My Celia Quinn Workshop Experience -- The Outline: What I Learned About...

Okay, as promised, here is my first installment (not including my Teaser and my Prelude postings)...

I had learned so much in my three days at the Celia Quinn Silk Workshop that I felt it best to first present an outline that will map my intentions.  This will not necessarily be in chronological order of the class itself but grouped instead by subject.

Then, I will break up my 'journal' into several postings to show the individual sections in more detail.  Really this is done for your benefit, or my posting(s) would quickly resemble an encyclopedia (remember those? that's before the web) edition!



A little 'administrative comments':

• My workshop journal segments will be posted only on FRIDAYS, though I may not be able to resist commenting  between 'official postings.'  
• I may NOT go in order, I'll be honest, as I move through this outline.  I'll let my notes and pictures 'drive me' the best directions.  
• Any video clips I use will NOT be from the class.  Celia respectfully requests no video on the class rooms and allows still photos.  I may try to find video clips from the web / YouTube as appropriate for the segments from other postings. Sometimes, I'll just have to describe it for you ;).  
• If I have lots of pictures for that segment, I will only have a few in the blog.  The rest I will put on our FB site in a photo album; I will then let you know in the blog post with a link.
• Is this a replacement for Celia's class?  NO! This will be a very pale comparison to learning from Celia and the hands-on experiences.  By all means, TAKE HER CLASS to really get the benefit.  I will also state that these are my notes and my experiences.  I likely have my interpretation of events and may have missed details.  Please use this journal as inspiration rather than an 'instruction' manual.

So, here goes with the overview....

My Celia Quinn Workshop Experience - Outline:

1. Silk Overview
- History / Origins of Sericulture (raising silk worms) and their Cultural Relationships as associated with:

• the traditional methods of their care / cultivation
• processing the silk: reeling vs. hankies / caps

- the lifecycle of the silk 'worms' (not actually worms, but that is their accepted common name)
- care of silk and silk characteristics

[Let me interject here briefly.  Being of biology training, a lot of this was already known in concept.  But there were a lot of details and pictures of the worm life cycle that were interesting.  Also, considerable information was presented from an informative & accessible children's book as well as slides of Celia's travels abroad.  Of course, I will have no reproductions of these pictures here in the blog.  I can only suggest that you search the web to see all the great information and pictures to add to this description. Of course then, possibly to your relief, this segment will be brief]

2. Spinning Silk
- Reeling silk from un-degummed cocoons -- this is the traditional method producing the best silk
- Spinning from degummed cocoons (natural or dyed)
- Spinning from hankie (mawata) and cap sections, using your hand only to 'draft' vs. assisted by a carder
- Spinning dyed hankies / caps: how-to and our gallery
- Spinning from a cap section using a swift-turned-distaff
- Spinning a silk top (a commercially produced carded/combed 'staple' of cut silk threads)
- Spinning carded silk (cut into staple sections)
- Specialty Silk Blends:

• Silk noil
• Thrown silk 'waste' threads
• "knickerbacher" : noils and wool
• "garnetted" yarn : threads/noils and wool
• wool blends -- cashmere, yak, alpaca, merino (7 blends experienced)

3.Making Silk!  Well, really a brief primer in reeling and making mawata (hankie) forms.
- reeling from boiled cocoons
- degumming cocoons
- using the frame to make mawata / hankies
- intact cocoons (with 'stifled' worms) vs. broken cocoons of "peace silk"
-[with a personal note on the difference between 'natural' and 'humane' death]
 
4. Dyeing Silk
- very brief on the dyes themselves
-details about the artistic / realistic affect of the dyes on the finished yarn

5. Is there Really a difference between Tussah and Bombyx Silk?
- Short answer, yes. Does it matter? That depends on what you are doing and the effect you want.

6.Silk Fusion (sometimes called Silk Paper or Silk Laminate)
- books available for instruction and inspiration
- adhesive mediums, different brands / types
- embellishments: what you can use, what to do, what to avoid
- flat vs. molded shapes
- embroidery? Can be used for strength, to fix a delamination, and adds artistic touches
- uses?  We covered our journal, you can also use for art, bags, accessories, clothing
- our gallery

7. Other Tricks and Tips Learned from the class
- how to make an Andean (or Peruvian) 'bracelet' to ply one strand
- how to ply one strand from a ball winder
- a brief review on the difference between short and long draw, and using a folded draw
- the 3 tenants of spinning
- Celia's articles and reading list

8. The locations   I have to show off pictures of the lovely locations used for the class
- Table Rock Llamas in Black Forest, CO
- The Carriage House at the historic Palmer House (Mansion) in Colorado Springs, CO