A Christmas present for me! I very much enjoyed knitting this exciting and beautiful project in the course of the KAL. It was a pleasure peacefully knitting, savoring a cup of tea, listening to music and interacting with fellow knitters from all over the world instead of rushing through shopping malls with thousands of other people to buy Christmas presents.

KAL diary:

Final measurements (blocked):
Length: 192 cm (approx. 75”)
Width: 37 cm (approx. 14,6”)

I used approx. 40gr of Toho seed beads size 8.

21.12.-24.12.: For the stockinette/yarn over-section from row 1 (day 23) to row 6 (day 24) I used the same method as described on day 28.11. to accentuate the holes and tighten the knit stitches above them. I bound off purlwise to match the initial purl row at the beginning of the shawl.

20.12.: Lenghtening the 2nd half of the shawl: After knitting day 18 I added the stockinette/bead section of the first half of the shawl. Then I continued the pattern with row 1-18 of day 19 and rows 1-6 (day 20). Next I repeated rows 1-18 (day 19) + rows 1-6 (day 20) once. Afterwards I resumed the pattern with row 7 of day 20.

16.12.-19.12.: The bead placement is still a challenge. For the 2nd half of the shawl I started with scrupulously copying the bead placement of the 1st half. But the beads sometimes seemed too close to YO-rows in comparison to the 1st half. I am not sure of the reason as the pattern is symmetrical. But anyhow, to achieve a symmetrical look I sometimes shifted the pearl rows of the 2nd half by one odd row, always using life lines for new pattern sections in case of a necessary unraveling.

13.12.-15.12.: Finding an adequate bead design for the center part was quite a challenge. I am happy that I finally worked out a satisfying solution (after countless attempts and nearly giving up). I am on schedule again. The shawl is beautiful, I can’t wait to wear it.

11.12.-12.12.: Worked out bead placement for these two days.

10.12.: I forgot to mention how I place my beads on the stitches. For the Toho beads size 8 I use a 0,75mm (US14) crochet hook. I add the beads on the RS of my knitting. Right after I have placed the bead on the stitch I knit this stitch through the back loop (twisted knit stitch) to firmly anchor the bead. This prevents the bead from sliding up and down the stitch and ensures a proper look of the bead pattern.

7.12.-9.12.:
Lenghtening the first half of the shawl: As my shawl was still too short I added an extra stockinette/bead section. I had to unravel 3 times until arriving at a satisfactory bead design. Fortunately I attached a life line before starting experimenting. Finally I settled on the following solution: I started with the additional section after row 16 (day 6) of the shawl pattern. While continuing the border pattern as described in the shawl charts I knitted 32 rows of plain stockinette placing beads as described in my second chart. After knitting the last row of my additional section (row 32) I continued with row 17 (day 6) of the shawl pattern for the border and the main body. There is no break in the border pattern flow. I gained another 9cm (3,5”). I hope that this and the additional pattern repeat from 6.12. will be enough. I have to remember to add this stockinette section after the center of the shawl to ensure pattern symmetry.

6.12.: Lengthening the first half of the shawl: I found a row where I can “cut” the pattern and insert an additional pattern repeat without disturbing the flow of the border rhythm. After row 14 of day 6 I repeated rows 9-18 (day 5) + rows 1-14 (day 6) once and gained approx. 7cm (2,8”) unblocked. I have to remember to repeat this after the center section to maintain the symmetrical look of the pattern.

2.12.-5.12.: I am on time and enjoying the pattern very much. It takes me approximately 90 minutes for one day’s section. Because of my smaller gauge I have to find a solution to achieve a wearable length for the shawl which is a little bit tricky as the row repeat rhythm of the border and the main body differ. I have to find a way to add additional rows without disturbing the flow of the border pattern. Maybe I will add a plain stockinette section with a nice bead pattern somewhere before and after the center section of the shawl. In this way I could easily adjust the number of stockinette rows to the required number of pattern repeat rows of the border.

1.12.: Start of KAL. I will knit the shawl version. I cast on 62 sts (5 pattern repeats) with a Crochet CO (needle size = 4mm) and continued with needle size = 3,75mm. After CO I knit one row to get a soft stretchy edge on the RS. Up to row 15 I knitted a twisted edge stitch at the end of every odd row to achieve a straight diagonal edge after blocking. I didn’t like the loose look of the stockinette/YO-section, so I restarted with needle size = 3,5mm and 6 pattern repeats (CO = 74 sts). It looks much better now. To tighten up the stitches above the YOs in the stockinette section I chose the method described in my bead swatch. I started adding beads from row 17 onwards as described in the chart. I enjoy knitting this pattern very much.

28.11.: I finished a bead swatch: Crochet CO (needle size 4mm) 2x12sts (2 pattern repeats) + 2x3 selvedge sts = 30sts. 5 garter rows with N = 3,5mm, continued with row 13 (no edges) until row 88, 5 garter rows and Crochet BO (needle size 4mm). Stockinette stitch is too tight for my taste. I will settle for N=3,75mm for the actual shawl. Silver-lined Toho beads (size 8) come out fine.
I tried another YO method to tighten up the stitches in the rows above the YOs in the stockinette section (row 17-row 40 of the placemat chart): 2 YOs in RS-row, knit/purl the 2 YOs in next WS-row, knit the 2 YOs in next RS-row, purl the 2 YOs together in next WS-row to return to correct stitch number for pattern repeat. I think the YOs come out fine.

27./28.11.: I knitted the free placemat as a swatch with 2 pattern repeats and needle size 4mm. The floppy look of the stitches above the YOs in the stockinette section are caused by stitch markers which indicate the edges and pattern repeats. I will possibly abstain from using them in the shawl. The stockinette pattern is too lucent. For the shawl I will switch to either needle size 3,5mm or 3,75mm to give the body more structure.

Yarn: I have a leftover from my first lace shawl which seems to suit perfectly for the occasion. It is a mink/merino/silk blend in a deep burgundy color - like a bottle of Rioja. It’s a wonderful yarn for lace shawls. It has a soft touch and feels very light and warm after washing. It will be the perfect match for my black dress on Christmas Eve.