Thank the Lord, what is there to learn? That the world is cruel, and you can't make dreams come true? Go girl, go looking for the Ultimate Project for a Wonderful Yarn!
(By the way, I just love the idea of blogging every single day of a month. One has to take down ones fences and talk about stuff one usually would find trivial ... that is good.)
I think maybe that's why I don't frog much. I accept that there's probably always going to be something better or different or nicer that I could use the yarn for, but that right now, this is what I want to make with this yarn and it is going to work. And it does work. So...there probably is something better etc, but if you want to make Icarus, then you should - and try not to second guess yourself? I dunno if that helps or not!
We all have yarns like that lurking in the stash Bells. Sometimes I think we should just get pleasure from owning them, rather than making the 'perfect' item.
I know just what you mean. I have a skein of yarn that I feel the same way about.
yes, i know that feeling of paralising indecision! sometimes the right project jumps out, but often not. that's the problem with getting the yarn before the pattern! icarus is lovely should you go down that path, and like 'helen' has greek mythological credentials!
I feel that way about yarn though. Once I start a project with it, it's like I've robbed it of a bunch of it's potential. It could have been . . . . .
It's beautiful though, and I look forward to seeing what it ends up becoming!
heh. You're too funny. But so, so right on the money. I don't know why this happens, but it does. Just do the Icarus, hon. You owe yourself a break, and at the end of they day, if we're perfectly honest, for all the work we do choosing them and knitting them, the shawls get smooshed up around your neck and you can't see the pattern anyway.
GASP! Did I just say that?! Someone must have put something in my coffee!
I know exactly what you mean, I quite often buy yarn with a particular project in mind but more often than not end up doing something else.
I'm sure whatever you choose to do will turn out lovely as always.
I still suffer from this kind of thinking frrom time to time - then I go back to socks or things for others instead. My solution is to buy more yarn to get over the stage fright. Would that work?
I do the same with fabric - the 'too pretty to cut' pile just keeps growing
The yarn is an exquisite colour. The Icarus pattern is a lovely balance of geometry and laciness. Go ahead. It will be beautiful.
ooh, I find it hard too - that weight of expectation we put upon *special* yarn.
the right project will present, when the time is right (at least that is what I keep telling myself!)
Dream away, for what is life if you don't have a dream. Is that a song?? Yes, I remember!!! It's Happy Talk from South Pacific.
At least you're consistent!!!
Some lessons just take a bit longer than others. I love that yarn, it's what I made my Ancient Woodlands shawl with. I shines and shimmers, and the finished product is quite warm.
You'll find the right thing, and then we'll get to watch you knit it.
Ahh grasshopper it seems thatyour beautiful yarn is to remain a decorative adornment for your stash for a while longer.
I have so much yarn that falls into this category. I just figure that a pattern has not been designed for it yet.
It is my little way of feeling less guilty when I buy more expesive yarn!
ps did I tell you about the yarn I have that was £35 a skein??
I've ripped out projects that don't seem to work with some yarns but not because I thought the yarn was special. Usually just because I didn't like the result. That yarn is so pretty, anything you choose will be pretty, too.
Your first "real" lace project? Are you kidding? What about Ishbel -- and I know you've done others.
I do understand your hesitation about the yarn. Madeline Tosh yarn has that effect on me.
You have infused this yarn with such mystical significance that really, it deserves its own bell jar and a small shrine. This is "The Ultimate Yarn" and no project is quite good enough for it. Leave it inviolate for eternity and occasionally sacrifice stitch markers and small chocolates to it. with incense. And dancing.
Bells, Sweetie, for crying in the sink, it's just yarn! Knit it or not. It will not change the history of the world.
Everyone else was being so nice and understanding, I figured you could use a little rough and sarcastic for balance. I have bags of yarn waiting for just the right project. I know from whence you come.
That kind of stage fright must be frustrating. I think that, at some point, you have to trust that beautiful yarn, excellent knitting skills, and a beautiful pattern will produce wonderful results and set to work on combining those elements. Starting a project is always a leap of faith, and if that makes you nervous, concentrate on the potential of the project. Who doesn't love that just-cast-on feeling?
i think lyn might be right on the money, esp after myrtle....
Icarus would be lovely in it. Or is there enough for Aeolian? That's a pretty 'special' design, although (so far!) a relatively easy knit. I haven't finished my first one, but cast on for my second last night 
But go ahead and cast on - whatever you make will be beautiful in it. And once you've knitted it, and are wearing it, there will be more reasons to invest in another skein of gorgeous yarn.
But think of the delight it has provided in going through all the possible lace patterns and having a little dream along the way.
It really is a very lovely colour. You'll have to let us know when you DO decide what you're going to knit it into.
Having had a go at Ishbel and not liked the pattern, I reckon go for it with the Icarus. The secret is to not think much about it after you've made the decision! I should know, I'm the Queen of thinking about things too much!
This sounds familiar. I have been looking for the "perfect" cardigan with the "perfect" yarn.
Ohhh, but it's such lovely yarn! How could you not want to find the perfect project for it?
On another note, when are they going to invent computers where you can touch and smell the things on the screen? I REALLY want to feel that yarn, it looks so lovely!!!
But it's such lovely yarn? How could you not want to find the perfect project for it?
BTW, when will they invent computer screens that allow you to feel or smell what's on them? I REALLY want to touch that yarn, it looks so soft!
Bells, I remember the agony, the need to find something to fit the yarn. But there will be other special skeins and many of other patterns.
Make Icarus with it. Not for the pattern but for the joy of using the yarn, and wearing the yarn. Icarus is a perfect pattern to show off the yarn, not to lose it in the lace or the edging. It allows you to really enjoy knitting with it. And then, maybe you can buy another skein for another special occasion. And make another special shawl.
Use it to spread your wings, as it were.
Looking forward to knitting with you - whatever yarn you choose.
That's like going back to my old journals from 8 or 10 years back and finding that I was struggling with the same types of problems then as I am now. Here I am, walking that same maze again!
Back then it might have been beautiful washi origami, but I am still asking "How do I get myself to use the good stuff?" "What if I totally ruin it?"
If I wait around for the perfect anything, so often I end up with nothing!
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