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For those of you who don't know, Sanjo Silk has quality sample cards that allow you to view, fondle and learn about our extensive range of beautiful silk yarns. We know how difficult it can be to look at a photo of yarn and try to imagine what it's really like. Is it really as lustrous as it looks in the photo? How fine is this yarn compared to that yarn? I'd really like to be able to look at a few of the yarns together to see whether they get along. When you have a Sanjo quality sample card in your hot little hands, all this and more is possible.

What are some other great things about our sample cards? There's lots of information about each yarn on the cards - the quality number (which makes it easy to find on our website), the content (how much of each fibre, whether the silk is bombyx or tussah or muga), the weight of the yarn is both metric and Imperial. Sure, you can find all this information on our website, but this gives you a handy way to quickly compare and contrast yarns without having to dance back and forth between web pages.

And of course, the best reason to have a set of Sanjo quality sample cards is so that you can sit in your favourite chair with your favourite beverage and dream about the beautiful things you'll make. That's the beginning of the creative process. It all starts with that little spark.

Good news! There's also a set of Sanjo colour cards to help with your colour selections!

Crazy-Beautiful New Spinning Fibres

I think "gobsmacked" is an appropriate word to describe our reaction when a handsewn parcel arrived from India and, when opened, revealed the most stunning spinning fibres we've ever seen. Check these out.

 

This delicious Red Eri Top (#41-020) is actually difficult to photograph. It fluoresces with vibrance. The colour is a very bright copper colour. Absolutely amazing!

Yellow Bombyx (#41-021). We've known forever that there is a bombyx species that produces yellow cocoons, but this is the first time we've seen that gorgeous, buttery colour in spinning fibre. Almost edible, it's so delectable.

Another stunner. This one, Pedencal Top (#41-022), is the stem part of the tussah cocoon. The colour of this fibre is almost a pewter shade. It's absolutely other-worldly.

In addition to these, we have a new Muga fibre (#41-002), and a white Eri Silk fibre (#41-011). So far we're just checking out these new fibres, so we haven't put them on the website yet. It's in-store shopping only at the Silk Weaving Studio on Granville Island. Let us know what you think! The sooner we know, the sooner it'll be on the Sanjo website!

Spinning Silk

One of our customers, Brenda Giesbrecht, recently sent us images of spectacular silk yarn she has spun using painted Sanjo Bombyx Silk sliver (10-001). We wanted to share them with you so you might be inspired. If you're not yet a spinner, maybe you should consider becoming one. And if you are a spinner, with practice you could create yarn as fine and beautiful as Brenda's.

 

 

 

This image shows how Brenda teases the fibres apart before she begins drafting.

 Once they're spun, and on bobbins, they can be plied. 

Thanks so much, Brenda, for letting us see your gorgeous yarn!

Stay tuned to this spot. We've just received some new spinning fibres from India which are very wonderful. Read about them here soon!

Now on Sale!

For a limited time we have our scrumptious Silk/Mohair on sale for 20% off!
http://www.sanjosilk.com/sale-mohair-silk-30-603/
Undyed 50g skeins, website sales only.

Silk Alpaca Arrives at Sanjo

And what an arrival it is! We've sourced a most beautiful and luxurious 70% Silk 30% Alpaca yarn. Our number for it is 10-222. It's a fine 30/2 yarn, and be prepared to swoon when you feel it. It's super soft, lustrous and truly, truly lovely.

 You may know that alpaca quality is a many-faced thing. There's lovely, soft, luscious alpaca (like the type used in this yarn) and there's alpaca that's rough and coarse and makes you itch when you get near it. And just about everything in between. This silk alpaca blend yarn is made by our reliable, tried-and-true Swiss mill. They only know how to make the best. Making something second-rate isn't in their DNA. They've sourced alpaca that is reliably soft and lovely. You can count on it.

Give it a try. You'll be as addicted as we are.

New Yarns from Japan!

I'm richly resisting the temptation to put the title in all CAPS. We're so excited about these yarns that capital letters don't come close to capturing it. Diana went on a shopping spree in Japan. She found the most amazing yarns that were created for some of the giants of the fashion world - not be be a name dropper, but does the name Chanel ring a bell?

 Most of the yarns are in very limited supply. For some of them we were able to get a cone or 2,  for others only one small cone. So we're not putting these on the website; by the time we get them uploaded they'd be gone. So unfortunately it's an in-store shopping experience only. Having said that, let us know if you see something in these images that you love and you won't be able to get to the studio. Send us a message from the website. And be sure to check our Facebook page for additional images.

We'll also tell you that we strayed from our dedication to silk on this shopping spree. When something was gobsmackingly beautiful and happened to be cotton or wool, or even synthetic (gasp!) we snapped it up.

So c'mon in to the studio and see the amazing variety of superb yarns. Let your creative beast out of the cage!

Interweave Kit

Sanjo recently partnered with Interweave to create this stunning weaving kit. We provided the yarn, wound into size-specific skeins for this project.
https://www.interweave.com/store/the-black-and-white-silk-scarf-kit

 

We're thrilled to have our yarn featured in this complex piece, designed by Madelyn van der Hoogt, the Queen of Complex Weaving. The deflected double weave in this design can be woven in 2 different ways for 2 distinctive looks.

Check it out. It's a great way to try something complex, with all the instructions and the right amount of yarn included. No math required!