Jean Doig, a member of the Lacey Ladies lace making guild and all-around fiber artist, gave a really wonderful demonstration of how silk is reeled off of the cocoons you see above. First she soaked them in warm water to make them soft, then some volunteers helped to brush the extra silk "hammock" off the outside of the cocoons.
Once all the extra silk is brushed off you can find the thread that actually makes the cocoon and start reeling it off. 
Jean set up about a dozen cocoons in the water and it takes at least that many to create an extremely thin silk thread. It was amazing to see exactly how labor-intensive silk production actually is.
The cocoons are still at the store if you wish to come in and see or touch them. If you missed the demo and have any questions, Jean will be back for another demonstration - this time with the Lacey Ladies - on Saturday Aug. 19.
Thank you, Jean, for a great night!
