So, I had my Autumn knitting pretty well lined up.  A couple of "in progress" projects revived.  A couple of new ones.  I was not looking for another project.  Really and truly.

And then the email from Yarn Scout (the shop from which I ordered my Hedgehog yarn) blasted out their Om Shawl KAL (Knit A-Long) and I was captivated!  Not only is it a piece with striking color work (every Om Shawl on Ravelry is gorgeous!), but it features buttons & buttonholes so that it can be fastened in a variety of ways (I am a tremendous fan of versatile knitted garments).  But I think what really caught me was that it was described as a fun, quick knit with heavy worsted yarn and thick needles.

I realized that all the projects I have going and also the ones I hope to start are made from thin yarns on thin needles.  Long rows.  Many stitches.  Like building the Great Wall of China with Lego blocks, one row at a time. And suddenly, oh, how I wanted to knit something big, bold, and fast!

As luck would have it, George and I would be passing by a very nice yarn shop the next day after visiting my Mother in the Portland area.  When the stars align like that, well….

So, I hit the yarn shop (pattern in hand) with only one color stipulation: black.  Wardrobe-wise, I could justify a shawl with black in it as I have  tended toward browns in recent years.  I needed a shawl to wear with black clothes.  There were 2 lines of suitable yarn that had some skeins of black.  But fuss about and argue with George (apparently I need someone to argue with in a yarn shop and he is a good sport — with good color sense) and arrange and re-arrange colors as I did, I just could not make it work.  No combination made my heart beat faster and I had almost resolved to give it up (chagrined as I might be not to make a purchase after man-handling their yarn for half an hour….) when I stepped back and realized that the shawl did not actually need to have black yarn it it as long as the colors worked with black!  Brilliant!  

Okay, maybe not brilliant so much as obvious.  But in any case, I switched to another line of yarn  (Malabrigo Rios) and chose 4 strong colors that would positively glow over black clothing and that was that!  Until that night at home when I realized that the dark colors might not show up against each other in the stranded section.  Heart sinking.  Slight panic.  And I ordered an aqua skein of Rios from Paradise Fibers.  I think it will set off the dark blue beautifully — and it is "the unexpected thing" that Sarah and I love in color, pattern, texture.  It brings a piece to life!

I started the Om Shawl a couple of days later and it has been nothing but fun!  Fast, satisfying.  The texture patterns are simple to work and seem to pop up magically from my needles. I think I even appreciate the subtlety and delicacy of my finer knitting more after spending an hour or so with the Om Shawl 🙂