Update 9/3/22:
Originally put in hibernation because the yarn got hopelessly tangled--it’s so slippery and a big chunk got pulled out of the middle and then the cake rolled around in my diy yarn bowl becoming even more entangled before I noticed, and by that time it was too late.

I should’ve re-caked before knitting instead of pulling from the middle but it didn’t occur to me in my excitement to get started.
Excitement waned with the big tangle to face (and the silly issues I was having with the chart I was on), so the shawl got shoved into a dark corner.

Three years later, I’ve long since realized that as much as I love to knit complicated, lacey crescent shawls, I don’t wear them--it’s just not me--and have no one to gift them to (the ones I’ve made live draped over lampshades and it’s a pretty look but I’ve run out of lamps to embellish at this point).
Remembered this yarn when I came across and fell in love with Flowers in the Air and was searching my stash for something that might work for it…
So I put in the hours needed to untangle the disaster (and then frogged Kyra) to reuse the yarn in something more my style.

Such beautiful yarn; it needs to be used (and the pattern was great from what I remember, I just got frustrated after making dumb mistakes).

Overview

Section	g used	yards	meters	%	% total	beads
1	4.1	35.9	32.8			32
2	2.8	24.5	22.4			28
3	5.1	44.6	40.8			116
4	4.4	38.5	35.2			61
5	9	78.8	72.1			89
6	17.8	155.8	142.5			45
7						544
8						116
9						1539
Bind off					100%	-
Total				-	100%	2027

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Mods

• first and last edge st ktbl
• yo after first and before last edge st on RS, drop it on WS
• added a purl row after garter tab pick up/before row 1 (ktbl, k2, p4, k2, ktbl)
• all body ktbl are ptbl on WS
• rows 112-122: switched to dark end of gradient for contrast
• rows 114 and 121: beaded every other st (114 after purling, 121 before)

Yarn
Using a gorgeous gradient from Jutta…my first from her and really impressed, have more on the way already. The base is wonderful--so soft and light--and the color is amazing…smooth transitions (so smooth that I didn’t even notice the color beginning to change while knitting, and I check obsessively) and really subtle but interesting variegation, as well as flashes of unexpected color from the way the dye broke when it hit the fiber. Absolutely beautiful, and great for keeping my interest while knitting.

Between my tendency to knit on tighter side and smaller needles, pretty sure I can get away with the yardage I have (911y based on weight)…and considering doing Section 7 in a different (coordinating) yarn anyway, just for interest.

Notes
A generous 104.1g to start
Beads Miyuki 6/0 8/0 gilt lined rose opal from Chevron Trading Post downtown.

6/2
Section 1 finished…and immediately ripped out. Thought I could get away with size 6 beads, but nope…they look way too big on this yarn.

Walked downtown and bought the four tubes they had in size 8, more in stock in a couple of weeks if needed.
Reknit Section 1 and so glad I did--looks much nicer with the smaller, more delicate beads (but will likely use some of the size 6 towards the bottom of the shawl). 100.0g left

6/3
Section 2 finished, 97.2g left.

Section 3 started.

Not big on cable needles and my 1/1RC looks sloppy and uneven when I knit it the alternative way suggested (knit 2nd st 1st without dropping it off the needle, then 1st st, drop both off needle), so I do it yet another way: slip both sts together knitwise, transfer back to left needle, knit each one tbl.

6/4
Section 3 finished, 92.1g left.

6/9
Section 4 finished, 87.7g left.

The smallest crochet hook I have is 0.9mm, and ~30% of the size 8 beads won’t fit on it…having to string those and use a needle and thread to bead the sts--much more time consuming and am constantly stabbing myself, splitting the yarn or catching part of a neighboring stitch. Must get a smaller hook.

Working on this in between other projects so slow going.

6/10
Section 5 finished, 78.7g left.

Started Section 6…omg, so. much. mesh. Really dislike doing cdds, thanks to my tight knitting…but the result is so pretty and a nice change from hexmesh (though so much slower!).
So sad--found a mistake way back in Section 2. Looks like I dropped the purl st above a yo…no way am I dropping down that far to fix it, but that one st is really gonna bother me…the yarn just lays across the top of that yo instead of being hooked into it.

6/17
Section 6 finished, finally. 60.9g left.

6/29
Picked back up after a trip to FL to visit my parents, for which I packed the shawl but forgot the beads.

Started Section 7 and using the other end of the gradient for contrast, switching to the dark end on row 112 to avoid color blips on the RS. Really hoping there’s enough of the darkest brown for the rest of the chart; may look odd otherwise if two color transitions meet when the other end is picked back up for Section 8.

Following Monika’s and Marcy’s smart idea and beading every other st (between edge sts) in rows 112 and 121, using the larger size 6 beads. To maintain symmetry, row 112 is beaded after purling (beginning with 2nd st after edge sts--270 beads) while row 121 is beaded before making the stitch (beginning with 1st st after edge sts--274 beads).

Important to pay attention and not make mistakes in this simple chart--tinking and removing beads from every. other. stitch then reknitting and re-beading every. other. stitch is a huge time suck (misread the chart and knit rows 113 and 114 in stockinette rather than garter the first time around).

Also, I found the Indian Cross challenging…all those wraps around the needle bunched up and crossed each other on the cord so that when it came to unwrapping, crossing and purling, I couldn’t get them over the shoulder where the cord widens (just before the join, so that switching the left needle to a smaller size wouldn’t have helped). I ended up having to move them all back onto the cord and push each wrap up onto the needle individually--in batches, as I completed a few crosses and needed the stitches to advance--making sure none were crossed over their neighbor--very time consuming, on top of crossing and purling loose, floppy stitches being awkward…just this row ended up taking most of the afternoon.
I don’t have a good solution; this seems to be the nature of this stitch? For some knitters? I considered making my wraps loose but worried I wouldn’t be able to maintain consistent tension this way and that the crossed stitches would end up uneven.

On top that, I came up two stitches short at the end of row 118. Apparently I dropped the yo’s in row 116…both of them. Because they’re both in between a k and a p, I chose to wrap the yarn backwards (meaning to purl into the back of it on the next round to prevent a twisted stitch) for a smaller yo rather than wrap 1 1/2x for a larger yo…but i forgot how easy it is to drop these when not paying attention and totally missed both on the next row, forgetting that this chart has yo’s on the WS.
This means my row of Indian Cross stitches is shifted to the left by one stitch. No way I was going to rip back and redo the wraps and crosses, so pulled up afterthought yo’s and crossing fingers that the shift isn’t too obvious.

Embarrassing that I’m having so much trouble with such a simple chart, but I think it’s the fact that there’s no pattern or repeat to line up and compare to to catch mistakes right away--the chart is nine rows of garter with the Indian Cross in the middle. Will be glad to be done with this one and get back to lace. It sure is pretty, though.