So you've heard of spinning silk caps...

...what about TUSSAH silk caps?

Maggie pulled out an example of a tussah silk cap at my Sensuous Silk Spinning class last week, and omg. This thing is crazy. Copy of National Geographic next to it for scale.


Um, yeah. Why would you even need to spin this? You could just wear it around like a shawl! It's folded in this pic, too...you can separate the layers for a true bell shape. According to Maggie, tussah silk caps used to be available to handspinners, but she hasn't seen one for sale for about 20 years now.

For all of you non-handspinners, a bombyx silk cap or hankie is much smaller than this...usually about the size of that National Geographic there. Bombyx silk caps/hankies are still obtainable, and can be a lot of fun to spin. Just don't expect a smooth yarn from them...the resulting yarn will have some bumps and noily bits. That's just the nature of the beast.

So Much Fiber, So Little Time

I'm a slacky slackster! I ignore the blog on a regular basis!

I think part of the problem is that I feel every post probably needs an illustration. Which is, you know, not necessarily true.

Anyway, I've been loving the fiber world lately. My "More on Four in Two" weaving class with Judy Steinkoenig was really wonderful. Two full days (9-4:30) of learning new weave structures for 4-harness looms...yes, please! Judy has a dry sense of humor (she called us her "more-ons") and is a very technical weaver, so it's easy to learn the specifics from her and then garnish your well-prepped weaving with artful creativity. At least in theory. :) Each person in the class warped his/her loom with a specific weave structure before class (I was assigned "crackle"), then after lecture we moved around the room round-robin style to get a chance to practice each. We all were required to hemstitch our samples, and so I'm a hemstitching expert at this point, lemmetellya. Finished samples included Ms & Os, supplementary warp, summer & winter, log cabin, crackle, shadow weave, and huck lace. I actually didn't get a chance to do shadow weave (ran out of time!), but will be posting an entry on each one. With a picture, of course!

Also in fiber news, I'm continuing to love living in a mecca of fellow fiber-lovers. My weeks are filled with fiber social groups, which is totally bizarro, especially considering I can be a shy little violet. First Monday of the month is the Spin-in at Shuttles. We've got about 25 people (!) who regularly attend at this point. Amazing. Second Tuesday of the month is the evening meeting of the Handweavers Guild of Boulder, which always involves an interesting show-and-tell from members, plus a great speaker of some sort. Last month's speaker was Anne Bossert, who combines fiber art with handmade furniture. Third Monday of the month I get together with my friends Stephanie and Connie for a sort of yarn study group. We usually focus on a combo of different fibers (i.e. yak + cotton, or flax + silk) and study ratios of "ingredients" and properties of the resulting yarns. We also drink beer and watch spinning DVDs, so, you know, it's not that serious. :) And then I also joined a group that meets on the fourth Saturday of the month for a spin-in/knit-in, though I haven't been able to attend for the past three months because of conflicts. With luck, I'll be able to make it this month!

Here's wishing everyone a great, fibery late winter/early spring, and I'm encouraging you to get out there and meet other spinners and/or other fiber artists! There's just nothing like learning and socializing with your fiber peeps. :)

Classes Galore!

My Mint account has registered something astounding: I'm taking a plethora of classes after a bit of a draught!

After a busybusy fall and a Summer of Fun (during which I only took the one dyeing class, I think, with Nancy Finn), I've registered for 4 (!) classes at my LYS after getting a little quiet notice in my inbox that the winter offerings were available for perusing online. Shuttles is so sneaky this way. Their notices are gentle and vaguely prodding (i.e. "Please register at least a week ahead of time."), which absolutely doesn't prepare you for the craziness. When I called, Judy Steinkoenig (co-owner & weaving instructor) answered and, completely flustered, told me she'd have to call me back because she had lines (plural) of people at the desk trying to register for classes.

I'm so glad she called me back. It's amazing, but I managed to slide my way into two brand new classes with Maggie Casey (yes, that Maggie Casey), a class with Debi Dodge (who does a LOT of skein judging), and a class with Judy herself (my Beginning Weaving instructor). Here's the happy listie:

* More on 4 in 2 (aka, More on 4-shaft Looms in 2 Days, or Beginning Weaving II) (Feb. 6 & 7) - Judy
* Spinning Outside the Box (Feb. 20) - Debi
* Playing with Multicolored Roving (Feb. 25 & March 4) - Maggie
* Sensuous Silk Spinning (March 25) - Maggie

There are actually a TON more that I'd love to take (Boucle, Spinning Paco-Vicuna, Wrap and Roll), but had to draw the line somewhere. I feel so lucky to live in an area that is so rich with teachers! The fiber world is deceptively deep...the more I learn, the more I realize I have more to learn. :)

Fibery Summer & Fall - in Pictures!

What's all this? Is it winter already? Time to break out the Snuggie 2.0 and reminisce about warmer days...let's see...

I went to Estes Park Wool Market in June and saw a bit of llama jumping...

...hung out with my wonderful (and supportive!) sis Kara in Pennsylvania, who wore my yarn like a necklace and took me to the Garden State Sheep & Fiber Festival (thanks, K!)...

....did a little spinning in front of Pennsbury Manor while in Pennsylvania...


...caught Amelia Garripoli in action at her book signing of "Productive Spindling" at Gypsy Wools in Boulder...

....did some weaving by the creek...
...and, of course, carded and spun my wee heart out!