The Stone Spider

“The means to gain happiness is to throw out from oneself like a spider in all directions an adhesive web of love, and to catch in it all that comes”  Leon Tolstoy

This quotation seems to sum up the happiness I have been feeling about my own little ecosystem and all the family and friends that inhabit it. It is no surprise to you that I have a love for all creatures, great and small. I love spiders something I think I inherited from my father. My father, an engineer would marvel at the webs being built outside the windows of our home. Whenever I see a spider and a web I think back to those days. I have embroidered spiders and knit webs before but a few nights ago I wanted to see if I could make one out of smooth river stones covered with crochet. Here is some interesting spider trivia that you can share with your friends or children *Little Miss Muffet of the nursery rhyme really existed. She was the daughter of Dr Mouffet who believed spiders had healing powers when eaten. *The weight of insects eaten by spiders every year is greater than the total weight of the entire human population. *The combined length of thread in a spider's web is about 20-60 m and it can take the spider up to 3 hours to make it. *On an equal weight basis, spider silk is twice as strong as steel. In addition, spider silk is very elastic. *A jumping spider can jump up to 25 times its own body length.

Comments

[Jennifer]

Very cool! I like spiders, as long as they aren't crawling on me. I look forward to seeing where you go with this.

[karine]

j'aime vraiment ton travail ,mais dits -moi :tu es une Christo du crochet , qd est-ce que tu nous emballes la tour Eifel.
bises

[Lisa]

Thank you so much for this post Margie. Spiders hold a special significance for me as I will tell you later. Your little arachnid is a marvel. Perhaps I should begin to refer to you as Arachne! So lovely as well to catch some further glimpses of your family, what a wonderful image of your father. Keep spinning your webs, it is such a pleasure to be caught in them!

[Mathyld]

Oh I love it ! Very delicate !
And I also like the embroidered spider on crochet cowl / shawl.

And thanks for sharing but ... Oh my Gosh this trivia is freaky !!!
That Doctor Mouffet sounds weiiiird.
And yikes to the weight of insects eaten by spiders !!!

x x x
___m___

[Sarah]

Thanks so much for this. My two year old daughter is OBSESSED with Spiders and Cobwebs. Cobweb was one of her first words! Whenever she draws it's "a spider". She'll love these photos...

[Rane]

I have been away because of the
death of a family member and
the holidays. I realize how much
I love your dear little site.
I also see I missed a lot!
I also see how fragile life is!
Your spider is sooo cute. I have
always loved spiders. Ever since
I was a child and seen the book
about a pig and a spider!
Take care all and keep warm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rane and kids

[Karen]

Fibre artists extraordinaire are spiders and worth honouring as you have. I have thought of trying to 'weave' a web and then imagine a spider on the wall chuckling at my thoughts to attempt this.

[Cassandra]

I'll have to admit, I'm not really a spider sort of girl. Except the little black jumpy ones that hang out in my plants in the summer. I like those. But your creations are magnificent and the trivia is awesome. Thanks for sharing...

[meredith]

as a lifetime entomologist, we tend to adopt spiders....thanks for the blog and giving spiders some attention. i always let them live in my house!!!

[Elsita]

Oh Margie!
You always come out with the most original things ever! Thank you sooo much for your imagination!. Your spider is so sweet and beautiful. My Mom has a special love for spiders too. When I was little I used to be scared of them but she taught me that they were such wonderful creatures and that they worked so hard everyday. Somehow I started seeing spiders as little Margots (my Mom's name). Today I love them too and I try to pass that love to my children.
(I love the picture of your Dad, he had smart eyes:)

Elsi :)

[susie]

I had a little spider named Ernie living under my window ledge in the kitchen. When I would wash dishes he would come out for a visit. I haven't seen him for months now. I miss him.

[Leticia]

Happy Belated Birthday! I've been catching up reading your latest posts and as always I've been inspired.

[Tamara (tamaradesigns)]

Why is it that so many artists are also scientists (and vice versa?). Another spider fact - my 4 year old son likes to remind me that spiders have 8 eyes ... and they're not always on the front of their heads!

[Sam]

We spent many hours last summer watching all the spiders in our garden. They loved to build their webs across the path up the garden. Each morning, I would carefully break the edges of the webs and tuck them out of the way, so I could get past to hang up my washing. A few hours later, when I would come back to collect the washing, I would find the spiders, carefully and patiently rebuilding their webs.

[mayaluna]

Your stones have just gotten more and more striking and that spider is fabulous! I find spiders to be fascinating. We have had female Argiopes spin their zig-zag webs in our rose bush each summer. Perfect vantage point for people of all heights to observe. My daughter loved your spider, but didn't believe it was made from stones... insisted it was real. I think you infuse your work with such passion and love that she knew the truth!

[doda]

Interesting post, and very cute crochet spider. Well done!

[Patricia]

Margie, the standing stone with the web is exquisite! I love your stone spider, too!

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[loveaphid]

I love spiders too. I think they are such unique creatures. I also love symbolism of the spider web, Don't the always stitch a spider web into quilts for good luck? Your crochet covered rocks are so cool to me. Thanks for your great site and your inspiration.