Hi, y'all!

Went to the only yarn store in this town today and wasn't terribly impressed. Let me clarify: I was impressed by the yarn selection, but not by the staff. (Gather 'round, kids, it's story time!) When I walked in, three older ladies were sitting around a table discussing some pattern with a fourth lady who was new to knitting. When the bell jingled they all stopped and stared at me. I smiled and they stared. And stared a little more. Then one of them said "You need any help, darlin?" I said no, I was just looking around, and started poking through a sale shelf. By the way, this place had sales out the wazoo. Everything (ok, except for the yarn I ultimately bought) was on sale. Debbie Bliss aran for $7.50! A hefty section of %50 off yarn! It took me ages to paw through everything. But when I had, I'd fallen for some fawn (or "mushroom" as the label called it) laceweight silk/merino that I plant to use for my grandmother's Christmas present. I have a picture, but I can't find the USB cable for my camera, so you'll have to imagine that it's beautiful (it's this stuff). I asked the lady who seemed to be in charge if she thought two balls would be enough for a medium sized, rectangular stole/shawl (yes, I do realize that this is a silly question, but I wanted to be friendly). She didn't know, but was very, very eager to suggest patterns. In fact, even though I told her I had a few I was considering, she pulled out a massive binder full of shawl patterns and I ended up flipping through it for a few minutes just to be polite. Side note: some of the shawls were being modeled by shirtless ladies. Their breasts weren't visible -- ok, there were no nipples -- but it seemed pointless and tacky. I mean, consider the target audience for shawl patterns: probably grown women, and probably not women who are going to wear only the shawl and a smile. ("Honey, I'm wearing the alpaca bias knit stole with the bobbles tonight...") Are the photographers/designers/publishers hoping that a bored man in a yarn store will idly flip through the pattern book and then rush over to his partner, eyes alight, insisting that she make a shawl? Is there a large enough market of lesbian knitters (specifically those who find shawls sexy) that this is effective advertising? I'm all for sexy knitting, but these weren't even sexy shawls; they all had bobbles and broad patterns that made them look like slightly fancy horse blankets. They were definitely not the patterns I was looking for (make your own Star Wars joke here). Then I asked about the yarn used to knit a display scarf, thinking of making Knitty's Branching Out with it. Turns out that it's the yarn called for in the pattern, but telling this to the store lady didn't discourage her from trying to sell me patterns again. First she talked up a Vogue knitting scarf book (which had mostly boring and/or hideous scarves in it), and then another scarf book that had some sort of creative name like Scarf!. Anyway, it was weird. I felt pressured to buy more than yarn and frustrated that she wasn't listening to a word I said about my pattern choices. And in the end, although I now have beautiful yarn, I have no pattern. I really, really wanted to make Eunny's Print 'O the Wave Stole, but it just doesn't feel right for this yarn. Something that looks so wavey should be a light, gossamer blue color. Definitely not "mushroom." Waves of fungus do not make a nice Christmas gift. So I ask you, internet knitters, what is your favorite shawl pattern? Is there one that you could knit again and again? One that turned out better than you'd hoped? One you've always wanted to try? I'm making this for my grandmother and would like something rectangular (she's in a wheelchair and I can imagine a triangle shawl getting to be all kinds of annoying), not too busy (no lace tablecloths), but not too solid either (no Clapotis). Suggestions? P.S. There's a picture heavy post coming soon (including an FO). I just have to unpack everything and find the camera cable in the last box.