Small exerpt: The surface of the library table in the Crewel World needlework shop was thickly layered with newspaper over a sturdy plastic sheet. A big kettle and a large, long-handled stainless-steel pot were simmering on a hot plate in the middle of the table, and there was a smell in the moist air as of some kind of unpopular green vegetable cooking. All eight seats at the table were taken and two women and a man were standing, all attentive to a handsome dark-haired woman in her middle fifties enveloped in a white smock generously spattered with soft colors, some faded almost to invisibility. 'In dyeing there are two kinds of fibers,' she was saying, waving an arm over the pot, 'protein fibers and plant fibers. Protein fibers come from animals: wool, silk, alpaca, dog and cat, yak, etcetera.' A standing woman’s hand went up. 'I beg your pardon,' she said. 'Silk is animal protein?' 'Certainly. It comes from the silkworm. And worms – they’re moth larvae, actually – are animals.' 'Oh, the silkworm. Well, yes, I guess they are.' But her nose was wrinkled in distaste.