Melon pattern shawl

This is the melon pattern shawl from Victorian Lace Today after 28 repeats, almost halfway through the centre panel. It's been an easy ride so far; the stitch pattern is deceptively simple to learn and uniform enough so that any mistake is discovered and easily remedied in the next row.

For a laceweight the sea silk seems to be on the thick side, and finding the right gauge proved a little tricky. The piece shown in my last post was knit on 4mm needles and was too loose, so I ripped it. This attempt is made using 3.5mm, and I'm much happier with how it looks now.

The problem of course, is that even in this fledgling state, the shawl seems too narrow [about 12" across - eek]. I really ought to increase the stitch count to make up for the adjustment in size, but I have absolutely no idea how far my two skeins will go, and if I've learned anything from the PotW [yep, still unblocked], it's that the border takes far more yarn than you'd imagine, and then some. So I'm playing it safe for now and following the instructions as specified.

I Knit London's meet this week at the Freemason's Arms was another busy affair, again with lots of new faces amongst the usual suspects. It was a fun evening, and even the pub's manager was keen for the group to come again. Having abandoned the Forest Canopy Shawl I've been knitting - and endlessly ripping - since May, I cast on again with fresh yarn, and carried on working on it the next evening at IKL's film night [Little Miss Sunshine - so, so nice]. I don't know why I have struggled so much with the FCP, the lace is the easiest I've come across and the cashmere is a dream to work with, but somehow I was making mistake after mistake after sodding mistake. This time round, I've moreorless managed to get to the same stage as before without too much trauma. Since it's for a friend, I just hope the good karma continues.

After the film and when everyone else had left, the boys and I sat on their fabulous Chesterfield, stuffed ourselves with cookies and crisps, and played around on Ravelry, and chatted about the first official UK Stitch 'n Bitch Day. It sounds like it's going to be huge fun, so if you're interested, keep checking the IKL blog for details.