Sweet Lily Shawl

I liked the idea of this shawl as soon as I saw it (there's actually several things I loved in that issue, IK, Spring 2009). I first tried it with the very-multi-coloured yarn I ended up making Moonlight Sonota in, and it was clear right away it wouldn't work. It needs a fairly monochromatic type yarn. I decided one day that this yarn would work; it's Tanis Fiber Arts Pink Label Laceweight--a Canadian yarn! I bought it at the fall Creative Festival in Toronto,

October 2009. I chose it because it was the most monochromatic yarn in my laceweight bin (other than cream and black solids), and also had 1000yds and the pattern needed 825yds.The first wedge was challenging...keeping track of the chart row and how many stitches at the other end to not knit. I think it took me a little more than two days to do the first wedge. Oh, wait, even before that there were issues, LOL. I had grabbed the yarn, needle, and pattern to take to an outdoor concert. Got it open and realized it started with a provisional cast on. I had no other yarn suited for a crochet cast on, nor a crochet hook. I fiddled for about 1/2 the concert trying to do the provisional cast on in the magazine, and gave up and tried to remember how I had done a crochet cast on in the past....using the needles instead of a hook. I got it sorted out. I figured the crochet cast on looks very close to the regular cast off. The pattern has you do something a little extra over the cast on and off rows, but I figured I could just do it over top.

After I had gotten a few wedges done, I took a good look at my progress. Something seemed off in the lace 'ladder' between the lily panel and the pointed edging. You can see it between points 1 and 2 (from the top), and between 3 and 4. I paid close attention to the chart, and I was doing exactly what it said, but it looked like a mistake. I started altering it so the lace ladder would continue unbroken.As I got near the end of the shawl, I noticed a big mistake. Okay, it was probably not much more noticeable than those other ones (that weren't "mistakes" LOL), but I couldn't live with it and had to rip out almost one repeat of the lily chart. Then, after I got that going again, I spread it out, and found the SAME error in the wedge prior. Oy. I was not ripping it out again.

Other knitters on Ravelry had made comments about the odd shape of the neckline. Indeed, it does scoop in. I think the biggest reason is that you do only 2 ridges of garter stitch at the cast on/off edges, but every time you knit all the stitches across the row, right to the neck edge, you do 4 knit sts at that edge. It would look better with only 2 stitches but there would still be a curve.After wearing for a day, I noticed a larger than expected eyelet:It all seems secure, so it was probably just an effort to correct a mistake in a previous row, LOL.

I was worried initially about it being too big...the model in the picture looks like a typical model, and the shawl really envelops her....and I'm short.

However, my version turned out QUITE a bit smaller than the original!Although I didn't get the whole shawl in the picture, you can easily tell it's not a big, wrap it around the neck, type shawl on me. Although it's nice and delicate, I've ended up with 56grams of the 123 grams leftover (it used 67 grams; the skein was labelled 115gr). Not enough for another identical shawl, but there are lots of patterns for 400yd shawls. However, I don't need another smallish shawl.

But it DOES look nice on my 'new' rocking chair in the kitchen! (This was a curbside find, re-painted and a new cushion. I'd been wanting a chair for this spot since we moved in but couldn't find any new that I liked/could afford!)