Spring Shawl Surprise, Swatching.....

This lace KAL by LUL began on January 1st, and will have 12 clues. This is my second lace project-Mystic Waters was the first- and I was a bit intimidated by:

1) the number of different symbols on the the two swatches
2) even more symbols for the shawl
3) there is a design to follow on both sides of the shawl!

not to mention the most basic dilemma-which yarn to choose! Every knitter is aware that choosing the wrong color or a yarn that one is not totally in love with, can cause the project to go dormant and never be finished.

Completed Swatch #1, and resolved a small portion of the issues above:

Unblocked Swatch #1, yarn is malabrigo laceweight, emerald, using 3.5 mm (US4) Knitpicks Options.

It wasn't that difficult, and looks pretty good. The yarn is soft and a pleasure to work with. It's on to the rectangular shawl (138 sts wide)! One of the new stitches, the loop stitch, was easy, and explained well by LUL on her website , and further on the yahoo group. Gotta love those brave enough to ask; it clarifies the process and helps the rest of us out! Back to knitting...currently on row 6 of the pattern...