5/23/11 - I just love this pattern but don’t have access to French patterns so I searched for something similar -- then a very sweet Raveler gave me some additional information and even translated it for me from French to English. Thank you Aditi!

I struggled with the yarn -- started with Madelinetosh Pashmina - which turned out to be too heavy. Then I went to Lorna’s Laces Helen’s Lace Yarn and a beautiful kid mohair that’s like a haze, but even together they turned out to be too light weight - no drape or body even though the yarn is gorgeous.

So I looked at more similar projects and then tried this alpaca blend based on a few others of the same yarn / fiber content. I’m getting more proficient at using this website too, and am really grateful for the invaluable information here. One day I won’t go through what I did with this shawl.

On to the project -- I increased the cast on from 75 to 99 to get the width - did not like the look of the pattern on size 10 needles. The current width is about 18 inches unblocked so I figure it’s going to be a little bit wider.

I’ve struggled a bit with the pattern, this is my (second!) first lace project. Hope it turns out as beautifully as those posted out here. For some reason my decreases don’t look like those pictured in so many projects but I am using the same stitches so we’ll see …

And this is incredible yarn - I can’t even describe how wonderful it feels.

6/6/11 - almost finished with the knitting part, now I have to do the blocking and I’m afraid of it but will bite the bullet and get it done!

6/18/11 - finished the knitting and got past the really scary part of blocking and it turned out beautifully! The knitpicks video on blocking wasn’t kidding - the transformation after blocking is astonishing. I never expected the wavy wrap to expand out like it did.

Finished measurement:

BEFORE blocking -- 18x56
AFTER blocking -- 21x67.

This was the perfect length, wraps just right. Will post pictures soon.

I will say I still think there is a difference in how French knitters do some stitches so I’m going to investigate and see what I find .. will keep you posted!

7/6/11 - Just wanted to post that the gift was a success -- there’s nothing quite like seeing someone open something you made and gasp! I was delighted beyond belief and will definitely make another one of these in the exact yarn type.

7/27/11 - I figured out the French difference … they read the chart correctly! Apparently I read the chart backwards so my stitches looked a bit different. I knitted a bit of the pattern again, the right direction, and it looked just like everyone elses! Argh!!!!!!!!!!