Goddess Knits Spring Mystery Shawl 2013

I’m dealing with charts for the first time with this piece. Can’t say that I love the extra thought process, but it’s a simple pattern and I’m working at a nice clip. Still on clue 2 so I need to pick up the pace. :)

April 6: Just finished clue 2 … now that clue 4 is out! I’ve gotta get it in gear! Love the pattern. Gotten the hang of reading charts … still think it’s a waste of time but easy enough to do. The color in my picture is off. The beads are a perfect varied match to the yarn … don’t know why they look more green than blue.

April 9: Finished clue 3 for me and clue 1 for http://www.ravelry.com/projects/KnitZsKneedleZs/spring-my... - the person who got me hooked into this KAL but wasn’t knitting along herself! LOL Really like this pattern. I stretch my lace out every now and then just to see it! :)

April 28: Finished clue 4. Still loving this project. Wishing I had more free time to spend on it! Glad to have Renee’s clear, clean-cut pattern as my first chart-reading experience.

Okay, here’s a confession: I don’t swatch for shawls. I determine my needle size based on the yarn. This Tess lace is very fine and the resulting fabric from using a 4 is perfect. The 5 was just too “holey” looking. HOWEVER, this means that I’m almost finished with clue 5 and I’m still on my first 500-yard skein! I will have to do something to use up the rest of my 1000 yards. I guess I’ll be finished with this one by the time everyone else finishes up the summer project! :)

July 22: This has been hibernating too darn long. Picked it up … couldn’t decide what to do … put it back in my big knitting basket. :(

August 8: As predicted, I finished my summer mystery long before this one. No excuses for not finishing the spring one. Figured out what I want to do … back to this project … back to clue 4 …

August 15: I’m almost done. Yay! I can’t wait to see this blocked out. Since I have promised myself not to start a new project until I’ve finished one, this piece has been given priority status. :)

August 18: Finally finished. Ended up repeating all of clue 4 and 18 rows of clue 5 before adding a row of k1-yo (with a bead on every single k1, which took FOREVER!), then I dropped the yo’s on the purl row back. I wanted to do something different to an edge that I’d never done before. I like the way it turned out and I think it will block very interestingly. Now to soak, block, steam and photograph …

Done with Czech 8º Seed Beads by Beadazzled, Oceanic Mix Matte AB #6916 - which my camera has really pictured terribly. They match the yarn perfectly (almost too perfectly) and are very subtle - not at all lime green. :) The bead picture is the true color … and the yarn is more blue than purple - finished photos are the most accurate (but still not spot on). Great match of beads for the yarn, but with this being my first beaded project, I didn’t realize that the perfect match didn’t mean the perfect bead. They are barely visible, which basically negates all of the tedious work putting them in! :(

All in all, I love this project - my first laceweight piece - my first chart-reading experience - my first time beading. Now I’m hooked on all three!