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Silk Fibers and Metal Threads Print E-mail
Date/Time:  05/19/2002 1:30 - 4:00
Type:General Meeting
Location:Barrington Library
Teacher:LMSG-Kathy Joassin

Thanks to the talent and imagination of our Asst. Program Chair, Kathy Joassin, she will present a program on Unusual and/or New Silk Fibers and Metal Threads. Please join in as Kathy explores silk fibers, various metal materials and how they can enhance our stitching. Also, you are strongly encouraged to continue to bring in your show and tell items, and books. We are still holding drawings for $5.00 gift certificates for those who participate in show and tell, so increase your chances and share your work with the members of the guild.

Please note: The May meeting will be at the Barrington Library. The Library 
is at the first light north of Lake Cook Road on Northwest Highway in Barrington. Meeting time will be 1:30 pm, as always. For out of state members, take 355 north to route 53 to the end. Exit Lake Cook Rd. West and go all the way to Northwest Highway and go right. The next light is the 
Library--go right into the parking lot. The meeting room is on the second 
floor. 

Sue Studebaker - Ohio Samplers lecture. CANCELLED

We are sorry to have to inform the membership that the May 19th meeting program, a lecture on Ohio samplers by Sue Studebaker, has been cancelled due to illness in her family. Hopefully this program can be scheduled again in the future as there is great interest in the subject and the lecturer. 

Sue Studebaker is the author of the book "Ohio Samplers Schoolgirl Embroideries 1803-1850".  This book was done for an exhibition presented by the Warren County Historical Society Museum in Lebanon, Ohio.  Exhibition dates were May 15 through July 3, 1988.


    

Highlights

Our guild now has 120 members. The board has approved a discounted membership fee of $15 for those who join after June 1st. Remember to sign up for those summer workshops! The upcoming workshops were reviewed and a list of proposed programs and workshops for 2003 was distributed.

Click on any of the images below to see a larger picture.

Our original program, a lecture on Ohio samplers by Sue Studebaker, was cancelled by the speaker. It was replaced by an excellent program on "Unusual and/or New Silk Fibers" given by one of our own guild members, Kathy Joassin. We had a small group which met at the Barrington Library and everyone who attended learned something new about silk.

Kathy began with a description of how silk is produced. Did you know that:
  • Silk worms are the only domesticated insect
  • Silk worms love to eat mulberry leaves
  • Silk worms don't fly
  • Silk is really produced by a caterpillar, not a worm
  • The production of silk dates back to 3000 B.C.
  • A single cocoon can produce a fiber 2,000 to 3,000 feet long
  • There are two different types of silk: filament silk consists of one continuous stand from a entire cocoon while spun silk is made of shorter lengths of silk spun together
  • Filament silk is more lustrous than spun silk.
Kathy passed out an article on the history of silk called the "Silk Road".  We learned that the production of silk originated in China and was a highly guarded secret. China exported silk by caravan over the "Silk Road", a route that went from China to the Roman Empire before the birth of Christ. The secret of silk production was slowly smuggled out to other countries, including one princess who took the silkworm eggs out of China in her headdress. In the 20th century, silk was not commonly available and cotton became popular.  During the world wars years, limited imports from the east affected the supply of silk.  It is only within the last 20-30 years that silk has again become generally available and popular for needlework.

Kathy recently attended a Kreinik seminar on silks. She learned a couple of important facts. First, the presenter stated that there is no right or wrong direction for a silk thread. Second, Kreinik has reduced their product line to three silks: Mori (6 ply spun silk), Serica (3 ply filament silk) and Bella. Soie D'Algier will no longer be be distributed by Kreinik.

Kathy had numerous samples of silk and color charts from various manufacturers. She had old silk from the 1850s and modern silk. You could examine the threads with a magnifying glass and see the differences in thickness and number of strands (ply) for each type of thread. Samples were shown from: Kathy also discussed specialty silks. Some sources don't actually produce silk, but purchase silk and then dye it or process it in special ways. For example, Alyce Schroth produces naturally dyed silks and was featured in Needlework magazine in 1999. 

If you are aware of other sources for silk, please tell Kathy so we can add them to the list. Or, if you have used specialty silks, tell us about your experience. Kathy encouraged anyone who has not stitched with silk to try it.  You'll never want to go back to cotton again!




Kathy Joassin showed us a sampler she stitched for a lifelong friend. She gave her friend a choice of samplers from a selection of charts and she picked the ER - IT sampler dated 1722 from the Scarlet Letter. The sampler is over three feet long!  Hey Kathy, do you need any more friends?




Judy Roubick brought in a work in progress: the Morning Song sampler by Just Nan.  It is stitched on 28 count Graziano Riviera cream/natural gingham linen. We'll look forward to seeing the completed sampler.



Remember to bring your needlework projects to the next meeting so you can show others what you've accomplished! 

Have a great summer!
We'll see you at the next general meeting in September.