i find this terribly, terribly addictive - hard to put down.

1st skein = 7 1/2 repeats

2nd skein = 10 1/2 repeats

3rd skein = 13 1/2 repeats

4th skein = 15 1/2 repeats

teeny weeny bit of 5th skein to bind off.

put in a stitch marker to keep track of increases. once i reached 8 sts outside of the marker i knew i had to BO 3sts on the next RS Row. once i reached 10 sts i knew i had to change to reverse-stockinette or stockinette stitch on the next RS Row.

no blocking! pegged it along stockinette sections on the clothes-line to drip off excess water and then layed flat for a few days to air-dry.

more on The Minaret of Samarra here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malwiya