Delayed Gratification

I have been busy weaving!  Deadlines have been looming (pun intended!) and I'm happy to announce that everything is ready,  pressed and pretty........and I can't show you! Well, not right now as I believe the recipient might read the blog and I would like it to be a surprise.

Today I gift wrapped and felt quite pleased with my efforts, until I realized that I had forgotten to take pictures!  So tomorrow, I'll be unwrapping and getting the camera out and having a photo shoot!   Lucky me for having extra tissue and gift wrap paper!

We are off to Vancouver later this week for a few days and I'm quite excited.  Once we get back home, I have another weaving deadline will be on the horizon and so I'll be hard at it again. At least that project I can you show you as I go along so not so "Secret Sam" as this one.

So I'll have to distract you with something else!    Do you recall the story about a shawl made from spider silk? The  process and pictures of the shawl were on display and all over the news and internet. Well, they've done it again.

This time they have made a stunning cape with the spider silk. The silk used is the equivalent of 1.2 million female spiders being 'milked'. Repeat, only female spiders! The spiders are wild and must be located and collections made daily by volunteers. (Though they might have worked out some kind of system!)

The back view.... definitely click to enlarge!

Close up of the fabric.... and there's a golden spider!

The story Greek myth of Arachne can be found here  It is one reason why there must always be one small flaw) or design element as some call it)  in very piece you make or you will suffer a similar fate! The Navajo also have a similar story of the Spiderwoman and some of the stories can be found here .

In 1998 when I took delivery of my new Woolhouse Tools countermarche loom, I had to wait for some parts and so it sat idle for two weeks. When the tie up clips finally arrived and were attached, I found I was not the first weaver to use the loom! In the upper left hand corner of the overhead beater assembly was a tiny little web... and it looked perfect! The weaver was in the centre enjoying a rest. I took this to be a good omen!

This is a golden orb spider (Nephila madagascarienis) and they are a fair size!  The full story (with a video of the cape) can be found here

This masterpiece was the work of English textile expert Simon Peers and US designer Nicholas Godley.

 So have a good week and I'll post about my adventures on our return!.