The San Antonio Living segment – YouTube
I know several of y’all have seen this already.
I put the San Antonio Living segment up on YouTube. Their rules about television shows didn’t address when it’s news, and it’s ME – I’m hoping this doesn’t get yanked out for copyright reasons!
If you were able to download the video from SendSpace, it’s the same footage – although this is a nicer copy.
neat!! you look good on TV!
Thanks! I feel like I look like a goober… but it’s like hearing your own voice recorded, it seems weird.
yeah i hate my voice on tape!
i also think you look great. and you did a great job. the tv people were pretty inspipid but you have so much great material. that guy liked to think he knew it all and talk the whole time instead of letting the expert talk. but you got enough in edgewise that it was very interesting.
that shawl taht is woven with the pattern from the dyeing of the thread is amazing.
i am in awe.
i have to make a video of myself this week demo-ing a yarny thing so i bet i will be hating the way i look and sound soon enough too.
Hee…. just don’t be in awe of ME for that shawl – that’s Uzbekistani Ikat. I tried to make it clear to the guy that I had silks from around the world (the whole variety-of-cultures thing) for display, but he didn’t seem to get the difference between what I made and what I bought.
Cool!!
it was clear that it was uzbek but stilll, i am jsut amazed when people figure that stuff out.
you do have a really nice collection of moths and silks.
Wonderful! You have a very charming voice and talk circles around this guys half-assed jump at the info. 😉 I didn’t know you had moths under glass. They’re REALLY beautiful!
That was neat! I liked seeing the cutie little worms and the cocoons and everything. You explained it very well. Plus, I can’t for the life of me remember that reporter’s name, but I had a crush on him about 15 years ago when he was out in L.A. Too funny!
p.s. You’re so handsome!
Fantastic! You came off really well.
Very cool, and nice to see you in action! The funny thing is the guy that interviewed you used to be a newscaster here in Corpus Christi. I thought you sounded very professional, at ease, and informative. 🙂
That’s a great segment! You do well on camera. Must be all that practice with the home show! 😀
This really neat! I got here via. Texas has some really cool things like this festival!
I recently got interested in various fiber related crafts, so this was very timely for me. 🙂
What do you do withthe silk? Do you use it for making pure silk cloth, or do you ever spin it with other fibers?
One question though – does the silk harvesting process kill the catipillers?
I really enjoyed the festival – I hadn’t heard of it before, but it was a BLAST. I do weave with my silk – you can check out some of my projects on my website, https://www.wormspit.com – look at the Silk Embroidery page and the Brocaded Tablet Weaving. I have spun silk yarn also, but haven’t yet done any blending myself. I have some fibers that were purchased already blended, but haven’t made more than a little test yarn.
The way I do it, yes, the process kills the caterpillars. It actually kills the pupa, the in-between stage between caterpillar and moth. If you don’t, the moth will bust through one end of the cocoon, and the silk can’t be unwound. Silk from hatched cocoons has to be spun, not reeled, and makes a different kind of yarn.
Oh my, your website is wonderful!! Full of facinating information! That is good that there are other ways to use the silk without killing the silkworms.
I’ve been interested in silk since I read Middlesex, but once I started soapmaking and knitting, my interest grew. I’ve never done it, but I’ve heard of adding silk proteins to soaps, and then of course, my interest in knitting really comes out of my interest in fiber arts in general, but I figure I should learn how to knit before I learn how to spin. 🙂 I also want to learn weaving, crochet, sewing, and so forth. It actually all comes from an interest in sustainability, and skills our great grandparents and so forth had that were lost, and I’m trying to reclaim them.
How do you raise silkworms? Is it difficult? Oh, I see, you have some info on your site. This is so facinating! Thank you for sharing!
Hee. You’re welcome! If you still have questions after you read that part, or if you want some eggs, just let me know!
So what’s the silk story in Middlesex? I’ve heard the name, but haven’t heard much about it.
Oh, thank you so much! I live in a tiny apartment in NYC right now, but probably in about 6 months, we are moving to Idaho. The plan is to eventually get a farm, raise our own vegitables, and I’m pulling for chickens (for eggs); goats and cows (for milk); horses (for pleasure, plowing, and transportation); and sheep, goats, llamas (or alpacas if the price ever comes down), and rabbits for fiber. Maybe I could add silkworms to the list! 🙂 I suppose if you raise them indoors, weather doesn’t matter so much. Are there any silkworms native to Idaho?
Middlesex was pretty good. It is a family saga sort of story, but a good third of the book deals with a brother/sister (and later husband/wife) pair who move to Michigan from a traditionally Greek town in Turkey. The sister/wife raises silkworms and there is some talk of that in that first third. The last 2 thirds are about their children and grandchildren, focusing on the one grand(son) who inherited a particular gene that was passed on because the husband/wife pair were the brother/sister pair.
Anyway, I don’t think that gives away too much…. I enjoyed it!
Do you mind if I add you?
Very interesting, loved the live segment. Your basement must look very Silence of The Lambs with all those moths hanging around. 🙂
They share a spare bedroom with my silk work and soapmaking stuff. It’s like to think that it’s a little more bright and artistic than SOL – but a lot of that is subjective, I’m sure. My moths don’t free-fly through the house, either – that would annoy me.
You could be‘s brother. You guys look so similar especially in this user pic here.
:chuckle: Yeah – I know him, he sings in the Chorale, and they have an office in my building. I’d say that he and I probably look at least as much alike, as me and my brother do – although I’m not sure how much of that is the beard and haircut.
Michael:
Have lost touch with you and very much enjoyed reading all about you and seeing what you are up to these days.
Take good care
Cindy Whitaker
http://www.windmillsoaps.com