Graphicus May Challenge

I was so thrilled to win last month's challenge. My idea for it came very quickly but this month I was stumped. Mainly because I had no stamps that were obviously to do with the theme of travel. My interpretation may be a little far fetched but my favourite creatures, butterflies, spend most of their life travelling from place to place, plant to plant, so here is my entry. My first idea was for that of a flicker book, like a cartoon animation, a set of stills which put together portray a movement/journey from place to place.
The first picture is of the finished card, but of course you can't 'do' the flicking bit to see the progress of the butterfly from one side to the other. In an attempt to give you a better idea I have photographed all six pages in a line, in the hopes that if you scroll down at some speed and squinting at the picture, you will get the idea I'm trying to show! (Appologies for the shadows across the picture. It was breezy outside and with Georgian style windows there is nowhere indoors with light and clear space)

Compare the size

Well, what a difference a month makes.
More of my Zebra silkworms from World Wide Butterflies have hatched.

The following photos show a comparison between Chinese Silkworms and a Giant silkmoth caterpillar of the same age and the last the first Antheraea Yamamai - Giant Silkmoth - which has begun to spin. The clever thing has wrapped oak leaves around itself to form protection while it spins a cocoon.What a size they get to!

Look at me!

I've just hatched from a pinhead sized egg and I'm staying in here, in my little round pot with my new juicy leaf, cos there's giants out there!


The black hairy 'kego' hatchling is like a piece of black sewing cotton. The other silkworms are three weeks old. You can compare the sizes by looking at the dots in the kitchen paper they are both on. 'Kego' will increase in size 10,000 times in the next 4 weeks and get lighter in colour.

Green leaves are good for a diet

Well, they make us fat!
Look how much we have grown in TWO days since we have been fed mulberry leaves instead of that 'pate'.

"Well, How we have grown!"

"Not like those weedy grey things"
"Sit up straight at the table! That's not fun. We can eat any old way, swinging upside down, upside down and sideways, even clinging on to the leaf we're eating... Ooops perhaps that's a mistake!"

"Gotta get my butt out of here! The other three are going to eat it all. They never share!"

Changing Faces

I guess a few of us would like to change something about our looks or face, but at the expense of not being able to eat for a whole day?
This caterpillar is getting ready to change skin. First his/her face will pop off and then it will be able to walk out of its old, rather tight skin. You can see the extra 'bump' on its head. That is the old face. The new one will be lighter in colour until its new skin is 'set'ready to be filled with more food!!!!
The green caterpillars grow at an alarming rate. The others, at the right of the second picture are about the same age.
I won't be able to post for a few days so there will be a big change in them all by the beginning of next week.

Latest Creations

Well, it's that time again, when we're labelling and packing to go to a Craft Fair. This one is at Hatfield House and lasts for 4 days. Which items of clothing will I need? Some for all weathers, knowing GB!
I have taken photos this morning to record my latest hand woven creations. So here are a couple of them, one more masculine in vertical stripes, the other feminine with a lot of hand dyed, handspun silk to create the weave pattern.

Got some more!

These silkworms are the kind that spin the white silk that we are all familiar with. Bombyx Mori is the latin name for them.
These are at slightly different stages of development, having hatched on different days. They are feeding on artificial food which is dried, reconstituted mulberry leaves. They must have mulberry to thrive and produce good quality white silk.
They will cast their skin for times in the four weeks it takes them to grow big enough to spin their cocoons.
The worm/caterpillar on the paper has stopped eating and 'stuck' itself to the paper so it can walk out of the old skin. It is important that I do not move 'him' during this time.