I hate spiders
Last night I woke up with a start. I thought at first it was because I had fallen asleep with an audiobook running and it had come to a, rather loud, theatrical skirmish. I blearily turned off the book and rolled over onto my back, only to stare straight up at a gigantic huntsman above my head.
Let me take a moment to remind you lovely readers that I live in Australia, and in Australia spiders range from microscopic to the size of your face. I'm aware that generally the poison level is inversely proportional to the size of the spider, but that doesn't stop me finding a spider big enough to smother me in my sleep terrifying. Also, I did not grow up here, so I inherently have a -5 resistance to local spiders.
Since moving to Australia, I've tried to sort things with the spiders myself. I have tried to reason with them; applying to their sympathies by pointing out that I, too, spin and therefore we should be able to live amicably in respectful cohabitation given that we share a common thread. (The spiders did not seem to appreciate my jokes or puns, in case you were wondering.) I've tried politely requesting down to outright demanding rent if they are going to take up space inside my home. I've tried helpfully pointing out that, given they are so excellent at catching local bug life, that outside, where the bugs exist in abundance, would drastically improve their chances of catching a good meal.
No spider I have ever come across in this country has been willing to see reason or work with me. They just aren't interested in it. However, they do seem to be interested in coming at my face. This has been an ongoing theme for me my entire life, and it seems that the spiders I left behind in The States managed to phone their cousins here in preparation for my arrival. ( If you don't believe me, ask me sometime over a drink and some knitting about the Magpie vs the Huntsman, or about the Spider from Dreaded Finals)
Luckily, Liebling and I have an arrangement in our partnership – he deals with the spiders and I take care of the other bugs. Bet your yarn balls I invoked that clause right then. No, I didn't care that it was the middle of the night and Liebling was half in his jammies. The alternative would be no sleep for either of us because I would refuse to go back into that room until I had visual confirmation the thing had been removed.
He dutifully went into the bedroom, armed with a broom, a box, and a solemn expression, and returned a few minutes later to take the spider outside. (Click here if you want to see a photo of the spider. If you're normal, read on.)
For those of you choosing to skip the visual, just know this - IT WAS THE SIZE OF MY HAND!
Fun fact – I DO NOT HAVE SMALL HANDS!
Rather, heel to longest fingertip is over 7 inches long and this spider was The. Same. Size. That's just...well I'll let you decide for yourself what to call it. You know how I feel already.
My point is, I do not like spiders. I do, however, find this project using a byproduct from spiders very interesting. (Ironically, the same word a friend from South Australia used to describe Australian spiders to me...)
This garment is made entirely of silk from female Golden Orb spiders. That means that stunning golden colour is 100% it’s original colour, no dyes were used in its making. It took three years to make, from harvest to hanger and cost over £300,000 to produce. Not exactly in my budget, but I do love that someone somewhere was able to take something that I would never voluntarily touch and turn it into something I actually want to touch and experience. Check out the project page at the Victoria and Albert Museum site for videos walking you through it's creation. Absolutely fascinating! (Hint: it involves putting the spiders on something like a mini treadmill...)
Now if you are paying attention - and I know you are! - you’ll notice the date on that project is 2012. That’s quite a while ago, yes. And yes, I too do not have £300,000+ for a woven/knitted/crocheted anything. But guess what!
Bolt Threads has a synthetic spider silk version, MicroSilk, that’s brewed from yeast! The process creates the dragline silk spiders make when rappelling, and is chemically exactly the same. This means it’s biodegradable as well as more sustainable than harvesting directly from the spider. (Also, less creepy for wusses like me.)
They’ve created hats and ties, the hat came in at $198 each. Still more than what I’m willing to pay, but more people spend $200 on a hat than they do £300,000. I mean, This plain knitted beanie from Gucci sells for $350, and it doesn’t have the weird factor.
Bolt Threads say that MicroSilk is stronger than traditional silk harvested from silkworms. What I want to know is, are we going to see it in yarn? They’ve already experimented in blending it with wool and the result was very positive. Perhaps this could be an alternative to nylon in our sock yarns?
P.S. Am I the only one to wonder if this experiment came out of a ‘here, hold my beer’ moment, and Dan Widmaier of Bolt Threads took the beer and thought “gee, wouldn’t it be neat if….”?
P.P.S. Thank you Ian Bissett for the use of your beer photo under CCBY 4.0. :-D
P.P.P.S. If that was all a bit wig inducing for you, and boy do I understand where you're coming from there, here's a photo of the leg warmers I whacked out last week, accompanied by the World's Coolest 3D Printed Pirate Mug.
Last night I woke up with a start. I thought at first it was because I had fallen asleep with an audiobook running and it had come to a, rather loud, theatrical skirmish. I blearily turned off the book and rolled over onto my back, only to stare straight up at a gigantic huntsman above my head.
Let me take a moment to remind you lovely readers that I live in Australia, and in Australia spiders range from microscopic to the size of your face. I'm aware that generally the poison level is inversely proportional to the size of the spider, but that doesn't stop me finding a spider big enough to smother me in my sleep terrifying. Also, I did not grow up here, so I inherently have a -5 resistance to local spiders.
Since moving to Australia, I've tried to sort things with the spiders myself. I have tried to reason with them; applying to their sympathies by pointing out that I, too, spin and therefore we should be able to live amicably in respectful cohabitation given that we share a common thread. (The spiders did not seem to appreciate my jokes or puns, in case you were wondering.) I've tried politely requesting down to outright demanding rent if they are going to take up space inside my home. I've tried helpfully pointing out that, given they are so excellent at catching local bug life, that outside, where the bugs exist in abundance, would drastically improve their chances of catching a good meal.
No spider I have ever come across in this country has been willing to see reason or work with me. They just aren't interested in it. However, they do seem to be interested in coming at my face. This has been an ongoing theme for me my entire life, and it seems that the spiders I left behind in The States managed to phone their cousins here in preparation for my arrival. ( If you don't believe me, ask me sometime over a drink and some knitting about the Magpie vs the Huntsman, or about the Spider from Dreaded Finals)
Luckily, Liebling and I have an arrangement in our partnership – he deals with the spiders and I take care of the other bugs. Bet your yarn balls I invoked that clause right then. No, I didn't care that it was the middle of the night and Liebling was half in his jammies. The alternative would be no sleep for either of us because I would refuse to go back into that room until I had visual confirmation the thing had been removed.
He dutifully went into the bedroom, armed with a broom, a box, and a solemn expression, and returned a few minutes later to take the spider outside. (Click here if you want to see a photo of the spider. If you're normal, read on.)
For those of you choosing to skip the visual, just know this - IT WAS THE SIZE OF MY HAND!
Fun fact – I DO NOT HAVE SMALL HANDS!
Rather, heel to longest fingertip is over 7 inches long and this spider was The. Same. Size. That's just...well I'll let you decide for yourself what to call it. You know how I feel already.
 |
| Photo credit: AFP Adrian Dennis |
This garment is made entirely of silk from female Golden Orb spiders. That means that stunning golden colour is 100% it’s original colour, no dyes were used in its making. It took three years to make, from harvest to hanger and cost over £300,000 to produce. Not exactly in my budget, but I do love that someone somewhere was able to take something that I would never voluntarily touch and turn it into something I actually want to touch and experience. Check out the project page at the Victoria and Albert Museum site for videos walking you through it's creation. Absolutely fascinating! (Hint: it involves putting the spiders on something like a mini treadmill...)
Now if you are paying attention - and I know you are! - you’ll notice the date on that project is 2012. That’s quite a while ago, yes. And yes, I too do not have £300,000+ for a woven/knitted/crocheted anything. But guess what!
 |
| Photo Credit: @boltthreads on Twitter |
They’ve created hats and ties, the hat came in at $198 each. Still more than what I’m willing to pay, but more people spend $200 on a hat than they do £300,000. I mean, This plain knitted beanie from Gucci sells for $350, and it doesn’t have the weird factor.
Bolt Threads say that MicroSilk is stronger than traditional silk harvested from silkworms. What I want to know is, are we going to see it in yarn? They’ve already experimented in blending it with wool and the result was very positive. Perhaps this could be an alternative to nylon in our sock yarns?
P.S. Am I the only one to wonder if this experiment came out of a ‘here, hold my beer’ moment, and Dan Widmaier of Bolt Threads took the beer and thought “gee, wouldn’t it be neat if….”?
P.P.S. Thank you Ian Bissett for the use of your beer photo under CCBY 4.0. :-D
P.P.P.S. If that was all a bit wig inducing for you, and boy do I understand where you're coming from there, here's a photo of the leg warmers I whacked out last week, accompanied by the World's Coolest 3D Printed Pirate Mug.
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Oh my goodness, synthetic spider silk! Cool!
ReplyDelete(Also, yes, I did click the image. I generally like spiders. They eat other undesirable bugs (blackflies, mosquitoes, horseflies, etc). . . . But the spiders in Canada just aren't. that. big! Eeek!
Yes I rather miss living in an area when all I had to worry about with a spider was possible necrosis...(brown recluses)
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