The Tale of Two Yarns

Weeks ago, I decided that I was going to be part of the Girls in Sheep Clothing KAL for Bridgewater.  I could think of nothing else I would rather be doing on New Years Day!  The very next day I headed out to Borealis Yarns where my yarn guru, Abbie, wound up 2000 yards of the most luscious baby Alpaca from Plymouth Yarns.  It was called "Dye for me" and came in a natural color, but as the name implies, you can dye it to whatever color you desire.  Now, I was happy with this choice, it was affordable and it had been calling my name for over a year, so it seemed the logical yarn for this project.

Then, after Christmas, I had this nagging feeling that the yarn was all wrong.  Why?  I'm not sure.  Deep down I knew I wanted to make Bridgewater out of a merino blend, like my Beach Glass shawl that I love so much.  I knew that if I made it out of alpaca, it would sit untouched in a drawer, and what's the point of knitting something so beautiful if it doesn't get used at all?

Out came the stash, and I found an old skein of Jaggerspun Zephyr wool silk lace.  I bought it years ago at the Textile Center Weaving Guild.  It was as though it has been waiting patiently until now, like a faithful friend.  This morning, I called the original store that supplied it and 1200 more yards are on the way to me.  The color is Vanilla...and while it seems like an unadventurous choice, I looked through all the projects on Ravelry, and there weren't any that I liked better than the natural light shades.

As for the beautiful baby alpaca, I'll quote Robert Frost: "Oh, I kept the first for another day!"  I chose the one less traveled by, and I know that it will make all the difference.

Happy New Year!
Kelly