Plot

Hand-weaving interweaves lives, not just threads. 5 stories that focus on the weaving of social fabric: the connections built between weavers and the people who use and cherish their cloth. *Relationship through cloth.*

Interlacements: Threads & Lives is a documentary film that examines hand-woven cloth and the people whose lives it touches. Interspersed with the five featured stories, we have closeups of looms in action; floor looms, tapestry looms, inkle looms, backstrap looms. And we have many Seattle area weavers answer the question "What's the best thing about weaving?" The answers are varied, creative, and enthusiastic.

The Purple Rug In 2013, a member of his congregation invited Rev. Peter Ilgenfritz to the Seattle Weavers' Guild Sale. Politely he accepted and stopped by the sale with no intention to buy anything. However, a purple rug grabbed hold of of Peter and would not let go... This story tells why a hand-woven rug became deeply significant in Peter's life, Peter's appreciation of the weaver, Marjorie Fiddler, and how the handwoven rug will remain a part of Peter's life forever.

Gourmet Weavers Every two months, twelve weavers close to the Canadian border get together to enjoy each others' company as well as good food and to talk about their latest weaving projects and new trends in the weaving community. Join the Gourmet Weavers at one of their meetings and find out how the group's placemat project resulted in a special bond between the friends, a bond by which the weavers are remembered even after they have departed the group.

Guitar Strap Ambassadors "What started out to be a [guitar]strap order turned into a friendship, a fandom..." Annie MacHale perfectly captures the essence of this story about the friendship between herself and Greg Glassman, which started with a simple order for a guitar strap. Greg's appreciation of Annie's beautiful bands (woven on an inkle loom) is reflected in Annie's appreciation of the music Greg plays in his trio. Two different folk art traditions (weaving and music) complement each other and harmoniously combine to even greater effect.

Rx Weaving Can there be a connection between a weaver and the owner of a textile even when they don't know each other, nor have even ever met? The surprising answer is given in this story in which weavers of the Seattle Weavers' Guild donate scarfs and 'prayer shawls' to the chaplain's office of Seattle Children's Hospital. Knowing that their shawls are going to severely ill children, the concern, care, love, and prayers of the weavers are woven into the fabric. The children (or their relatives) who receive these shawls sense this and cherish their shawls as a sign that someone is thinking of them, supporting them, helping them through difficult times - anonymous connections that are deeply felt at both ends.

Ravenstail Reports from the earliest explorers of the Pacific Northwest mention beautiful robes with striking geometrical patterns worn by Native American leaders. These were the first descriptions of the Ravenstail Robes, twinded by hand. This skill was later replaced by Chilkat weaving, discontinued completely and was ultimately lost. Only eight complete historical Ravenstail Robes (and some fragments) have survived. Cheryl Samuel studied these robes and reverse-engineered the twining technique used to produce them, leading to a revival of the technique and its appreciation among the native peoples of the American Northwest. This story tells about the friendship between John Beard, a student of Cheryl Samuel, and Janice Jainga Lonergan a Tsimshian dancer and weaver - a friendship that is facilitated by weaving and spans across cultures.