Coochie Coochie Coo

Our little silkworms are growing up:

Date of birth: Most hatched forth from Tuesday, Sept. 15th thru Thursday the 17th (the year of our Lord 2009.) Measurements at birth: Really small about the width of a pencil line. Measurements as of today, 9/21/09: About the width of a nice strand of fingering weight sock yarn to be precise-ish.

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Here's a little-known-fact: If a 6 lb at birth baby grew as fast and furiously as a silkworm, in about 28 days that child would weigh 60,000 lbs! During a normal life span a silkworm will increase in size by 10,000 times. Which brings me to a whole other can of worms, where to put these rascals three weeks from now? I mean we're prolific with them, which is fine and dandy while they're the thickness of a strand of sock yarn, but what happens when they're as wide as my finger? And, from what I understand each and every silkworm requires 3 square inches of personal space by the time it reaches the cocoon-spinning phase! In addition to that they each need their own toilet paper roll in which to crawl and spin the individual cocoon. I'm telling all my friends, "Save your toilet paper rolls. It's an emergency!" I'm calling in favors from everywhere.

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Egad! Claxton just might have to give up what little bit of territory he has been able to maintain around the old homestead / fiber factory. It's gotten bad enough I'm starting to feel a smidge sorry for him myself! (I'm not sure that either of us knew what he was signing up for when we exchanged trapped-for-life vows.)

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What's worse, I'm starting to question my silkworm parenting skills. Those are a lot of mouths to feed and I hate to admit it but the other day I failed to even remember them in a discussion Clax and I were having about pets:

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Claxton said: "Lambikin's (the fiber-bearing rabbit) is getting incredibly old."

I said: "Yes, All the pets we obtained when the kids were growing up seem to be living forever!"

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Claxton said: "Now that the kids are grown there may come a time when we won't want to be saddled down with pets any more."

I said: "Yes. It is nice to have the count down to just the two little dependents: Madge (she's the family parakeet) and Lambikins (the cute little pet rabbit), OOPS! I mean 502!"

(See?!! I'd forgotten all about the silkworms! What kind of mother is that?)

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Well, as it turns out so far we're doing all right. Here's a close-up of the fam:

Don't they make that green, mulberry chow look simply scrumptious? And, there's something mesmerizing about watching silkworms frolicking about in a plastic shoe container too. (They've outgrown the petri dish.) It is sad to know that they're due to become dormant shortly for a resting phase and shedding of the first skin. But, rest assured they'll come out hungry and ready for round two. And, rest assured again, I'll be there with my trusty camera to record and share all the precious moments. There will be a few such dormant phases ahead and each time the silkworm will shed its skin and prepare for another growth spurt. These changes promise to be dramatic filming.

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Meanwhile back in the fiber studio I've charted another free washcloth pattern that I intend to share tomorrow.  Tomorrow is the First Day of Fall and the pattern is entitled, "The Last Rose of Summer." Stop by and print up a copy of that!

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