I discovered that it's helpful to approach a BIG shopping trip, whether Costco, Ikea or a craft fair, with at least a few actual goals in mind. It helps keep one from being completely overwhelmed by giant packages of croissants, tea lights or whimsical ceramic jars. Or yarn. Well, yarn is different, sort of like chocolate or earrings...
When I considered my Rhinebeck Sheep & Wool 2012 wish list, I felt I didn't have enough sparkly yarn in my life, though honestly I"m not the sparkly sort, and hadn't much felt the absence. I did have some sparkly yarn -- some rather nice Blue Heron rayon, for example -- but hadn't done much with it other than one rather uninspired "wear this on holidays" top I made from Patons' Brilliant. My dream list includes several shawls made of elegant but shiny stuff that I could fling around my shoulders for special occasions -- light ones for summer, dark ones for winter or dark outfits -- but after so many years of thinking about it, nothing had happened. I kept making sweaters. And scarves. And hats.
So I picked up a skein of pretty sparkly TuckerWoods Artisan Yarns & Fibers "Bailey's Twinkle Toes," in colorway "Black Orchid," which I found completely irresistible in both color and name. I like when fiber people give their products and patterns interesting names. It's a nice squooshy merino/nylon sock yarn with a bit of metallic sparkle spun in. The farm doesn't seem to have a website, but they have quite a large sales booth at Rhinebeck, filled with very nice yarns that include a few luxurious items.
So I found a fabulous amazing shawl pattern called Iron Maiden, that suggests using a yarn with a metallic "feel." Seemed a natural for the yarn! Alas. Oh alas. I knitted it just slightly too tight a gauge, AND the yarn fell short! So I ended up with a smaller shawl...more like a scarf. I do wear it like scarf, but I don't get to see the awesome design. So since I actually paid for the pattern, I'll have to make another one!
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