Tangles and Webs: June 2013

Saturday, June 22, 2013

A Silken treat...

My computer is back home after yet another trip to Texas, and I've gotten all the software reloaded and most of the data back in place. Again. Hope it takes this time: my warranty ran out. Third time's the charm, eh?

I've got lots to catch up on, but this time I wanted to share something with you that I found delightful. It's from MIT, where a group of people created an amazing structure with the help of several thousand silkworms.

Here's the link to a video they made of the process that is itself a delight:
http://vimeo.com/67177328

And the link to the website with more info and lots of images:
http://matter.media.mit.edu/environments/details/silk-pavillion

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. (Thanks to Anita Osterhaug and Weaving Today for posting a story about this!)

I've been busy cleaning up my poor garden, badly damaged by the cold, snowless winter, and catching up on my spinning. I have some lovely handspun yarn to show you next post. Just scored two Corriedale fleeces, so expect to be spending considerable time sorting, washing, and preparing it in the coming weeks. My test run looked very good, so I think these fleeces are going to be a pleasure to spin. Chunky! Also, I am planning some new weaving projects again (finally!).

I've been taking photos all along, and now that my computer is back home again, I'll try to post on the stuff I've been doing instead of spending time on the computer!

A little about me

I grew up in a large extended rural family that always had some form of needlework or craft in their hands. They taught me. I am an artist, but it was when I returned to that childhood involvement with fibre that I found myself at home.

A few years ago I got a second-hand loom, and began to weave rag rugs like those around me when I was little. I still love old-fashioned rag rugs. I thought that would be all I would weave, it was so satisfying.

Then I started weaving other things. And fell in love with wool. I live in Vermont,a state with sheep and alpaca and mohair goats, and I know the people who raise them.

I got a spindle,and learned to spin, thinking it would just be a pasttime. It wasn't enough. I began scouring my yard and neighborhood for dye plants and started relearning and exploring natural dying-- a form of magic.

Then I joined the local fibre guild, and met my spinning wheel... love at first sight! I've not spent a day without spinning since.

But best of all-- I feel a stronger connection with all those men and women in my family, now gone, who shared their knowledge and love of old craft. They are expressed in the heritage they passed down to me.