The composition so far.

The next and final moth is the Elephant Hawkmoth – so pretty it might be fake. But it’s not. Here’s how the Spanish Moon Moth came together:

I completed all the finer detail and paler colours in silk, then it was just a case of filling in in satin stitch the main wing parts. I had the perfect variegated shade:

Some more detail…

At his point I really wanted a ‘feature stitch’ and given the contrast in texture between the smooth iridescent wings and the fluffy body, thought a fuzzy Turkey Rug knotted stitch would be great. Off I went:

Then realised I was stupid and tired and hadn’t remembered the piece will be behind glass so at best you wouldn’t be able to appreciate the 3-dimensional quality, and at worse it would be squashed and look messy. So had to unpick. Unpicking crewel wool is NOT EASY or FUN.

I did it though, and still used crewel wool to good effect, capturing the differing textures. Finally I added some fine detail on the body, and enhanced some previous lines for a crisper finish:

What do you think?

Last but not least, the Elephant Hawkmoth: