04 May
My reaction when I received this yarn (as written in my stash notes): Oh my dear bajeezus. This is a brighter red than I expected. I described it to the hubby as “Clown Red”. Have spent the day learning about overdyeing. Will be soaking this in tea. Oh yes.

On the other hand, this feels deliciously soft and lovely and it was on super-sale…

06 May
I have never used so many stitch markers at once! Actually, though, it is pretty educational as far as teaching me the right way(s) to use stitch markers (particularly around decreases) so rock on.

There are so many different steps for each row that I find I have to break down the row (separated by a bright red pen line) and do it in segments. That helps keep me from getting confused.

I adore the fact that the pattern breaks down the total stitch count by section. Adore!

As for the yarn, working with it makes it look less clown red and more just normal red. It still is probably going to be too intense for what I want so I’m still prepared to do a 12-hour tea soaking to tint it just a tad. Also, the yarn is super stretchy which makes me a bit concerned about the potential for wonky gauge but, at the same time, it makes it feel so soft and squishy!

20 May
Started using the bind off suggested in the pattern but it was too tight, even after I switched to using US11s. Instead, I went with k1, k2tog-tbl and that’s got a lot more stretch to it.
…
I haven’t blocked it yet (or over dyed it with tea) but I’m kind of disappointed with this. My stitches are pretty uneven in the stockinette portion and it just doesn’t look all that polished. I think the springiness of the yarn probably contributed to this but ultimately, it is my poor knitting. sadface

24 May
Fifteen and a half hours of soaking in some very strong tea (about 4 quarts with 24 bags, steeped for an hour) and now I’m letting it dry. Then I’ll give it a rinse and real blocking so it no longer smells of tea.

25 May
Okay, post-blocking (and tea dyeing) has made me happy with this. There are still a few uneven stitches in the stockinette, but hopefully it isn’t horribly noticeable (I don’t think it is). And it feels so light and soft! Also, I adore the shape to this. I’m not wild about the lace pattern bit (but my mom was and that’s all that matters) but I so supremely love the shape and how this wears, I almost don’t want to give this to my mom!

Also, the tea-dyeing (even after rinsing) has tamed the red nicely. It’s no longer clown red but a slightly more mature (and less jarring) color. It’s not a huge difference but just enough. The second picture shows the difference between the overdyed shawl and the original yarn.

Very happy with this project!