There’s nothing like an impending deadline to jump start the old creative juices. Of course, it could just be the adrenaline speaking. Case in point. I dawdled on Deb’s Scarf (not Menz) until the day before I was going to give her the present. Yes, I could have waited and given it to her late, but it wouldn’t be the same.

CNCH 2010 Return to Sender: 80/20 merino/bamboo

Now, I’m facing down the week before the deadlines for CNCH entries — Return to Sender (RTS) and Gallery.  I have committed to RTS — I bought the fiber. Yes, it’s true. I don’t actually have to submit it, but I feel obligated. The roving has been sitting on my desk. I look at it every so often and think, “Oooh, look how purdy!” But what do I want to do with it?

After Deb’s class, the thought to ply it against itself no longer has appeal. With Kathryn’s class under my belt, the thought of a balance single also crossed my mind. But I’m not confident enough of my singles to submit. There are going to be some spectacular entries, so I need to think a bit outside the box.

I pinged Amy & Carolyn on what they thought I should ply with this. I’ve been on a green kick lately. I thought of doing something with the olive. Amy suggested something warm. Caroline says to just go for it, but the olive might be too yellow. So I sat on it a bit more.

Chasing Rainbows Silk Hankies - Peacock Colorway

Due date is next Monday. The next committee meeting is on Saturday — a perfect time to deliver it in person. But it means that I’d better get cracking. And I really started to work on the color options. Suddenly, I remembered some silk hankies that I’ve been playing with.

As you can see, I’ve made one scarf with it and made a weaving sampler with it. Do I have enough? I highly doubt it.

I looked up my fiber database. Yea! There’s one more package in a bin in the garage. Hmm. But was that this package or another package? This morning, I went to the bin, and there it is. Another full ounce of hankies in the same colorway. Thank goodness for databases and marked bins!

Aside: I have Sheila to thank for the database thing. When she first told me about her database/spreadsheet, I just thought that she was even more of an OCD than I was. (That reminds me, I need to mark the new package as consumed!)

See how pretty they look together? My plan is to spin a fine single of each and ply them together. The RTS fiber will not be stripped because I want long repeats of the colors. And no, I don’t think I will separate out individual colors to make longer repeats. I’ve tried that in the past but it loses the subtle color shifts. I’d like to preserve those if I can.

As for what I think will happen, my guess is that the purple and olive sections of both the silk and the merino/bamboo will blend and the silk will disappear. The sections of red/orange/yellow will pop out. That’s my guess. We’ll see if I’m right when I’m done plying.

I think they would make a really pretty weft yarn for a scarf at the next CNCH Gallery. What do you think?