I am on a little bit of a spider kick this week. I highly recommend the book
The Private LIfe of Spiders by Paul Hillyard. Truly fascinating and I am sure your children would love parts of it.
I have been embroidering spiders using the little golden guide to Spiders and their kin as a reference. These will soon be covering stones but for now they are still in their embroidery hoops.
ERESUS NIGER
PITYOHYPHANTES SP. (HAMMOCK SPIDER)
LYSSOMANES SP. ( having eyes in four rows)
All of these have been embroidered on little scraps of fabric I purchased on my trip to purl soho just over a year ago. It recently resurfaced when I was tidying up a little.
This was the only one of this group embroidered with vintage silk embroidery floss. It is a little more difficult to work with but I love the sheen and added dimension it gives to the piece. I also love the fact that this little guy has 8 eyes. Imagine what you could do with eight eyes:)
This morning I woke up to the sounds of helicopters hovering over our house. It turns out there was a young black bear in a tree in our town creating some excitement. I was just relieved it wasn't a robbery but I did bring the kitties in at the request of my daughter until the bear was safely removed from the tree.
The silk thread is very pretty. They'll look perfect on stones but they look sweet framed in the hoops too. The variety of spiders is amazing, we marvel at all the different types found just in our garden alone.
I think eight eyes is a very useful trait, all mothers should have them and eight arms too!
A black bear in a tree sounds very exciting, must be a lovely area to live in.
Posted by: joanie | June 04, 2009 at 01:49 AM
Your embroidered spiders are stunning. You chose the fabrics so thoughtfully to match.
Posted by: Patricia | June 04, 2009 at 07:06 AM
Your spiders are so beautiful, but they also look so real, they almost scare me !
And the bear in the tree ? So exciting ! He looks so beautiful ... But I'm glad you kept the kitties in !
x x x
___mathyld___
Posted by: Mathyld / encore petite | June 04, 2009 at 10:40 AM
Your bear made international news! He's on the front page of msnbc.com right now as a video link.
Posted by: Patricia | June 04, 2009 at 11:18 AM
Exquisite!!!
(We are big golden guide fans at our house!)
Posted by: gardenmama | June 04, 2009 at 11:50 AM
that bear was all the talk at the MNR this week! he seemed really cute :)
Posted by: rebekah | June 04, 2009 at 07:33 PM
Before your recent spiders posts, I didn't like spiders. Now, you make me take interest in them. When I'll meet one (not to big !), I'll probably even observe it instead of running away (and so will do my children). Can you see the power you have to make us progress ?
As Joanie, I love them framed in the hoops too ! Your spiders are fantastic ! I envy their 8 eyes (garden or forest in 8 dimensions, wow !) (or visiting 8 blogs at the same time !), but I envy still more their 8 arms ... !
Concerning your neighbouring black bear, I hope he can find his way back home. My husband and I have been so lucky to see a baby one along a river in Yosemite Park 14 years ago ! Such amazing and unforgettable memories ! Won't your black bear inspire you in a near future ?
Posted by: Nanou | June 06, 2009 at 04:04 AM
these are beautiful!! - thanks again for the lovely flowers.xxx
Posted by: arounna | June 07, 2009 at 11:10 PM
I love these spiders soooo much! They look so alive!
Elsita :)
Posted by: Elsita :) | June 12, 2009 at 01:36 PM