Finished: Oaklet Shawl

Yay, another knitting project!  I'll have some patchwork to show soon, and there's fabric in the washer to be turned into Archers, but until then, let me introduce you to Oaklet!

This is a top-down shawl by Megan Goodacre; the Oaklet shawl is free on Ravelry.  It's rated as easy (2/10 on the Ravelry scale) so I decided to give it a whirl.  Well.

The first 113 rows were fine.  They're stockinette stitch; I can do that with my eyes closed (practically).  After that, the lace begins.  And that's also where my problems began.

I kept ended up with an extra stitch outside of the repeats.  I dropped stitches; I added extras.  I was a mess, pretty much.  I took my shawl into Charlotte Yarn (my LYS) for help, after my mom declared herself unable to help.  Luckily, Stephanie was there and got me to a good place--we ripped out the lace I had started so I could get going again.  Stephanie is pretty much my new BFF.  She invited me to her knitting group at Whole Foods on Wednesday night, which was really fun!  That's besides the point, but it's good to remember the positive instead of the negative (messing up my shawl and ripping it out).

Anyway, so I went home, tried again, and still messed up.  My mom decided to take on the challenge at that point and got me back to the beginning of the lace, inserting a lifeline for future mistakes.  Thankfully, I didn't need it, because the third time was the charm!

I used size 6 circulars--Knitter's Pride Dreamz, which aren't as good as my Addis but are also half the price--and the yarn is SweetGeorgia Tough Love Sock in Chai Spice, which I bought at Eat Sleep Knit.  I can't recommend this yarn enough!  So soft and superwash, and the colors are gorgeous.  

I bought a sweater from Loft to wear on Thanksgiving, and it coordinates well with this shawl--it doesn't match exactly (thank God) but the colors are in the same family.  We're having Thanksgiving at my parents' house in Rock Hill this year, which I'm so excited about.  The last two Thanksgivings we were alone in DC (last year we moved to Charlotte the day after) so I'm overdue for a family holiday.  My brother and Kali are driving up and Jake's friends are joining us as well.  It should be so much fun!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  Enjoy the down time, or your time spent shopping, if you're into that craziness.