Ghenghis Khan, Museum Souvenirs, and Crafts

So we went to the museum and mainly I wanted to see the Ghenghis Khan exhibit. It was very informative and well done and I enjoyed it very much. Every where else in the museum was so crowded by the munchkin types that over ran the place that day. (Do I sound like a crotchety old lady? Why, I believe I do!)

One of the displays talked about the ger, or yurt, those roving marauders (and present day herders) used as their living abodes. A ger is essentially a felted tent. The museum volunteers proceeded to explain how the wool was felted (using ‘mother felt’ from falling apart clothing) with the lanolin retained in the wool to preserve the water proofing. Made sense to me, even though I hadn't heard of 'mother felt' before.

Some of their hygiene habits…ick! They really did wear their clothes til they fell apart and off.

Other interesting textilian pieces of the exhibit included two silk garments and a leather coat found on the mummified remains of what is imagined to be a wealthy woman from the 11-12th century. On the silk dresses? I could still see the woven patterns. And I could still see they were beautiful. Isn’t that something?

So. We see what we want to see and go where we want to go and eat a bit and see the movie and before we get ready to leave, Wonderful Guy suggests we stop in the museum gift shop. We used to buy souvenirs regularly, but not so much now. Why, heck! They hardly ever sell yarn in those places!

But this time, in honor of the Mongolian artifacts, and the time honored tradition of living in gers, the gift shop offered a selection of how-to-felt kits, and some books on felting, which..caught my eye.

Yes. It’s true. In the tradition of Ghengis Khan, scourge of Asia, fearsome ruler of the largest empire of history to that date, legendary law maker and innovative leader, I could have memorialized my viewing of the Mongolian artifacts with a book showing me how to felt little wool eggs, and catnip balls.

Awesome.

DSis has suggested I could do something with this year harvest of catnip for Atomic Sisters.  Hmmm...Khan's Catnip Kitty Teasers?