"That sort is a bit shiny,"

the Senior Cat informed me. He was looking at the "shade card" sent to me by a woollen mill. It is not the sort of thing he takes a great deal of interest in. Knitting is a mystery to him - more of a mystery than woodwork is to me. I know the difference between a finger joint and a dovetail joint. I can recognise Huon pine when I see it. He calls cables "that stuff with ropes in it" and lace "that stuff with holes in it". As for the difference between wool and alpaca or silk and cotton he has no idea. Try to explain the difference between merino and blue faced Leicester and he is lost.
I don't need any more yarn. I know I have explained elsewhere that I suffer from SABLE, Stash Advancement Beyond Life Expectancy. It is not my fault. I have been given more yarn than I can possibly use. I am no doubt guilty of passing some of it on to other people in the same position.
But the shade card will be perused by other people in the endless search for "just the right colour" or "something conservative" or "that might be bright enough".
The "shiny" yarn has bamboo in it. I would be unlikely to use it. Bamboo is remarkable stuff. It grows quickly. It is fibrous. It is tough enough to build scaffolding. Some people like to knit with it but, for me, it lacks resilience. There is no elasticity.
I know Ms Whirlwind will want to see the shade card. She still refuses to learn to knit. I think it may test her patience - although she is currently making a model of Westminster Abbey from a book. Naturally it had to be one of the most difficult in the book.  She has hopes I will make her a vest of a certain design. I might.
I am currently making a blue mohair cardigan -for my friend with severe arthritis. I dislike mohair. I dislike knitting mohair. I especially dislike knitting mohair in hot weather - or even warm weather. I will do it because my friend needs it. When it is done I will go on to the next project - and the next. I have other yarn to use, even some silk and some cashmere. Most of the yarn I have is wool. I have given the acrylic to others.
Life is too short to knit things I do not want to knit. I don't want to knit shiny yarn that does not keep its shape. The Senior Cat is right. "That sort is a bit shiny."