MULBERRY SILKS

I had a great visit to Patricia Wood at Mulberry Silks yesterday. She had a lovely selection of silks of all kinds and was getting ready for the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace later this month so everything was on show.

Silk dupion selection

I chose a selection for my next project that I'm really pleased with. These fabrics, together with some fat quarters and strips I already had, mean that I can put my planned pieces together.

I found a beautiful purple / gold shot silk for the background shown left though the colours are not quite true. I also found some heavy woven silk which looks like a very drapey linen - new to me but beautifully textured. It'll give a great contrast with the lustrous slubbed silk dupion.There was also a fat quarter of checked silk that I bought to add variety.

Sari ribbons and spun sari silk

... and of course, Patricia had some really dazzling silk sari strips. I just couldn't resist the jewel-rich colours - I never can - and bought three hanks for my stash. Maybe some of the ribbons will find their way into my new work to give an unexpected pop of colour.

I never know quite what's going to happen when I start a project. That's at least half the fun.