Distracted-By-New-Yarn Syndrome

You've heard of Second Sock Syndrome, yes?

I have a bad case of it. I'm working on a design project right now, and I absolutely love how it's turning out. Normally I'm happy to work away on the second sock, but I caused myself a little problem last weekend, at the K/W Knitter's Fair.

For a variety of reasons, I've been working with lots of dark and subdued colours over the past few months.

I've finished up a new shawl design, in black, and I can't wear it, as I need to keep it pristine for use as a display sample. I like the shawl very much, and really really want to wear it.

So I decided to make one for myself.

Now it's well known that I wear a lot of black. What you may or may not know is that when I commit to a colour, I really commit. When I do go for a colour, I tend to go for bright.

I was walking past the Waterloo Wools booth at the Fair last weekend, and a skein of yarn practically leapt off the rack at me...

Highlighter. It's yellow. Bright yellow. BRIGHT yellow A variegated blend of bright and neon yellow.

I know. As I was fondling it, people kept walking by the booth saying things like "wow... that's bright". So of course I bought it.

I kept the skein on yarn on my desk as an encouragement. If I finish the sock I can make the shawl, I thought to myself.

Just to encourage me to make progress with the sock, on Tuesday I decided to wind up the skein into a ball.  Just to see how it looked, you know.

And on Thursday afternoon, I achieved a writing objective, so I decide to cast on. Just so I could admire it. As you do.

And last night I made excellent progress on my sock.

As a reward, this morning on my commute to the Purl for a class, I decided to knit on the shawl a bit. Just a bit.

So yes, this shawl that I designed specifically to be knit in black? It's going to be in the most fantastically obnoxious variegated nearly-neon yellow in the world. AND I LOVE IT.

And the commissioned sock design I'm supposed to be working on?  I have a new plan: an inch of sock gets me an inch of shawl.

Wish me luck.