Keep on Quilting

So, it turns out that it's hard to make a surprise quilt for someone you share a dining room with, when the dining room is also your quilting area.  Today, a very rare day off alone, is dedicated to secret quilting. 

I would be a little further along on this, but for the past few days all I've been able to do is knit little kid mittens and stare off into space.  I'm really trying to get the top done before people get home.  

I wanted to do something more interesting than plain patchwork, and am working with a slightly weird assortment of solids that I'd like to stick to. 

Here's the shawl that I picked back up a few weeks ago and then spent hours messing up and frogging:

I'll spare you the details of all the frogging and mind-changing.  Long story short, I was delighted to find that the original dyer is close by and still stocking what looked like the same yarn, then disappointed to find that it's a lot darker than the original skein.  It's probably going to just mean that the edge ruffle is going to be a little darker than the rest of the shawl, which I'm prepared to call a design element so I can just be done.  

Happy Veterans' Day, to those of you in the US.  Lots to think about today.