What an excellent doily design! The texture is amazing and the written pattern detailed. I enjoyed making this from start to finish.
This is not for a beginner (unless it’s the most adventurous, determined beginner in the world!), but if you take it one bit at a time, I think it’s less challenging than it may look. Just be sure to read the pattern carefully, count your stitches, and use stitch markers when directed. Personally, on long rounds, I find it helpful to use a ruler, index card, sticky note, etc. to keep track of where I am in the instructions. This helps me refer to the pattern at a glance with less confusion.
Again, a great pattern.
If/when I make it again, I’ll try to remember to cut my thread and do an invisible join after finishing round 6-- or whichever is the last round before the blo stitches that create that prominently ridged circle near the middle of the doily. It’s not bad, the way it is, but I think that extra bit of effort might make it look even better.
First time using Baroque thread, though I’ve had this in my stash for years. It looks like a good quality thread, so far.
(Final verdict on thread: Despite one knot early in the skein, I think this is a very nice, plump thread, but the lack of color options is disappointing. Also, I had trouble getting a center-pull to work, so I ended up working from the outside of the skein, which wasn’t as smooth and fuss-free as working from a ball of thread. I probably won’t buy it again, unless more colors are introduced and the price is lower than Cébélia, my current favorite.)