During my twenties, someone asked me why I always wore black, gray or white to work. I don’t remember what my response was, but my forty-something self thinks it had to do with wanting to blend in and not be seen, or maybe it was the seriousness of the financial world. Not that I want to stand out now at this age, but maybe I am just more comfortable in my own skin, no matter that it has acquired some wrinkles along the way.
Soft gray tones have always been a source of comfort to me and a staple in my closet and surroundings. A cherished gray wool or cashmere sweater will be donned during times of stress. (I’ve worn through quite a few over the years) 
Knowing this about me, it came as quite a shock that
when I started knitting it was “game on” with color. 
I have a funny tendency to buy yarn that matches the color I’m wearing. Never said I was original! I guess that is because it reflects the mood I’m in.
My favorite dominant color has changed throughout my life, but it has always been some shade of green, blue or purple.
I also have a tendency to knit projects that reflect the colors of the current season.
Case and point, here is the project I just finished. It is a Baktus.
I call it my Back Field Shawl, because as you will noticed, it is the spitting image of …you guessed it, my unmowed wild and wooly, back field.
The pattern can be found here. The general concept is that you knit up half of the yarn with an increase every fourth row and then when you get to the middle, you knit a decrease in every fourth row. Sounded like a great idea to me, so I weighted my yarn, split it in half, wound it up and knit away. At the half way point, I started my decreases and just as I was coming down the home stretch I realized I was going to run out of yarn.
Knitter’s Handbook: Rule #1 always make sure that you have enough yarn to finish your
project before you start. UGH!
Thanks to my good friend Allison at the Kitschy Stitch in Rehoboth, who ordered me another skein of Cascade Yarns Lana Bambu, I was back on track to finish with a green flourish. 
When I was finished, however; I had an awful lot of the beautiful green bamboo yarn left and the shawl was looking boring, so I added a ruffled border. Voila !
Moral of the story: knit to your mood and surroundings, buy enough yarn for your project and when all else fails add a little ruffle to your world and you too can have the easy zen-filled life of PJ.
