In Dreams KAL Project (part 2)

I thought I would post an update on the In Dreams shawl I started and post a couple of pics. I really debated with myself wether or not to even post it because I have decided that it would be best to take out what I have done so far and start over, eekkk. I did make a couple of errors along the way that are not that noticeable so I thought I could keep going and it would turn out fine. However I have also missed one very crucial direction in the pattern that has been causing my stitch counts to be wrong every other row. So by restarting this project I will be more aware of all those oopsie spots I made and hopefully do it better the second time around. But I won't be restarting this project till after Christmas because the holidays are always so hectic for me in the first place and this project requires my full attention. So below are a couple of pics to show you where it is at the moment.

Ok I had trouble placing this pics side by side so the one on top here is of the whole thing so far. The one underneath shows the up close detail of the beads, you can notice that some of them are hiding behind my stitches. This was one of my mistakes that I thought I could fix during the blocking stage. I discovered I was placing the beads on wrong by knitting the stitch first then placing the bead when I should have placing the bead first then knitting the stitch. So this should work out much better when I re start this project in January of 2012 :)

In Dreams KAL Project (part 1)

The current project I am working on is a lace shawl entitled In Dreams. This is a mystery shawl Knit A Long (KAL), which means you don't know what the design looks like before you knit it, that's the mystery. There are clues given at timed intervals so the design is revealed as each clue is worked. The design is by Susan Pandorf of Sunflower Designs and was inspired by Galadriel's crown from the movie Lord of the Rings.

I decided to spin my own yarn for this project so the picture below is of the fiber I decided to use. This is a 50/50 blend of Merino/Silk, I love the way it shines.

This shawl is going to have a ton of beads, 5,000 I think is the right number so below are the beads I have chosen for it. I have the beads laying on top of the fiber to give you an idea of how they will go together.

I am using my Schacht double treadle wheel for this and below you can see the lace singles on the bobbin. I will be making a lace weight 2-ply yarn.

In this next picture I have placed a green sewing machine thread to the left of my spun single so you can get an idea of the size of the single.

This is the plied yarn drying on my homemade pvc niddy noddy for blocking, (setting the twist).

For those of you who read this who are not spinners, after spinning the yarn I wind it onto a niddy noddy and then wash it and set it out to dry. Before making a niddy noody from pvc I would wind it onto a wooden one to make a skein. I would then take the skein and wash it and would have to dry it under tension to set the twist. By making the pvc one I can skein it, wash it, and set it all on the niddy noddy in fewer steps.

I am currently half way through knitting the first clue and will post pictures after clue one is complete, in part 2 of this post.