Batty (in a good way)

Before we sold the house, I found some batts that were so amazing that I was afraid to link to them. I mean, what would I do if y'all bought these up before I could lay hands on the tweedy, woolly, goodness? Fortunately, I managed to destash some yarn that wouldn't knit up to gauge (take that!) and lay my hands on two of the lovely, fluffy things.

When they came what fun it was to open the package. That little bundle of fiber on top is a freebie. Love that. You rock artclub.

And inside:

Words fail me when it comes to these. So let me just say I packed them away for the perfect project. Now I'm suddenly struck with the urge to knit a feather and fan comfort shawl.

R-L: Black Shetland, Rambouillet, Romney, and mystery wool.

I'm thinking that if I alternate these somehow I can come up with enough yardage for the shawl. Right now I'm trying to envision it. Should I try to go from light to dark or dark to light? Both of those are very dramatic. I like how they draw the eye over the shawl. The problem is that I may not have enough of the multicolor batt to make it the the center of attention by sticking a big, thick, splash of it in the middle.

I could go for distinct stripes. Of the examples on Ravelry, I generally like the 2-4 row color stripes, although there is at least one example of broad stripes (varied in size) that is quite attractive.

I also think one of the darker wools is probably unnecessary. Right now I'm leaning toward saving the Rambouillet for another project. I think the deeper color and greater gloss of the Shetland will give the shawl some sparkle. Somehow the Shetland is the only wool in this group that is not "matte" and I don't want the whole thing to just fade away. I'm also wondering if the red will overpower everything else... but it is winter and I'm feeling the need for color.

I asked Mr. M what he though of the various color combos and he pointed out that fiber always looks different when spun (!). So I guess the next step will be some sampling :)