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Ancient DNA from the pelt of a fluffy white dog named Mutton is revealing new details about the woolly dog, an extinct breed that was cared for and raised by the women of the Coast Salish tribal nations in the Pacific Northwest. The small dogs... were fed a special diet of fish or elk, and they were shorn like sheep, their wool woven into special blankets and textiles.For thousands of years, woolly dogs were cherished as family members and raised on islands or kept in pens to ensure they didn't interbreed with other dogs, according to Michael Pavel, an elder...

In southern Spain’s Cave of the Bats, starting almost 10,000 years ago, people buried their dead with stunningly crafted baskets that wouldn’t shame the finest arts and crafts markets today.Armed with elaborate baskets made of the tough local grass, the first to bury their loved ones at Cueva de los Murciélagos were hunter-gatherers in the Mesolithic (at the tail end of the Ice Age). That activity then ceased for about 2,000 years, at which point a new population appeared in the cave: early farmers of the Neolithic, who interred their dead with a different type of woven-ware – and sandals...

Archaeologists with the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository have uncovered fragments of woven grass artifacts estimated to be 3,000 years old. The rare finds were made on August 18, 2023, during excavations of an ancestral sod house on the shore of Karluk Lake, Kodiak Island, Alaska sponsored by Koniag. The fragments, which appear to be pieces of mats, are the oldest well-documented examples of Kodiak Alutiiq/Sugpiaq weaving. A unique set of circumstances preserved them. Alutiiq Museum Curator of Archaeology Patrick Saltonstall explained."We were excavating a sod house beside Karluk Lake as part of a broader study to understand how Alutiiq...

There are two reasons, according to Jim Adovasio, we don’t think of baskets or textiles when we think of the Stone Age. One is that stones and bones, being far more durable, are far more common at archeological sites than artifacts made of fiber... And yet it has been around a long time, as four small pieces of clay described by Adovasio this past year make clear. Found at a site called Pavlov in the Czech Republic, they are 27,000 years old--and impressed with patterns that could only have been created by woven fibers. These artifacts push back the date...

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have accomplished a stunning architectural feat using silkworms. To construct this "Silk Pavillion," 6,500 live silkworms were guided via computer, creating a 3D print of the domed structure. The vast majority of 3D printing is done with plastic (although liquid metal may not be too far away), but MIT's Silk Pavillion project is the first 3D-printed structure made out of 100% natural materials. According to Wired, Neri Oxman, the creator of the project, calls the hybrid fabrication method CNSilk. It constitutes part of her interest in "biomimicry," a new science that uses...

Asian prints are having their big moment again! In 2008, ikats, handmade-and-dyed prints, which originated among the weavers of the Ferghana Valley in Uzbekistan, and involve “a great amount of precision of tying and dyeing silk yarn in order to achieve a desired pattern…” conquered the fashion world, thanks to the efforts of Oscar de la Renta.

This week in New York, the American Museum of Natural History unveiled something never before seen: an 11-by-4-foot tapestry made completely of spider silk. Weavers in Madagascar took four years to make it, and the museum says there's no other like it in the world. Enlarge Simon Peers and Nicholas GodleyTwo Nephila madagascariensis spiders that were used to create the golden tapestry. It's now in a glass case at the museum. The color is a radiant gold — the natural color of the golden orb-weaving spider, from the Nephila genus, one that's found in several parts of the world. Simon...

To believers it is the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, miraculously marked with his image. But the Turin shroud was widely dismissed as a hoax in 1988 when scientific tests found it could not be more than 1,000 years old. Now one of the scientists who first studied 12 foot-long sheet has spoken - from beyond the grave - of how he came to believe that it could be genuine. A video made shortly before Raymond Rogers died in 2005 has been discovered, in which the U.S. chemist reveals his own tests show the relic to be much older -...

Greek archaeologists discover rare example of 2,700-year-old weaving The Associated PressPublished: May 9, 2007 ATHENS, Greece: Archaeologists in Greece have recovered a rare section of 2,700-year old fabric from a burial imitating heroes' funerals described by the poet Homer, officials said Wednesday. The yellowed, brittle material was found in a copper urn during a rescue excavation in the southern town of Argos, a Culture Ministry announcement said. "This is an extremely rare find, as fabric is an organic material which decomposes very easily," said archaeologist Alkistis Papadimitriou, who headed the dig. She said only a handful of such artifacts have...

In was enlightening to read Mellaart's excavation reports from the 1960s [2] as well as other early writings. Contradictions between those texts and the current work indicated more than a runaway kilim theory and an overly fertile imagination at work. Technical and stylistic problems now combined with incriminating disclosures to reveal what seemed to be careless, poorly conceived fabrications -- possibly a deliberate hoax... The current controversy is not the first instance in which James Mellaart has offered flimsy evidence as the sole "proof" of revolutionary archaeological findings. In the mysterious Dorak Affair... Mellaart claims to have uncovered a cache...

The Vast Right Wing Knitting and Needleworker's Circle 'Twas three days before Christmas, and all through the house, The panic was starting, and even the mouse Knew better than stand near the kitchen and stare, And away from the sewing room -don't even go there. The projects to finish, the work left to do, The presents to wrap, and more cooking, too As aunties and uncles, grandmas and pas and nieces and nephews expect Santa Claus, And husbands lay low, lest they get in the way, and children don't need an excuse to go play, On cookies, on bread dough,...

The Vast Right Wing Knitting and Needleworker's Circle 14 more days and counting!

The Vast Right Wing Knitting and Needleworker's Circle Weekend Chat! Want to gripe? Want to share? Want to brag? Need some care? Then pull up your chair, get out your workbasket, and come tell us about it!

The Vast Right Wing Knitting and Needleworker's Circle Ok, Weekend Chat. I was going to post last night but got way too involved with the live thread on the House vote last night. Too excited to even knit! But now Thanksgiving is upon us. I am busy deciding what we will finally have: Goose or turkey? Dressing? Low fat/lowcal desserts? Wanna talk about what you are doing, foodwise, craftwise, recipe wise?

The Vast Right Wing Knitting and Needleworker's Circle afghans counterpanes, coverlets quilts throws bedspreads laprobes baby blankets whatever. If you can cover yourself in a sizable way, use it for a bedspread or throw, or blanket, someone is going to have tried to make it in multiple techniques, out of different materials, ornamented in just about every way imaginable. So, what do you make?

The Vast Right Wing Knitting and Needleworker's Circle Want to gripe? Want to share? Want to brag? Need some care? Then pull up your chair, get out your workbasket, and come tell us about it!

The Vast Right Wing Knitting and Needleworker's Circle Well, I walk by the knitting and crochet mags and what do I see on their covers and headlines besides the usual sweaters and afghans? Scarves! So let's talk about making scarves. Some are easy, some are tricky, some are just fun. And they tend to be great beginner projects, and can be great, fun gifts. Have you been making any scarves?

The Vast Right Wing Knitting and Needleworkers' Circle Weekend Chat! Want to gripe? Want to share? Want to brag? Need some care? Then pull up your chair, get out your workbasket, and come tell us about it!

The Vast Right Wing Knitting and Needleworker's Circle Today, as the Christmas season is almost upon us, and Thanksgiving looms close, let us talk about charity needlework. Do any of you get involved with this? There is a lot of need and a lot of resources out there, especially for knitters and crochets, but most crafts have some things that can be done. Are there any projects we might want to think about supporting? I'll share my resources if you share yours!

Time for the VRWKC weekend sit and....chat! That's it! Want to gripe? Want to share? Want to brag? Need some care? Then pull up your chair, get out your workbasket, and come tell us about it!