It’s always a plus to meet a weaver who has woven a textile that I can now have on my table at home so I can feel a link to her.Meet Tshewang from the village of Khoma in Bhutan. This village was quite remote, at least in Australian terms which is really saying something. A three hour drive on quite a treacherous road plagued by ‘shooting stones’ and land slips followed by a walk of 1 1/2 hours. So it was nice that I was able to have such a valuable textile memory of Khoma. Many royal weavers come from this village and the kiras being woven there were extraordinary. When I see textiles like this it’s easy to exhaust my supply of adjectives to describe them – they are simply a product of extreme tenacity, superiour skill, ‘heavenly’ colour perception and ‘heart’ weaving as the Bhutanese call their finest weaves.Amongst a flurry of eager weaver vendors we were ushered into an impromptu fresh air display market. Many priceless textiles flung over ropes to reveal their beauty and entice our walk and sun weary senses. I was immediately drawn to Tshewang piece. It is probably woven as a rhachu – or ceremonial sash which is folded lengthwise and worn over the left shoulder. I suspect she is a young weaver working to become an expert. The cloth is double sided using a pick up technique on a closed shed in comparison to many other textiles picked up on an open shed (more on this later).

I’m working on a future post to explore the intricate pick up weaving techniques used in Bhutan.

Handweaver – Tshewang from Khoma

Detail of Tshewang’s handwoven textile.