The result of which had her standing outside looking at the dresses with the rest of the customers. When it was a few minutes before work, Elann entered into the building and inquired of the staff at the front.

“Hi, my name is Elann. It is my first day starting work here, is Navia here?” Her Benshiran accent was still very thick from lack of practice, something in the days to come she would seem to master, yet for now she was simply awkward with it.

“Yes miss, she is right through that door there. You will see a large glass building across a courtyard. She is inside waiting for you.”

Elann with curious eyes scanned the girl and what she wore. It was a pink dress with various frills and beautiful embroidery, yet it was simple and clean. Suddenly feeling self conscious Elann nodded to her and said with a small shy smile, “Thank you”. She then headed toward the door and with a grasping hand she pulled at it. It was a little stuck into the stone more than the front door, perhaps having been warped slightly from the outer elements, but with a sharp tug she got it open. Before her eyes lay a beautiful courtyard and the sound of horses lulling and whinnying could be heard nearby. As she scanned the area her beautiful blue eyes came across the orangery.

She stepped out onto the grass and closed the door behind her, giving it a firm shut. With shuffled steps she hurried across the grass, not wishing to be late for her first meeting. As she walked under the shade of a cherry blossom tree, she could see the women and men at work in the sewing room. Navia herself saw her approaching and opened the door for the girl. With a shy brush backward of her hair, Elann entered. There was a strong scent of linen and wool in the room and it made her remember the smell back home.

Navia was first to greet her and said, “Hi Elann, welcome to work. This is where you will be, and if you just want to come in the side entrance from now on you can just zip right over to here.” She was a strong woman, in character and mind, Elann could tell, but seemed kind enough.

“Okay”, said Elann and as she looked to her co-workers who were before her, she could see they were somewhat silent, yet watching her every move. Many of them were even still knitting and sewing as they watched her. Elann flopped her hands out at her sides as Navia closed the door behind her. “I am...ready to start.” she beamed a grin and went to find an empty seat.

“Now I’ve seen what you can do. I have a sketch here that I’ve drawn up. Can you make this?” It was a beautiful artistic rendering of a blue and white rug. Elann nodded and took her cloth and moved to make a frame for the rug out of the wood that was there. With accuracy and her limited mathematics, she measured out the rug to its dimensions. She may not have been able to do calculus, but she could know the perimeter of a rug and how much fabric it would take based on what knot you did. So now having her threads she began to weave. She could feel the eyes of Nevin and many others on her as she began to do so. It took her a few chimes to get into the groove as she was so nervous, yet once she felt comfortable her speed began to pick up. Navia watched her work and once satisfied she herself went back to designing clothes for the various women to make next.

It was then that the conversations started back up within the room. Elann listened, but really didn't want to screw up on her first project. The beautiful blues and whites of the rug before her began to take shape and before she knew it she was halfway done. The rug was of simple make, not nearly the tight weave her people make in the deserts. Being nearly halfway done, she flipped the rug over and started on the other side. This was the process to make a rug and she was fairly competent at doing so.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

by **Elann** on July 29th, 2015, 10:32 pm

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Seeing that Elann could really handle herself making a rug like she had intended, Navia shifted through some papers on the work table that she was drawing up. There were a few projects on her mind for the day and in anticipation of Elann starting, many of these projects had to do with rug making. There were beautiful dresses being made in the hands of skilled designers and seamstresses, being put onto dummies to see the exact fit and to attach various pieces of decoration to them to appear more fancy, yet not many people practicing weaving. Perhaps that was why she was hired.

Her hand for the most part had healed by now, a scar covering her surgical wound, but she no longer needed the gauze that covered it. The pain that once was there was unnoticeable now, and even the feeling had returned to her injured palm. Upon close inspection one could see that she had been burned there upon her right palm, the sign of a horrible connection between flesh and a brazier, yet it was not foul colored. It was actually very well hidden, matching the creamy complexion of her own skin. It was a sign of her desire to do Yahal’s will even in the face of danger. As she twisted, looping over and crossing under in a blinding rate she was flashed her palm repeatedly. It made her thankful that things were starting to return to normal, albeit far from her home and people. She at least could afford her rent longer, and if she was able to finally raise enough for passage back home, she would return.

Her poor father thought she was here with their family friend, being taken care of, but she had not seen hide nor hair of him. She ended up waiting at the docks for him going on near a day but he never showed. The youth’s determination though was so strong that she didn’t need his help. She found the welcome center, her embassy, and this job all on her own. She had friends, coworkers, and had begun to build a life here. After all, she could not send word to her father, the men who were after her would likely intercept the letter and know where she was, and he couldn’t send word to her because she wasn’t wherever she was supposed to be. So the plan for now was to work a few seasons and see about returning home, lest her father die of worry.

With a powerful tug on the fabric she wove, Elann was nearing the finish of her project when Navia came over to her, indicating she had another project for the woman. Looking over the picture the Benshiran nodded. While it was fresh in her mind she began to make a frame for it and grabbed the necessary linen. Why people wanted these simple rugs, she didn’t know, but she was more than willing to make them. With a tack hammer she once again drove a small tack into the frame, allowing her to set up her rug. It felt good to hold these tools in her hand again, and while newer and more fancy than her father’s old tools, she enjoyed them. The worn handle on the mallet showed love in its craft and surely since not many else here were weaving, perhaps Navia herself did some. She seemed majorly skilled at many other things.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

by **Elann** on December 9th, 2015, 7:59 am

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Now that the frame was set up, Elann proceeded to grab some scarlet colored fabric and some black. Much like the first that was white and blue, this one was a loose weave and easy to manage. Elann tied her knots in the top right to left, draping the cloth downward like before in strips, using the scissors to cut what she needed from the fabric. The girls talked to each other while Nevin and some others merely sat quiet, much like Elann, and once she was done hanging things she began interweaving the fabrics and then looping it around the outer rim of the frame.

A few chimes later she was nearly halfway done and Navia came over to check on her. “Wow, you are pretty good at this,” she reached out and adjusted a cloth that had twisted itself that Elann didn’t notice, indicating she had a good eye for design. Elann felt slightly embarrassed but overall Navia seemed pleased. “Keep up the good work” she said and then went her way, checking on the other girl’s projects.

"Thank you," Elann replied in a happy melodic tone, for in fact in her head she had been singing the whole time.

Elann started off again slowly and then once she returned to her rhythm she finished off the one side. With a flip of the frame, she now began to weave the other end of the rug. Part of her wanted to do something a bit more complicated, yet this was good practice. She had been on a boat for such a long time that her fingers nearly forgot themselves and what they were born for. As looping scarlet interwove with with the black of the rug it began to look quite beautiful. The fabric was nice and so it had a high quality look to it. Once in the middle she tied off the rug; completing her work on it. With accurate hands she tied her knots, ensuring that they were tight and hidden well, and that the rug would not fall apart for the next ten years or so.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

by **Elann** on December 9th, 2015, 7:59 am

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Eventually, Elann headed home to her apartment in the Traveler's Row as work came to a close. All told that day she made a few rugs and began to cross train on some other weaving ideas Navia had. The next day she returned to work, chipper and willing to work hard. Some of her coworkers were not quite so enthusiastic, but ultimately settled into the groove of their daily toil. Elann was instructed today to weave out clothes, towels, sheets, and even some blankets; as much as she could get done. Evidently the stock had suffered a hit over winter with blankets and everything else with the warm months of summer hitting them.

Being a weaver, she settled in to do what she was raised to do, however her passion was rug making. Her job was to weave out the fabrics, bind them together, and the other ladies would sew them into their various forms. Starting off slow, her fingers began gliding string through to form the desired pattern, and when she was set up on the loom, she began to compress the fabric into one solid piece. It was difficult to get the old loom to work with her, but soon enough it started making bolt after bolt of fabric. She was given creative inspiration, and having seen what was on the streets of Syliras in summer and also what was mostly taken from the shop, she decided to create something that tied those two ideas together.

While the deep reds, blacks, and furs of her own people weren't used here, she did see a lot of colors, inspiration from Nyka no doubt, but something that people truly enjoyed in the summer time. Hours seemed to fly by and her hands began to hurt, which meant she had been going non-stop for a very long time. With the loom not making its incessant racket in the orangery, there were a series of gasps, relieving themselves from the various ladies and men in there with her. It was nearly silent inside now other than the spinning wheel that someone was working on to make the thread.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

by **Elann** on December 9th, 2015, 8:14 am

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The cloth for the clothes and the bed sheets were done, but now she needed to work hard on getting the fabric for the towels done, which were a bit more like shag than anything else. It meant a different style of weaving was involved, and unfortunately for her hands, it meant a bit more work. Still, as the day had loomed on, and after a quick lunch break, she was able to continue without much pain in them. If she were her mother's age, she may have needed a bit longer of a break; which unfortunately many of the women in the orangery with her were of older age.

With the return of the young Benshira woman, there was a bit of groaning from the crew, which was not hard for Elann to pick up on. One woman even spoke up saying, "Oh goody, now we get to hear that racket again." With a shy smile Elann nodded, "I know...We should put me out in the yard." It was okay to have a little humor right? Was the woman joking with her? Elann watched with a little smile on her face as the lady chuckled, showing that it was all said in jest and fun.

While there may have been little squabbles throughout the day, Elann proved herself as a valuable weaver to the business, able to replenish a significant amount of stock along with the other women working hard that day. The loom clanked and shifted back and forth as Elann pedaled it without ceasing. The new pattern took more work, but eventually even towels began to be made; nice comfy ones that people could hang in their luxurious baths or take with them swimming, something she had never done before in Syliras.

Eventually, it was the end of the work shift and the loom came to a stop once more. Now instead of just sighs of relief from the women, they were near gasps for the fresh air of what lie outside the orangery. The ringing of the loom would transfer and carry with them all along the way home, keeping some awake at night with never ending clacking, but to Elann it was soothing, something that helped her sleep even more soundly.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

by **Ssezzkero** on February 11th, 2016, 3:31 am

SKILLS

LORES

OTHER

❖ Psst! Months are not a concept in Mizahar, perhaps use the term moons (In reference to the cycles) instead?

Completed [Elegant Weave] Elegance in blues