Branching Out, variations

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I took a lace-knitting class at CHT, and found out that it’s not as impossible as I had heretofore believed. We did Old Shale as a learning experience, which didn’t turn me on so much… but it paved the way.

So Susan Lawrence’s Branching Out on Knitty was just the right thing at the right time. Hard enough to make me really learn what I’m doing, easy enough that I didn’t throw it against the wall in despair more than twice, at least after I learned how to set life lines.

I have a bunch of nice fingering-weight alpaca (200 yards / 50 grams) yarn from an Ebay auction that I decided would be nice – it turned out to be a good choice, as it tinked relatively easily and stood up to the constant fiddling that I had to do while learning the pattern. It’s not as soft as I wish it were; it’s got an odd blend of very-soft and slightly-scratchy touch.
Branching Out, and Alpaca Hookers

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Howdy, y’all!

A friend has sent me a HUGE amount (I’m guessing six thousand or more) eggs from his silkworms. These are a cultivar of Bombyx mori, and they eat mulberry. They spin a beautiful yellow-gold silk, which when degummed is white.

I can’t raise this many eggs myself. Once they’ve begun the warming process, they can’t be refrigerated to delay hatching – I have another six or so thousand for NEXT year too, already in the refrigerator. I am looking forward to raising some, but this is a LOT more than I was expecting to have at one time. If you want some, please email me at oakenking@gmail.com – I’ll be happy to send you some eggs. I need to mail them today and tomorrow (Friday and Saturday) because they should start hatching soon.

Please remember to give me your address, and how many eggs you want. I’m using a 1/16 tsp, which holds about 250 eggs, to scoop them out – so multiples of that are easy to count. I have 3000 or so on my desk at work, and as many at home.

Yaaay for prizes!!

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I just got back from this state-wide fiber arts convention. My class was small (only four people signed up!) but they did well and I think learned a lot. I’ve forgotten how draining it can be to stand up and talk for hours and hours. A lot of people expressed interest, and some of them are talking about hosting me for workshops, which is very pleasing. I enjoy teaching.

The Orangeganzine took First Place in its category, Handspun. And the medallion ribbon took BEST IN SHOW!!

It was not a tiny show. I was floored. There was some amazing stuff there.

And, on an also-very-cool note – they were CASH PRIZES. The coordinator was handing out the envelopes, and I didn’t realize they were checks – she said to the crowd at large, “And if any of you were wondering if Best in Show is like another first place, or if it’s more… it’s more.” I thought she was talking about how it was decided, like if it ranked with the others… but it was more, in the envelope. Wow. I’ve never won a cash prize for my weaving work before. Of course, I promptly spent most of it on books, tools, and prezzies. And cocoons!

Tussah silkmoth eggs

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If anybody who reads this wants some Chinese Oak Tussah silkmoth eggs, I’m going to have a bunch on hand. Please email me privately at oakenking (at) gmail.com.
They eat oak leaves, and produce a golden-tan silk. The moths are huge, docile, and very pretty. Read more

Silkworm gut

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Silkworm Gut

Silkworm gut used to be the preferred material for making fly fishing leaders. It is flexible, strong, and very nearly clear; it’s amazing that it’s actually natural, it looks so much like plastic. PLEASE NOTE: This page shows the dissection of a silkworm for the gut; if you don’t want to see that, please don’t read on.
Show me the bug guts!…

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Well, the answer is: the synthetic spider silk does take dye.

It takes dye very well, pretty much identically to how the bombyx does. It has a slightly more tan shade, but not as dark as tussah silk.

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