Diverted by all that colour

When it comes to yarn I have no will power and am totally led astray by colour.  I love it, I stand in the yarn shop(s) and literally swoon over all the woolly jewels.  Even colours that I never wear (like orange and turquoise) beckon to me with their siren calls ' come on buy me, you know you want to...'  It's my undoing

Last Friday I was running true to type when I discovered a lovely new yarn shop, Beaker Button it's in the Fairground Craft and Design Centre near Andover.  The shop is owned by Jen whose passion in life is Dorset buttons.  

I think Jen might sit in her shop and make buttons all day, that is when she is not serving customers.  I had such a happy visit to her shop, Jen is so friendly and knowledgeable about her wonderful stock.  She explained that there are already yarn shops in the area that sell value yarn and others that sell the high volume designer yarn like Rowan and Debbie Bliss so she concentrates on small independent producers.  She even stocks some of her Mum's home spun!  I came away with these two skeins of Manos Alegria.

how could I not?

It's a sock yarn but though you know I like knitting socks, you also know I like finding other things to make too.  The two skeins of sock yarn loveliness seemed perfect for some colour work.  The colours, one palest of pale blues and greens with a hint of tan and purple and the second strong green and purple with pops of yellow cried out to be put together.  So I duly...

wound

Admired...

(again)

And chose this pattern from Ravelry

the travelling companion shawl

Then I swatched...

some tension issues here, possibly

Much sadness.  As I am in no doubt you can see, instead of the pastel and the vivid contrasting with each other they just blended (even after some gentle blocking).  So back to the drawing board, with these requirements.  

• A shawl or wide scarf
• With the colours standing out, not confused by too much pattern 
• Something interesting (miles & miles of plain knitting just does not rock my boat right now) 

After having a big think, I decided to put the pastel yarn to one side for the moment, and the pattern.  The Travelling Companion is not right for two multi colour ways, perhaps I will buy a solid colour to go with the pastel and have another go later.  It's not that I don't simply adore both skeins, its just in my typical 'I don't need it I just want it' mode I bought a bag of gorgeousness without even a nod to the maxim 'less is more'.  Perhaps I need it written on the back of my bank card.

Meanwhile I have decided to knit the strong coloured skein as a wide rectangular shawl using a lace pattern from this sweater by Wendy Johnson.

from Wendy Knits Lace

The stitch pattern, though simple, is enough to keep my interest and I think the alternating panels of reverse stocking stitch and lace will give a slightly corrugated look which will work well with a rectangular shawl

simples

I have swatched

a little blocking to make it lie flat for photographing

and intend to begin with a provisional cast on and knit to the last metre of yarn.  That way if the length is more suitable to a moebius (shape though not construction) I can twist the ends and work a three needle bind off, or I can keep going till the scarf is long enough to wrap around twice and not fall off.

 'et voila!'

Speaking of which I am off on Thursday for another knitting adventure with two knitting friends - to Paris!  More about this later, meanwhile I am getting ready, passport

? yarn spending money

and  knitting which is a pair of sock (I know...) in the fabulous 'mind the gap' by Trailing Clouds

in my new Tom Bihn  bag

More about my Paris trip, and how much knitting as opposed to nattering gets done on the way (and back) later

xx

c