Shawl and yarn and basket and cardi

So, I've been working along on my ripple afghan (it's about twice as long as it was when I first posted about it, and I still love it, by the way). But I was feeling a need for a little instant gratification, so to speak. And one night I was sitting on the couch and it was a little chilly. So, I began to desire a small shawl. I perused free patterns online, and found a simple prayer shawl pattern on Lion Brand. Loved it, and decided I wanted to make it. The pattern is shown in both Thick & Quick Chenille and Homespun. I have some Homespun in my stash for a poncho, so I didn't want to use that. And I have some T&Q Chenille in my stash, so I thought about that. Then I decided I wanted something different. Monday night at about 9:30. Luckily, we still have one Wal-Mart that actually has a fabric section. So off I go, ostensibly to pick up some other items I need, but also to get a yarn fix. Ta-da! Homespun in Meadow. Wednesday morning I had this wrap ready to wear to a luncheon I was attending. I love it!

Now, I gave the Boteh scarf I made away, so I've been wanting to make another one for me. I have some variegated yarn I picked up thinking I might use it, but I am just not sure how the pattern will look in a variegated. So, I picked up these two skeins of Opal superwash. I love the blue — it's really a denim blue. And I love to wear jeans and a white shirt, and thought the blue scarf would be just a great touch. And I also love green, so I felt a need to add a green scarf to my list (in case I don't want to wear the blue one with my jeans ;-) ). The rosy color is kind of a brownish pink (I don't wear true pinks well). And there is a great scarf in Crochet! March issue that I want to make. It is the Ruffled Lace Scarf, designed by Nancy Brown. The yarn they used was a Dark horse Fantasy. Didn't want to wait for a mail order (and only need one skein) so I went with Berroco Comfort, which I love anyway.
Needed a basket to carry my projects. I am tired of having to dig around in a bag and I can't see the bottom and everything is jumbled, etc. And I have some great bags, but with the ripple afghan, when I was changing yarns, regardless of how great the bag was, it was a pain. Plus, they don't stand up straight when you set them on the floor and try to leave your yarn inside and pull it out. Anyway. Shelly got these great baskets in. They are from Ghana, and the importer she buys them from buys them in a free trade situation directly from the makers. So I can feel even better about getting it. I love it and it does just what I need it to. Stands up, lets me see my yarn, provides a receptacle for those bouncing skeins, and is easy to lug around. However, my little dog is scared of it. Can't figure that one out. Won't come in the same room as it.

And finally, next project in the queue is this wrap/cardi from the Dec. 06/Jan. 07 Crochet Today. I really want to get it made while it's still cool outside. And I have so much stuck to nature-type colors lately, I wanted something a little brighter. I was going to just buy new yarn, but I decided maybe I could bust a little stash (since I just ordered a ton of new yarn from Smiley's). So I went down and found this warm red fuzzy stuff. I picked it up on clearance at Hobby Lobby (yes, that says 99 cents) ages ago, thinking I could find a project for it. It's a little lighter weight (a heavy 3 as opposed to a lighter 4), but I think it will work just great. It's slippery and fuzzy, so I don't think it will be hard to work with at all. And the stitch pattern is big enough, and the yarn is not so fuzzy that the lacy pattern should still be plenty visible. Plus, the newsroom gets awfully cold in the summer when the air conditioner is running. So, that's up. Now, off to Ravelry to get a few hours in and do some updating!