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A few years ago, it crossed my mind to try making a sweater for the first time. On a visit to Tangled Web (a yarn shop in Oak Park, now closed, alas), Bambini, a mullticolored Italian cotton baby yarn from Lang Yarns caught my eye, with its rich mix of teal, raspberry, lilac, and pale gray. After finding a pattern for a cardigan knit in squares of different colors, the hunt was on for solid color cotton yarns to complement the Bambini...yielding a raspberry yarn and a lilac one, both cotton and made by Rowan. After getting the yarn home, it sat for a few years while other projects took precedence. This past winter, the yarn beckoned me once again. On a cold, snowy evening, my fingers cast on the lilac border, then worked up the the first set of six colored blocks for the back...and it became obvious to me the sweater was too country style for my taste and wardrobe. It also became apparent that changing yarns at every square would be too frustrating because just when my mind entered a soothing space and my hands reached a nice rhythm it was time to change colors. So, after a couple of sleepless nights, my spirit drew up enough courage to rip the thing apart, rewind the yarns on their respective balls, and take it all to a yarn shop for fresh ideas. There, the owner showed me some M-Silk, a luscious Italian silk yarn from the German company ggh GmbH. It came in pastels--including a lilac that was perfect to tone down the Bambini. This Ripple Shawl was created by knitting the M-Silk and the Bambini together in a ripple pattern on size 15 circular bamboo needles. At the end, enough of the lilac remained to edge the shawl, which further toned down the Bambini and emphasized the lilac.

Ripple Shawl.