The completed shawl is gorgeous, but OH MY GOD THE GARTER STITCH. After a million years of knitknitknitknitknitknitknit, I may have cheered out loud when that final cursed stitch was cast off. This is not a slam against the pattern itself, mind - more a commentary on my attention span.

Mods: As many knitters before me, I adjusted the border stitches to include an extra yarn over (e.g., “k1, yo, k3 everything in between, k3, drop yo, k1”), which proved to be key during the blocking phase.

On the recipient: My mother-in-law has received her last two Xmas presents in April and May, respectively. NEVER AGAIN.