Thank you to everyone who joined the launch event for our new textiles working group, which took place this past Sunday over on the EXARC Discord server. It was a very fun and vibrant discussion!

At the launch we talked about the future of the working group, and introduced the idea to bring back the technique specific talks we used to have during the plague, but maybe over little bit longer time (like over the weekend instead of few hours on Saturday afternoon). This idea was supported, especially if the topic is decided on early enough to willing participants to research and prepare on. 

We spoke also about the scope of the group, and how difficult it can be define historical crafts, as something very current can also have a big impact as a part of historical crafts, so it is more how it is presented, not so much how it is made. 

We discussed sharing knowledge and research, heard of some pretty amazing experiments as well as discussed of the feeling of accomplishment on something fully handmade opposite to store bought/mass produced. 

We did dive a bit into spindle spinning and their use and habits, and had a improtu show and tell on Medieval(~ish) spindle whorls, shafts and how distaff is your friend. 

We look forward to seeing how this working group develops, and collaborating more with fellow textile professionals and enthusiasts!