I started this project in 2001, then set it aside for nearly five years before picking it up and finishing it. I really enjoyed knitting this. The pattern was engaging and interesting, with plenty of fun needle tricks and techniques that paid off with a truly beautiful finished piece. I particularly enjoyed the cabled fagotted lace used between the repeats of the larger pattern. It took a little swatching to understand how it worked, but once I got it right I was very impressed with the overall effect.

To preserve the effect of the downward swags on both ends when the shawl is worn, the shawl was worked from the center out. The second picture shows the center of the shawl, where the piece is cast on (provisionally) and then, after completing half the shawl, those live cast-on stiches are picked up and the knitter proceeds the other way. If you look closely you can see that two of the edge yarnovers are slightly smaller at that point, but otherwise it’s a very smooth transition. There is one row of stockinette in the very center, which I’m not sure is supposed to be there. It’s symmetrical, though, so I’m not going to sweat it.

I’m very fond of the edging of the shawl, created by starting each row with a yarn over and a knit two together. It leaves a very nice row of interlocking loops along the edge. When I blocked the shawl, I ran my blocking wires through each and every loop (as you can see in the fourth picture down).

The last three pictures are of the unblocked shawl, just to demonstrate the difference that the blocking process made. In this particular pattern the blocking didn’t make the lace bloom as much, but it made a huge difference in the overall shape and the edging.