The brown ball is from the Mopani worm, the white is raw and spun silkworm wool.
These balls are taken and dyed into the most wonderful colors. Gaelyn bought some and I am surious to see that she is going to knit with it, so get on with it please my friend. :)
Patterns for the weaving are obtained from various staff members, each putting forward their ideas and it being discussed. There are various looms in the one room, some with a large single piece being woven....
...and yet other which have multiple pieces on it.
Various colors are incorporated and as you can see, it is all done by hand.
I love the knobby thread of this silk and it makes such a wonderful, rich texture for weaving and knitting being soft and warm too.
Some of the finished products are this scatter cusions on display all with true African designs on them.
Fine silk woven in places like China are for sale there too like these beautiful scarves.
Going through the process with the lady escorting me was extremely intersting and I would like to thank her for the time she took in explaining it all.Tucked away, this old sewing machine was on display but not for sale. What a wonderful old piece. I am sure that even after all these years it still works which is more than we can say for all our modern equipment.....
