Got SiLk? Thinking about this truly homespun fiber...

Sitting here sipping my tea & eyeballing this lovely basket of silk it just occurred to me that our Creator was most thoughtful in his pairing of the fruit tree and the worm. By contrast they might seem at odds with one another. But not really...Just as the fruit gives our eyes vivid pleasure, the tastebuds a juicy tickle and instant nourishment to the body; it's a busy homely worm (who happens to love his fruit tree) who spins the glorious fiber that we humans have treasured nearly as far back as the days of Eden.

As Silk Lovers it's likely we've all done our homework and learned about such things as The Great Silk Road, how silk was valued and traded much like gold by various cultures over time, and how it's produced in differing measures of quality by various species of silkworms. And just like all things great and wonderful, as lovers of textiles we've come to see how technology's given us a multitude of means and methods in imitating the lustrous qualities and silken touch of this earliest of truly homemade fibers. Rayon and polyester are common on the market today and appreciably available at minimal cost to sewer's and crafters, but it's still the lowly silkworm we turn to when seeking the highest degree of fiber quality, steel-like stength (why else is it still used in parachutes and sutures?) and for the most soothing of comforts to the touch and the eye. Yep, that lowly little worm with his insatiable hunger for mulberry leaves has taken us a long way. It's no wonder we still trade silks with fellow crazy quilters, spend hours at the store or computer looking for just the right mix to perk up a quilt or bag, and go to great pains embellishing these treasured silky morsels of shimmering protein. If the ruby red apple on the tree was our first experience with "eye candy"; silk must have been the close second.

So with my tea mug empty and bedtime near I'm padding off with this happy thought...What might first appear as ugly or even oppositional in contrast to another just might have equal merit and worth in the bigger picture (or even a quilt!), -- even if first not apparent. Time delivers the test of a true treasure. Nothing CrAzy about that.