fungus among us

fungus, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

Yeah, I know that this isn't a fiber...but I love how this picture came out, so I am posting it anyway. This is kind of the most extreme Macro you can get. What you are looking at here are the fruiting bodies of a common bread mold, stained for visibility and viewed through a microscope at 100x.

I took the photo by fitting the microscope with my digital eyepiece that I bought surplus from Russia. (My school couldn't afford one at the time and I REALLY wanted one) I think that it looks like modern art, and it kind of reminds me of my encaustic flower paintings that I do when I am not wrapped up in wool roving.

Maybe I should blow this up and sell the prints on Etsy...it really is kind of oddly lovely, isn't it?

corriedale 100x

corriedale 100x, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

THE SCALES! LOOK AT THE SCALES!!!

Yup...that is what makes this stuff felt so well....

When you heat these fibers up, those scales flip open and just grab each other like crazy.

LOVE IT.... I really do.

Cashmere 100x

Cashmere 100x, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

When art and science meet.....it can be a beautiful thing. In Forensic Science class last week, I was teaching my students how to recognize different fibers microscopically. While they were looking at fiber samples through the microscopes, I took some photos of thier best samples. I thought that I would share some of the better ones with you.

I took this with my camera, a steady hand, my students and a microscope. Yes, it is green dyed. If you look at the image in the largest format, you can see the cuticle scales on each fiber.