Getting started

Have reached point number 20 of the garter-stitch-lace border. I managed to get 11.5 points out of one ball of yarn. Fortunately Milarrochy Tweed is very easy to splice together so no ends to weave in :).

Lace border complete

Finished the lace border and started in on the ‘body’ of the shawl.

not enough yarn in the kit?

I’m really having fun with the pattern but even on gauge and following the pattern carefully I can see that the 5 skeins that came with the kit are not enough. I’m right at the end of the project and it’s obvious that I’m going to run out a few rows before the end and then there’s the cast off. I’m pretty bummed because my goal was to finish it while I’m on my vacation and I’ve already ordered 5 balls of Cranachan to make another one and now I’m going to have to re-order an extra ball of both colours and go home with the unfinished project still on the needles instead of a nice squishy shawl to wear on the plane :(.

Customer service resolves the problem

Okay, I’m back home and I contacted KDD customer support and Melanie kindly offered to send me an extra skein of Tarbet, free of charge, so that I can finish my project. It’s not the same dyelot but I’m hopeful that it will be close enough :). I have worked up to 224 stitches across the centre section and have about 2 metres of yarn remaining. I managed to weigh the unfinished shawl by weighing it with the needles in (130g) and then switching out with another needle and weighing the needles I was using (6g). So, it seems as if I had no less than 124g of yarn… I’m flummoxed, my swatch was good, and yet I’m 9 rows and a 242 stitch stretchy cast off away from finishing? I suppose I might have got off gauge as the project progressed but I won’t know that until I finish and do the final blocking. Looking forward to finishing but I have a feeling that it’s not going to solve the mystery.

Finished and blocked (yay!)
Okay, I thought it was a bit small when it came off the needles but, true to the reputation of garter stitch, once soaked it blocked to size with no trouble and without having to stretch it too much. Looks great and the dye lot difference between the main body and the few extra rows is so slight that no one other than me could possibly notice it. Looking forward to wearing it tomorrow morning when it will be dry :)!!!