Saturday, April 21, 2012

feelin' crabby*

can't beat the view

red rock crab

lighthouse

ahoy!

* not really

today has started off pretty well, just back home after running errands around town. a visit to the farmers market to pick up a few treats (kale, other greens, fresh beet pasta, eggs, and some red begonias). a pop over to my favourite nettle spot to do one last pick for the season. i filled a good bag with tender tops, but the plants are getting big and woody and i will leave them be now. the fibrous stems can also be irritating to the kidneys and urethra as the plants get older. on my way home i sent a little fog and swell package off in the post.

but in between there me and my crabby friend went to the beach! it was a beautiful morning on the shore, the tide ebbing and only a few other wanderers to be seen. this little crab was eager to explore the wide stretches of sand, but he also kept a careful eye on the gulls, should they decide he'd make a good early lunch.

if you missed it, this is my first piece for my collaboration with Abby. a red rock crab, stitched together in madder dyed linens. i also used a little bit of wool for those black-tipped claws, a distinctive feature of this particular species. and you might be wondering if this crab is a boy or a girl (or did you already figure it out from the photo above?) - because i'm just that dorky, i decided this crab had to be a boy. in the world of crab fishing, only the males are keepers, the ones you take home. the females get thrown back, to make more little crabbies. when i was a kid, we were taught (mainly with the little purple shore crabs, but occasionally with big ones brought home for dinner) that if a crab had a lighthouse shape on it's belly, it was a boy; if it had a beehive shape instead, it was a female. i know there are other associations for the shapes, but lighthouse and beehive was what i was taught. so this crab has a lighthouse shape rising up on the underside of his carapace. this little crab will hang out with me for a bit, but soon enough he will be sent off on a cross-continent journey to Abby to pair with whatever ocean creature she dreams up.

now i think i'll go sit outside again and enjoy the sunshine, perhaps with some crafting in hand. this evening i am headed up to the alpine for an evening event, and hopefully i'll catch a few mountain sunset shots with my camera. wishing you all a wonderful Saturday.

10 comments:

Lisa at lil fish studios said...

Oh. My. Word.

K, you have outdone yourself. He is amazing!

Sea Gypsy said...

OH! I love him!! You never cease to amaze me with your spot on depictions of all of your lovely little creatures. Truly fabulous little crab!

Margie Oomen said...

he is beyond spectacular

Jenni said...

Your work is stunning.. Such fun. Love the photos, too.
Jenni

leFiligree said...

he is very crabby! what an adventure he is going to have.

i am crabby too: assessing a mouse situation in the attic, and doing energy upgrades also up in the attic. i must've picked the short straw!

Ketra said...

Yay! He came out awesome! Love.

rebecca said...

wow, so great! he's bigger than i first thought. it is close to life size? imagine if you did that with your whales... oh my!

Els said...

Ahhhh your crab isn't crab, but great !

Maggie said...

Amazing! I love his little underside, so much detail and character!

Mona said...

Oh, wow, that is one amazing crab. You are really clever with needle and thread!