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.
It's sakura (cherry blossom) season in Japan, and the trees are magnificent! And the textiles aren't so bad either... ;-) The textile tradition, both historic and contemporary, is so rich and plentiful in Japan, so there's always something wonderful to see.
Diana Sanderson, of Sanjo, had the rare and honoured distinction to meet with Jun-ichi Arai, a living legend in the weaving world. He was so generous with his time and shared so much of his deep and fascinating collection, amassed over his many years of weaving and innovating. We are deeply indebted to him for taking the time to share his love of textiles with us.
We also met with our suppliers in Japan, so you can expect some tantalyzing tidbits in the next while. Woohoooo! Isn't spring wondrous?
These things are not silk yarn. You caught us again.
In fact, as much as they look like something that was delivered direct from a silkworm, they're not. They're by-products of industrial silk-reeling. When the silk is reeled onto spindles, this is the part at the centre that is so tightly compacted and full of sericin (a silkworm's glue) that they can't unreel it. So they cut it off and create one of the world's exceptionally lovely things, silk casings. Some are smooth and some are ridged. Artistic people make them into jewelry; fibre artists embellish things with them. Aesthetes put them in lovely bowls to simply admire.
We've been quietly sneaking in some pretty fantastic stuff onto the Sanjo Silk website.
The first beauty on the catwalk is this stunner. It's Golden Muga Silk, which is a wild silk. Soft gold is the natural colour of this yarn, and it's yum-yum-yummy. It's a 60/2, which means that it's pretty fine, great for weaving or machine knitting. See our 40-004 on the website for photos showing how wonderful it is when it's machine knit.
Next up is this unusual yarn. Hey, we try to bring you things that you can't get anywhere else, and this is one of them. It's Pedencal Tussah Silk, another wild silk. The pedencus is the little stem that attaches the tussah cocoon to a tree branch, and this yarn is spun from the fibre in this little stem. The soft brown is its natural colour; it has a soft, almost cottony feel. It's a 20/1 Single, and like the above yarn, it's lovely for weaving and machine knitting. Again, we've got some great images of this yarn machine knit on the website on the 40-007 page.
Another Sari Silk yarn. The two featured today are spun from the thrums (warp yarns) left from weaving silk saris. This one, 40-015, is a multi-coloured yarn; every time we get a new shipment, they're a new colour, and this time we're quite excited about how many colours each skein has. It knits up into a textural, heavy fabric and is a real showstopper.
Last but not least is our other spun Sari Silk yarn, 40-016. Although it too is multi-coloured, it "reads" magenta, so we call it Mostly Magenta. This yarn is uber-drapey and lovely. It knits up into a luscious, heavy garment.
We're still adding new stuff every week, and although we update the blog regularly, but don't forget to check the website often to be the first on your block with the latest goodies.
It's worth the wait. The first Sari Silk is on the Sanjo Silk website. This is our Recycled Sari Ribbon yarn, 40-013. Why not start with a bang? The strips are about 1" wide, and are machine stitched together for secure joins. The resulting cloth is crunchy and textural.
Go big or stay home, Sistah. Imagine this with either jeans or a stunning black dress.
The skeins are pre-wound, so you need to contact us with your requirements. This garment was made using about 130 grams and an 8mm needle. It's big enough to be a wide cowl. Every skein is different; the variations are part of what makes this yarn so unique.
