"Come Into My Parlor"

"Will you walk into my parlour? said the Spider to the Fly,

'tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy;

The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,

And I've many curious things to shew when you are there."

from "The Spider and the Fly" by Mary Howitt

My daughter likes spiders.
Honestly.
She really does like spiders!

When she was a little girl she was afraid of all kinds of flying and crawling "bugs", spiders included. I really tried to teach her that most of these critters were completely harmless, but after the experience of sitting on a bee when she climbed into a small tree, it was pretty much a lost cause.  It didn't help that she has a severe reaction to mosquito bites, as well.

Somehow, though, she could appreciate a spider as an artist. She was fascinated by the symmetry and beauty of delicately spun webs. She also liked the idea that spiders got rid of creepy, scary insects.

And then came the experience with wolf spiders. 

Scary looking creatures, aren't they?

Wolf spiders sometimes come indoor as weather turns cold. As autumn approached we noticed that our house had absolutely no insects anywhere - nothing. Not a fly, not a cricket, not even the little spiders that like to hide their webs in corners and on ceilings. Nice! 

And then we found the wolf spiders. A pair of them had found a home in our basement. They were calm, and pretty much harmless as long as you didn't try to pick one up, so we kept them as pets. They lived in our basement for over a year, rarely seen, but working hard for their keep. 

So, my daughter likes spiders. That's why I made this mug rug for her for Christmas. 

Oh, do come into my parlor!

Happy Stitching!!