Silk Hankies and their Like

Posted by Heather on Feb 1, 2006 in Blog Fun |

Well this was a first. I raised silk worms like every kindergartener in So Cal (land of Mulberry trees) but I’d never really held SILK. The silk hankies featured here Knittyspin: Knittyspin win 05 – silk hankies from Chasing Rainbows (a deal at $14) are extraordinary. I bought mine in “Heather”…for obvious reasons.

Let me fill you in on what the Knitty article doesn’t say: JeeHOSefat! That stuff’s STRONG!.

Seriously. The “tugging it into roving” thing.
HA!

Tug is WAY WAY too polite. I struggled. I strained. The tensile strength of silk is well-known, sure. But there’s a difference between “knowing” and “oh-my-God-this-can’t-be-right-I’m-gonna-freakin’-break-it!”

However. I did manage to make a roving. And here’s a cool thing–you get it to the roving state and suddenly and all at once, you let go and it’s light as a feather. Fluffy, soft–still mad strong, yo. But gorgeous.

And now I have a reason for my new (my FIRST!) Bosie. I just got a Featherweight in Purpleheart.

I think I love it. Not as much as my husband. Not as much as Will Smith (DH knows…). But I do love it. Spins lovely. Sheila tested it for me and included some lovely roving which (amazing) matches the Heather Silk!