Last month's fibre club installment went out a bit later then normal, due to my summer travels, but it has hopefully reached everyone successfully by now.

August's colourway was inspired by biochemist Gerty Cori, who's long collaboration with her husband resulted in our understanding of carbohydrate metabolism, particularly the breakdown of glucose and glycogen and the resultant production of lactic acid. She was the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, which she shared with her husband and Argentinian Bernardo Houssay for their combined work on the catalytic conversion of glycogen and the involvement of the anterior pituitary gland in sugar metabolism.

The colours that I used in this month's club come from the very concrete AND a more theoretical interpretation of Cori's work. The dark reds and browns are taken directly from the liver and muscle tissues that she used in her research. The brighter colours are inspired by energy and growth, both of which require energy derived from sugar metabolism. The fiber is dyed with long stretches of each group of colours as a nod to the link between the two sides of the equation.

I used Dorset Horn wool as the base for this month: this is a hardy and rare UK breed that is known for its ability to breed out of season, making it very attractive to shepherds looking for meat production. The wool is sturdy, with a strong crimp, but it can be a bit tricky as the crimp is irregular, and will vary from lock to lock. So some attention is needed when spinning your singles! I'm planning to spin some of this up for some sturdy lined mittens for the winter.

Sign ups for the fourth quarter of the 2016 Lab Goddess Fibre Club are now open, so do come join us! There's lots of fun colours to come...

Porpoise Fur