Okay!
So, from what I recall from my Douglass Adams, the nice thing about a towel isn’t just that you look like a respectable creature, but that it serves as:
* clothing
* blanket
* and, of course, a towel.
So a towel shawl should be of appropriate dimensions to be minimal clothing and blanket. On me, that’s about 5 foot by 25″ (chin-to-floor by half shoulder circumference). It needs to be towel-absorbant, and not a lacy pattern, or at least not primarily lacy, although one could probably get away with a pattern down the center.
This looks like a good base to work from
(pdf)
http://media.wiley.com/assets/1320/76/TYV_Knitdesignp17.pdf
52×18
I’m picturing a wide seed stitch border around all 4 sides, fringe on the narrow ends, and possibly a lace or texture pattern down the long center for knitting and visual interest.
Now! Rainbow. The easy way I can see to do this nicely is wide stripes of color transitioning in Fibonacci narrow stripes to the next color.
Yarns, quick options:
http://www.elann.com/Commerce.Web/product.aspx?catID=30&id=126172&tid=7
http://www.elann.com/Commerce.Web/product.aspx?catID=30&id=118533&tid=7
http://www.elann.com/Commerce.Web/product.aspx?catID=30&id=126501&tid=7
http://www.knitpicks.com/cfyarns/yarn_display.cfm?ID=5420162
http://www.knitpicks.com/yarns/Simply_Cotton_Worsted_Yarn__D5420199.html
http://www.yarnmarket.com/yarn/Tahki_Yarn-Cotton_Classic_Yarn-2489.html
Oh boy I want to comment on the yarns but I know so little about yarn and knitting in general that I have no useful input to give other than I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS
*giggle* colors. Colors are a good commentary. Keep in mind that this is a big project and right now I’m swamped, so excited is good but it won’t be in, like, May.
You could give it to me for my twenty-fifth wedding anniversary and I would STILL be insanely excited and gleeful about it~! Colors! Colors I can do. Okay, typical seven-color rainbow… (Should I be picking all of one type of yarn?) For http://www.knitpicks.com/cfyarns/yarn_display.cfm?ID=5420162 Morrocan Red (red) Tomato (orange) Canary (yellow) Sprout (possible green) Nightfall (indigo) Lilac (alt. violet) For http://www.knitpicks.com/yarns/Simply_Cotton_Worsted_Yarn__D5420199.html Mandarin Heather (alt. orange) Bermuda Heather (blue) Duchess Heather (alt. violet) For http://www.knitpicks.com/cfyarns/yarn_display.cfm?ID=5420162 Pea Green (possible green)
All one type of yarn helps, yes, or one stripe will look funky against the rest of it.
Oh well awesome because I just realized I had http://www.yarnmarket.com/yarn/Tahki_Yarn-Cotton_Classic_Yarn-2489.html open as well 3997 Bright Red 3401 Light Bright Orange 3533 Bright Yellow 3725 Deep Leaf Green 3806 Bright Blue 3873 Dark Royal Blue 3947 Medium Red-Violet
Tahki is pretty much known for having 1000 colors, yes 🙂
Just for the sake of /options/ let us add Surf as a possible blue for that first set to make it a full rainbow~
Neat! Rather like a afghan! I am all excited because I found the pattern that my grandmother used to knit her afghans, in a new Debbie Bliss book the library got. W00t!
neat, wooT!