The information below lists 2025 lectures, demos and workshops.
SCHOOL OF SWEETGEORGIA (SOS) COUPON CODES
The SOS has given me permission to give my students access to one month free.
https://www.schoolofsweetgeorgia.com?aff=Claddagh&p=24497
If you decide to join SOS after a month, this link will get you 15% off an All-Access SOS membership.https://www.schoolofsweetgeorgia.com?aff=Claddagh&p=24498
RECENT ARTICLES
An Artist’s Approach to Carding Color: Build Palettes with Value Keys. Spin Off Magazine Winter, 2025.
How to Achieve Grist and Avoid Skewing Your Count. Article for SweetGeorgia Yarns, December 23, 2024.
The Many Styles of Spinning Drafts. Article for SweetGeorgia Yarns, December 7, 2024.
Minor Key Mitts: Blending for the Northman Mittens, Spin Off web article. November, 2024.
ERI, The Silk with Humble Beginnings, February, 2025.
Eri sericulture was first introduced to India by the Tibeto-Burman peoples who migrated to the Indian subcontinent around 1,000 BC. When I first started spinning silk in the early 1980’s the harsh traditional degumming methods used to process eri rendered a weak, brittle silk with a short staple length and dull lustre. The result was a silk that felt more like cotton than silk.
The eri silk I work with today couldn’t be more different. With research and advances in technology eri silk is now almost as popular as Bombyx. A demineralization process and a gentler degumming process, coupled with changes to the fibre preparation method, have resulted in slivers containing longer staple lengths and fibre that is soft, silky and lustrous.
In this presentation I will briefly describe the life cycle of the eri silkworm, how the silk is synthesized in the silk gland, and the main differences between Bombyx and eri. I will also share how I prepare, spin, and finish eri silk for weaving.
SPIN A HAND-DYED BRAID SIX WAYS, June, 2025.
Handpainted braids are wonderful sources of inspiration. Even though the dyer has done much of the colour work for you, there are still many choices to make when preparing and spinning the braid. In this course, I demonstrate how you can achieve six different colour effects in your 2-ply handspun from one colourway. We explore fractal, gradient, raindrop, rill, and marled yarns. Spinning fractals and gradient yarns are not new to most of you. How I use my equipment to prepare them, is. In this workshop I share how I use my fibre preparation equipment in non-traditional ways to: reduce waste, produce the smoothest fibre preparation possible, save time, manage colour placement in a consistent manner and, last but not least, create different colour effects in my handspun.
SPINNING HANDPAINTED ERI AND TUSSAH SLIVER, September 5 – 7, 2025 : Sunshine Coast Fibre Camp.
Join Kim McKenna for this one day exploration into the fascinating world of two wild silk species, Samia ricini and Antheraea pernyi (also known respectively as eri and tussah silk). Indulge your senses as you spin colourful indie-dyed handpainted eri and tussah silk sliver.
In its natural state, eri is a creamy white coloured silk with a soft pearlescent sheen. This wild silk is almost as fine as Bombyx, making it an ideal choice for wool/silk blends.
Tussah is a soft honey gold colour. Of all the wild silks, this wild silk species is the most like Bombyx in hand, drape and lustre.
In this workshop you will learn:
- how to prepare and spin eri and tussah to give you more control over the grist, density, and character of your singles
- how to create different colour effects when using handpainted silk sliver
- how to create wool/silk blends that are a dream to spin
- the subtle adjustments required to both your wheel and spinning technique to spin eri and tussah silk.
Kim will also share her “Through the Rings” plying method and her wet finishing technique for silk yarns.
KNITCITY (Details TBA). September, 2025.
HANDPAINTED ERI & TUSSAH SILK SLIVER, October, 2025, Salt Spring Island.
A workshop on colour management in your handspun silk yarns and silk/wool blending techniques. Further details TBA in April, 2025.
Dreams can come true. Join your host, Diana Sanderson, and instructor, Kim McKenna, on Salt Spring Island for a creative, relaxing weekend spent preparing and spinning colourful handpainted eri and tussah silk yarns and silk/wool blends. This 2 1/2 day workshop is nicely paced with hands-on learning, educational presentations, and demonstrations.
The weekend includes 1 complimentary welcome dinner, 1 potluck dinner and two complimentary light lunches.
The focus this year is colour and silk. You will learn how to apply colour theory principles in yarn spun from handpainted eri and tussah silk as well as silk/wool blends. Registration for this event will be via Eventbrite.
ERI, The Silk with Humble Beginnings, May, 2026.