Yes, this is me weaving at our house in Fasito'o-uta, Samoa. Earlier this year, when we were in Samoa, I got the itch to weave, and one of our neighbours came over and started teaching me, but I completely forgot about it when I returned at the end of the year.
The reason was probably because I was observing her rather than trying it myself. This year, however, I asked my mum if she could show me as I had given it a go a couple of years when I was a part of the measina workshops at our Samoan bilingual early childhood centre (which has since closed).
This time, not only did I pay attention, but I gave it a go and started working it line by line. It's a really interesting process because not only did I have to weave to make it larger, but I also needed to lengthen the strands of pandanus by adding new ones. I had a wonderful time, except my back and legs got sore.
I also had the overhead fan and front door and louvres open so that I could catch the breeze. My first sitting took about six hours as I gained momentum and learned how to make it. I will see how far I can go with this and then start another one in NZ, as I want to keep my first ones in Samoa for our home here.
Later on, I went for a drive with my youngest to pick up some food, as too lazy to cook after the long weaving session and filled our water bottles with filtered water from our local water store. At night, I like to listen to the cicadas singing their songs long into the night.
Can't wait to get up tomorrow and do some more weaving as some other things that I'd like to learn to weave are bags, hats and fans, just like my namesake great-grandmother Eleni would have when she lived in Faleula...
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