The Emperor and the Scarab

It's often hard to photograph a shawl in the way I like it, especially when I'm trying to avoid my head!
Luckily I found this old door, which is better looking (and much older) than my head.

The motifs in this shawl are inspired by my discovery as a child of an unusual caterpillar in the gum trees growing on most farms in our region. Emperor gum moth caterpillars look like fat green pin cushions - covered in multi-coloured dots standing proud on wee spikes protruding from their fat little bodies. The mature moth itself couldn't be more different. It is large, brown with vivid eyespots on its wings. Move over flashy monarch butterfly, this creature was so unusual, and it had been hiding in our gum trees undiscovered (by me) for years.

I messed with the moth motif a bit, and another unlikely insect appeared - a little scarab beetle with outstretched wings. Done. It took a while to get these motifs working - I tried enmeshing them with other lace motifs, but nothing worked. Eventually I realised these little beauties just wanted to be on their own, so they are.

Yesterday on Ravelry someone commented that close up the moth motif looks like an elaborate Mardi Gras mask, and she's absolutely right. That is another thing I love about working with lace motifs - a bit like kids looking at clouds.

Picot points are optional. Available on Ravelry