Thursday 24 September 2015

Grey-bear and the Weaving Guild

Grey-bear is the head of the weavers guild of Carlyle. She has lead the weaving lessons and allocated mice to weaving duties for the last two years. The "Great Weaving House" in Carlyle produces all of the woven materials used by the Searbay mice.

Everything from the great tents and canopies used for celebration days  right down to the hard wearing sandals used by the miners are produced in the weaving house. The tents themselves are kept on one of the house’s attached storehouses. Other nearby storehouses hold the other woven products until they are needed.

One of the most sought after cloths produced by the Weaving house are the rarely produced silken blankets. These wonderfully warm and soft blankets are given to new mothers to swaddle their pinkies and traditionally they are handed onto the eldest as it comes of age. The reason these are in such short supply is that it is rarely that the silk producing worms appear on the island. Sometimes the Mecha Corp return with a worm or two that they discover while on their patrols, but this is very rare as they have more pressing duties.

As well as producing tents, and clothing, the woven materials of The Great Weaving House are used for other purposes. For instance they produce mats in various sizes. These are used to line tunnels, and for creating the roof of the covered way to the black-stone mine. Also as a platforms for crossing mud, which are used by the down-collectors who work among the water reeds. Surprisingly some of the boatmen use the mats to form the body of their coracles (subsequently sealed).

Inside the weaving house mice work in specific areas each mouse having a specific skill and working on a production line to create one type of item. There are similarities in the way weaving workers are organised to that of the Mecha Corp. They use the term “Paw” to describe a team of product specialists.

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