5 stars - the pattern is amazing…
difficult - there are quite a few of errors and I did some modifying on the fly to get it to feel correct to me. You really have to be able to tell when the pattern is misleading g and able to fix it as you go.

I bought 3 skeins of each. I know this will not take nearly that much but it’s nice yarn so I figured I’d err on the side of caution (and give my self extras to make matching accessories). I have 1 full hank of red left and nearly my full cake of the other. so the red took just over 1 hank. I balled up all 3 of the black and have nearly 1 left.

I have created a blog post with a detailed photo tutorial of how I worked these color sections. I call it crochet intarsia.

3-15-13 pt.2
ends tied in and blocked. I made a a video of how I blocked this.

3-15-13
Finished crocheting. just have to weave in a few ends and block.

3-8-13 pt.2
Working up the other side now.Being that the background shells on the body are all right facing I have decided to start the 1st row of black on the wrong side at the bottom (1st row being setup for shells) so that all my shells are right facing on both sides. this means that I have to convert my edge stitches to either chains or actual stitches as I’m working backwards. The 1st side I started at the top of the spine. the 2nd side I started at the tail. This will also mean I will have to snip my yarn when I complete each big shell and reattach it to start the next. But this only has 6 shells per side so that’s not to bad for end weaving. Still working the body and red continuously.

I joined the tail shells only at the shells and left the rest separate. last 5 rows are where the join is.

You want to start your foundation row for the background with the wrong side of the shawl facing you so that your background shells will all be right side with the crock stitch.

I have 14 shells on the 1st row of the body. I squeezed an extra shell on the sides where my crock stitch stacks. this is also how I get the flair and dip at the top of the spine. with 14 shells to start on the background, this leaves me being able to finish the tips of the wings all on the same row which I like the look of more.

3-8-13
finished one side. I’m working the color sections in sort of a intarsia style. I am not breaking the yarn but each section has it’s own ball and I’m dropping one to pick up another. I have made a photo tutorial of how to do this.

I’m also working the full 7 stitches on the shells at the top edge and slip stitching back to the 4th DC to give it a textured edge instead of the straight edge.

I am starting my foundation for the background shells in the same pattern as the rest of the background. instead of a dc between V stitches, I am doing a SC as that is what the rest of it calls for.

Looking back, I wish I had started the red dividing shells with the dc,ch2,dc I don’t really like the way it looks with a shell at the base as there are no other shells at the base of any of the rest of them.

2-11-13

I LOVE this pattern! BUT it has a LOT of errors. It is not a good pattern for a beginner or someone who has a hard time adjusting as you go and seeing when things are not right.

I frogged back to the spine because I was not liking the blended section. I had to crochet a chunk to see how it played together and I decided it was not playing nicely so I took it out and am working in color block sections.

the center spine is not symmetrical and working it as written will not give you a nice even look. I adapted my starting by on the last stitch instead of finishing off the DC I left 2 loops on the hook, I yo 2x inserted my hook into the edge DC of the row below and yo, draw up a loop, yo and draw through 2 loops on hook 2 times, yo and draw through last 3 loops on hook. this will give you matching spots on both sides to work your stitches. on one side you will end up working over the chain up space and on the other side you will work through the triple crochet space. At the end I ch5, skip next ch3 space,sc in next space, ch5 skip next ch3 space and join w/a slip stitch to DC and fasten off. than when you work your stitches on the end spread them out over these 2 spaces.

The crock stitches are not symmetrical. they all stack on one side and stagger on the other. I staggered both sides equally.

I also did my starting center pain differently and joined each side with a long trebble crochet so that my scales would be even and equal. on the bottom loop around I divided the stitches and went full around the tip to better balance it.

4 stars for the yarn. it’s a really nice yarn and I have not had knots in my hanks. It has a nice sheen. But it is not consistent. it goes from a really nice, uniform twist to having thicker bulkier sections and back to thin. has been like that in the 3 hanks I’ve used so far. Lovely for crochet but I don’t know how those thicker spots would work up in a fine knitted lace.