Because it doesn't get better than this.

Joel Achenbach - Achenblog

Worth reading any time.

While Working on Oceans of Brown

As I said yesterday, my mind wanders while knitting my ocean of brown. It's wonderfully freeing. So far I have been able to track my mind. I haven't lost it yet... but if you see a spare mind meandering down your street, you may want check. It might be mine. I don't know if I'll be able to tell when I really lose it. And really, you don't want my brain out there without supervision. Who knows what trouble it will get into.

What with all the yarn sorting, I have come to the realization that I have some marvelous reds. It just happened that these delicious reds were put to the front and center of the cabinet. There are more, hiding in boxes in closets, whispering in corners.

Mirasol Tupa

Misti Alpaca Handpainted Lace - Red Rover

Handmaiden Mini Maiden

Hand dyed Red Sea Cell and Wool from an independent dyer, skein from Saskatoon

Ella Rae Lace Merino

All of these gorgeous reds bring me to this:

The River Valley Shawl from the Edmonton KAL of this summer. What a lovely pattern. Nice yarn. Really, really long rows. I pick away at it here and there. There is movement and growth. I thought I was at two rows left about 6 rows ago, but now I know I am at a couple of chart rows left. Maybe. Plus bind off. I'll finish by Christmas.

Of next year. Sigh.

Such long rows. Purling is killing me.

The thing about oceans

The thing about working with oceans of brown, oceans of anything really, is that you are faced with an expanse of same. As far as you can see there is a solid sameness to your horizon and that lack of definition, that almost featureless ocean means your mind is free to wander where it will.

My mind wandered to cleaning my study. I seem to do this a lot lately. My chair is always surrounded by a pile of projects and things I needed that never quite get put away in the heat of the moment. The pile of books and reference material is sometimes staggering. But this time, I became frustrated by the yarn bags falling everywhere. I figured it was time for a deep clean in the big stash boxes. Surely there will be room for these things in the boxes. After a long afternoon and some hard but fun work, there was. But as in all good cleaning, you find things you pushed to the edges of your remembery.

Such it was this lovely ball of yarn.

It is a ball of Schaefer Anne, one of my first forays into really nice sock yarn. (It also is the source of my teal phase. I'm not sure I am done with that phase yet.) It has always been meant for something special.

I've knit up the yarn plain, and loved it, but ripped it apart when it just wasn't quite what I wanted. I worked it into alternating rows on a Eye of Partridge shawl with a forest green sock yarn and it just wasn't feeling right. Ripped again. This yarn speaks to me, I just haven't been able to understand its language. I set it aside and it was buried back in the stash.

I saw the Aestlight shawl on the Small Shawl Lovers Group on Ravelry and was quite taken by it. I knew I had something that would work wonderfully for it. I thought it would surely play up the wonderful colours of one of the marvelous multis I have. Somewhere deep in the stash of good things there was a yarn that just wanted to be this shawl. I couldn't think which yarn though.

After cleaning, sorting and repacking all the bins, with all the yarns fresh in my mind, after discussing small shawls at knitting yesterday, my brain was ready to see.

This lovely yarn and the lovely pattern sailed near each other while my mind was occupied with an ocean of brown. They converged and became one, as things do sometimes in large expanses and oceans. The two yarns for the body, worked two by two rows, the multi, worked alone for the lacey bit, and the plain green for the edging.

I see it. I think I've got it this time.