Finished!

Tada! All done! It is such an awkward size, I had a hard time getting a picture of the whole thing in all of its glory.

It is approximately 60" long, 30" in diameter. Just a little bit bigger than that, I think.  I followed the Vernal Equinox pattern, with one small adjustment. I was tired of Clue 4, so instead of doing 4 repeats, I did 2.5.  Other than that, I followed the pattern.  I used 1.64 skeins of KnitPicks Shadow Kettle Dyed in Begonia (discontinued) and used a size 4 needle.

It actually worked up pretty quickly, despite having it on the needles from April 4 until June 23. I'm sure I could have finished it in a month if I'd spent more time on it and less time on everything else I was also making (baby set, socks, blanket, etc.).  I made it with a wedding in mind and wanted to have it done well before it was needed. Since the wedding isn't until August 7, I'd say I did it! I'm so happy to have it done, I love it. I definitely have grown a lot when it comes to knitting lace. I didn't use a single lifeline, and as far as I know, there aren't any mistakes in it. Knitting my Swallowtail and Haruni first has taught me a lot about reading my stitches and making sure my rows match up.  It was really easy for me to see if I was off a stitch or two, which happened a few times, so I was able to just tink back a little instead of having to rip multiple rows.  As soon as I was done with this, I went online and bought some more yarn - this time to make another Haruni or two. 
All in all, I'm super happy with how it turned out. I can't wait for the chance to wear it!

Vernal Equinox on the Summer Solstice

Last night I wrapped up chart 6a of the Vernal Equinox Shawl.  I've been working on it in spurts.  The plan is to wear it to a wedding August 7th, so it must be done and blocked by then.  I was working on a baby sweater, also, but I've decided it is too small and needs to be made on bigger needles. I'm already using my 4's on the shawl, and broke the other set of Harmony tips, so it looks like I have to finish the shawl before moving on! Yes, I could take the tips off and use the end caps, but then I'll never finish. I'm hoping to be done by the end of the week, and blocked early next week.  Then I won't have to worry about it being done in time for the wedding. Also, then I can work on all sorts of projects without knowing I have this lingering. I have enjoyed making it, but I am getting tired of it.  These last few rows start at 485 stitches and go up to over 600, so even though there are only 6 or so patterned rows, I think it's going to take awhile.
This time around I decided to not use lifelines.  So far, it has worked out for me. I've been pretty surprised with how few mistakes I've made. While making the Swallowtail, it seemed like every other row I had to rip back to the lifeline and start over.  The Haruni and this Vernal Equinox have been going much smoother. I think the most important thing is I learned how to "read" my knitting.  While I'm knitting along, I can see how the pattern is coming together now, which is super important for catching mistakes early on. If I know how the "k2tog, yo, k2tog" is supposed to line up with the row under it, I can see if I'm off a stitch or two. This has saved me a ton of trouble.
Enough talking, more knitting! Pictures next time with the completed shawl, hopefully!