Mothra!

Yesterday we were expecting some exciting weather. Thankfully, Madison had the Weather Shields up, so the storms all went around us. But earlier in the day, before we knew that we weren't going to get hit, I was securing the items on the porch in case of strong winds, driving rains, and tornadoes. And I noticed a brown thing hanging on the edge of a large peanut butter jar in a corner. Last summer Mr SABLE found a caterpillar and gave it a nice place to make a cocoon. It stayed in there, out on the porch, all winter. And, lo and behold, here it is:

Now, don't go panicking! This moth has no interest in munching on wool. It's one of Mr SABLE's friends and means us no harm. I'm sure he'll be on his way this evening, off to find a mate and make more moths.

BTW, it's a polyphemus moth, a giant silk moth!

Edited to add another view:


In other news, last night I finished the knitting on The Mead Scarf.

Yeah, that's a pretty uninspired photo. I'll do a better job once I get it blocked. For those who missed the details, last fall Sarah sent me a lovely skein of hand-spun alpaca for a birthday present. Eventually I decided that a very simple lace scarf would be a great use for the yarn. The pattern is just simple zig zags of eyelets running the length of the scarf. Unblocked, it measures about 57 inches. I stopped because I was getting close to a break in the yarn (I think I broke it when winding; can't remember), and I didn't want to make a splice. So, there's a wee bit left on the cone. Maybe that'll become a fair isle accent on a hat or something. I'm hoping to block it out to about 6 feet long. I have a ball of nylon twine somewhere that I used for blocking a Branching Out scarf a while back. Just got to decide where to pin it out...

Last night, in preparation for the tornado we didn't have, I also did a bunch of cleaning and rearranging in my lair, to free up some seating for my family in the event that we needed to seek shelter. And stumbled upon Scott's Tweedy Sweater, a UFO of such long duration that at times I feel I should just give up on it. But I worked several rows last night and now I can see that I'm almost up to the armhole shaping on the front and the back is already done, so I think I'll just soldier on with it. I know I have a couple of pairs of socks hanging around, too, that are within a stone's throw of being finished. I ought to dig those out and do right by them.

Meanwhile, I've been tinkering with my fair isle colors and every time I change one thing, it leads to a ripple effect that necessitates further change. Good thing I don't mind swatching. And it's always a learning experience. I've said it before, but there really is no substitute for putting together the yarns in the knitting to see how they will interact. Training and experience make me a better predictor, but I get surprises every day.