What a great day we had! Kim McKenna came to the Silk Weaving Studio to share her silk-spinning expertise. She was there all day, which made for a comfortable, casual coming-and-going of spinners with their wheels.
It got pretty crowded for a while, but we spilled out to other parts of the studio, and sat on whatever we could find. Wheels were finetuned, loads of handy tips were shared. Kim was terrific, tireless and generous.
There was lots of fibre, including Muga (the easiest for beginners), Tussah (next "toothiest", so #2 for the newbies), Bombyx (a bit more slippery, so a bit more experience required), and Silk/Camel (the Big Kahuna, so soft and luscious, for those with some spinning under their belts). We also have some beautiful hand-hewn drop-spindles for those who need portability, available at the Silk Weaving Studio.
Lucia (L) had never spun before; she was pretty excited to take home a little skein of handspun silk/alpaca that she'd spun herself. Carly (R) is a very experienced spinner, and honed her silk-spinning skills considerably using Kim's pointers.
Everyone wanted to be part of this fun event. Notice this lovely little girl's bracelet, which Kim made for her as she watched. I sense a future spinner here.....
Thank you, Kim! Everyone had such a good time. People were asking when the next one will be. Soon, I hope.
Please join us for Spin Day at the Silk Weaving Studio on Granville Island. This Saturday, Apr. 26, from 10 until 4, Kim McKenna (spinner extraordinaire) will be there to demonstrate, help, give tips, and generally make us all better silk spinners. If you have a spinning wheel, bring it. If you have a drop spindle, bring that. If you don't have either, come anyway. There will be wheels and spindles to try.
It'll give you a chance to try all those luscious spinning fibres you've been wanting to spin: Bombyx, Tussah, Muga, and Silk/Camel especially...
Kim assures me that silk is easier to spin than it appears. I can't wait to learn the secrets!
We're working hard here at Sanjo Silk coming up with a colour range for our luscious silk yarn. The colours are looking particularly delectible, and we thought you'd like to have a sneak peek at some of the spring greens we're working on.
When we're finished, we'll have a range of Pastels, Neutrals, Brights and Darks. It's a concise range with lots of design possibilities; not a million colours, but every colour has earned its place in the range.
There are some colours available at the Silk Weaving Studio. As they get dyed, we put them out, so swing by to see the growing selection. Yarns in the photo include 10-006, 20-093 and 10-004.
