How to frame a spider

My last two pieces have been framed in the standard way, and they look great. However, I feel strange handing my work over to someone else to frame, I like a piece to be completely me, start to finish. I also want my embroidery to be touched, putting it behind glass gives it the feel of a museum, nothing wrong with that. Perfectionists may say that touching the piece will dull the fabric but if does so be it.

My parents had a beautiful willow at the end of their garden which sadly died, they now have a great log pile for their burner. I visited last week and while playing 'secret spy club' at the end of the garden with my girls inspiration struck. This is always dangerous, my Dad has always said that when I get an idea nothing stops me (that is why my bedroom walls were covered in paintings when I was a teenager, I didn't have a canvas big enough). I want my work to feel as natural as possible, as if you have found it lying in the woods, or split a log and found art...aha!

I had thought of solid wood frames before but had to accept that I couldn't afford carpentry tools. However, I am a hoarder and I think this is in my genes, so I remembered that my Dad has hoarded away rusted old carpentry tools in the garage that belonged to my Great Grandfather who owned an ironmongers in London.
After sanding the rust off and oiling this is what I am now the proud owner of:

I love the look, the feel and the history of them.
Albert Eistein once said "The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library". I love this quote, much of my knowledge has been gained from trips to the library. I know I can't become a fully qualified carpenter from just books, but I can learn the basics. So off I went and found a great book on the basics of carpentry, what each tool is used for.

I don't want to overwork the wood, just carve the basic shape and finish.


Initial carving before sanding:

 After sanding:

I want to seal the wood and enhance the colour slightly without staining it. I found several recipes for wax which just contains olive oil and beeswax and I love the idea of only using natural ingredients but would it stain the silk. After a conversation with Mother Eagle she said she was wary of the oil soaking into the silk but the best advice she could give was practice, practice, practice. So, I made up a batch and practiced on some spare willow wood, waxing it then tying silk around and leaving for a few days. Hoorah! no staining.

So here is the piece after waxing:

I then laced the embroidery around thick card and gently stuck it into the wood. I had thought of using brass nails in each corner to hold the work but I felt this would look too man made, and also I may run the risk of the metal tarnishing.

Here is the finished piece, what do you think?

 I really feel that this piece is what Love in Idleness is trying to achieve. A celebration of nature through embroidery.

Spider

I shall start by saying that I am terrified of spiders, can't stand them; their scuttling legs and their habit of dashing across the lounge floor in the middle of Strictly Come Dancing (I would just say that much as I dislike them I don't kill them, I use the glass and paper trick.). However, the garden is a neutral zone, I appreciate that it is their world and they do a good job. Last summer we seemed to have a lot of common garden spiders who liked to string their webs across various places and, when the sun was right, they were really quite beautiful. When I examined them up close I realised that their markings are astounding, this one had a perfect white square on his or her bottom.

I have often looked at this photo and thought how it would make a fabulous embroidery, the flecks in the pattern look like tiny stitches. But it took me a long time to pluck up the courage to sketch it; staring that closely and for that long at it's hairy little legs. However, It's funny how when you study something this closely you loose your fear, it was only when I stood back I got a little shudder.
My original sketch included the web but once I started sewing I felt that it would be impossible to make it that delicate, my floss thread is about as thin as I can go but it still felt it would detract from the actual spider.

I will let the photos tell the story from here:

So, here he/she is, I can't say it has cured my fear but I am fond of this one:

Now, I have an idea for framing that will be slightly different, more to come in the next day or so...