Autumn, Arachne & Beaded Spiders...

Once you see a sky like this you know that Autumn has arrived!  There's also been a distinct chill in the early morning air which is scented with a mixture of damp earth and the last heady summer smells of lavender & roses.  

We've had a good few sprinkles of rain lately too and I've noticed the leaves on the trees are slowly changing colour.  Rain coats & brollies have had to be dug back out from the depths of the under-stairs cupboard and as much as I love the heat & light of summer things are getting pretty in a different way and I always find the changing of seasons quite inspirational, creatively speaking ;-)

One of the first changes you notice at this time of year is how the garden becomes adorned with lots of little webs that catch the raindrops and remind me of delicate floating necklaces - they are so pretty!   

I admit that maybe I'm not so keen when the occupants start scuttling indoors (time to put conkers by the doors & windows) but you have to admire the weaving skill of the spider.  When I look at them closely, I am reminded of a story I read when I was a child called 'The Boastful Spinner' which came from this book..

(well thumbed and a little worse for wear because it was one of my favourites!)

It's a story I must have read a dozen times (in fact I probably read the book from cover to cover several times over). Taken from ancient myths, it tells of a fair maiden called Arachne who was a talented weaver but who became so vain & arrogant that she attracted the attention of the Goddess Minerva with all her boasting.  A challenge ensues and unfortunately the tale does not end well for Arachne who ends up as a spider in perpetuity - silly girl, she should have known better than to upset the Gods!

Anyway, I hope you don't mind beaded creatures of the 8-legged variety! If so you might want to skip the rest of this blog post but I do hope not as I really don't think today's project is as scary as the real thing - especially as inspired by the gorgeous blues & pinks of the sunset picture and made with a pretty, heart shaped fabric covered bead like this one...

They are really simple to make and I've been experimenting with a new step-by-step tutorial format which is kind of a cross between a flip book and a video - just click this link to see it on my you tube channel - it works best if you open it up to large size (I'd be interested to hear what you think or if you just prefer lots of pics on the blog instead?)

Once you've got the hang of them you can makes lots of different ones with all sorts of beads - they'd make great brooches or statement pendants too or you could make a few in plenty of time for Halloween.


Happy Making :-)
xxx

Just click the video link below for a flip book style tutorial