Not-So-Initial Thoughts On the Juliette Scalloped Eyelet Shawl

If you're looking for hints and tips on this project, you can skip the next three paragraphs and go right to my notes.

I started this shawl on September 14th, 2012. The kit was a door prize from my LYS for attending a Tahki Stacy Charles yarn tasting. It's the best door prize I've ever won - the yarn is exquisite, and more expensive than I'd likely buy for myself, and I can't wait to see this shawl finished - it'll be one of the top-two nicest things I've ever knitted, ever, ever.

I quickly started referring to this project as "the shawl from hell." Apparently, I'm not alone in my frustrations.* It had been partially frogged twice and was snoozing when I picked it up again, and quickly realized it needed a full frogging. Super-frustrating, as I was 40-some-odd rows into it, and was on my third color (would my frogged hanks be enough when I did the re-do? they were - thank God. No chance of buying that dye lot today).
*Just as frustrating, was TSC's unhelpful note on their web site: "There's nothing wrong with the pattern. Blah blah worked stitches the same blah confusing blah blah blah..." Thanks, TSC.

Frogging was hard, but I did my best to look at it as an opportunity for success. I spent some time wrapping my head around this pattern (again, but better this time) and got to work. I'm on row 19, and it's going a zillion times better. I can clearly see where the pattern is supposed to be, and it's really clicking into place. This shawl should pretty much fly off the needles now that I "get it."

So, here are my own notes about this pattern - things I found helpful the umteenth time around, etc.:

I took the time to write out every single row. So rather than instructions like (for example*),
"Rows 12-18: repeat rows 6-8 (which are really rows 4-10 of the stitch pattern)..." I went ahead and wrote it all out (again, for example):
"Row 13: K3, M1, K1 *stitch pattern here, repeat from * to remaining 3 sts, M1, K3." This was a big time- and brain-power-investment on the front end that (so far) has really paid off.
*The examples have nothing to do with the real pattern. I made them up.

The next thing I think it's important to note about this pattern is that in addition to the three border stitches on either side of the pattern stitches, you also have the pesky increase stitches. The pattern really isn't clear (to me, anyway) about what to do with them. You do nothing with them. The instructions say to work them in stockinette stitch, but they don't really explain that you don't count them as part of the pattern stitch and repeats. This means you have to remember how many increase stitches you've made, and not work those. For that reason, I added instructions in rows 3 and 13 and 18 (so far - I'll add in more later) to place markers.
For row 3: K3, M1, PM, --whatever the bit in the middle is-- PM, M1, K3.
Row 13: --the normal bit--, K3, removing markers as you encounter them.
Row 18: K3, M1, PM, --pattern stuff--, PM, M1, K3
This keeps all the border stitches and the increase stitches separate, so it doesn't mess up your stitch count. Everything between the markers will fall nicely into place within the lace pattern.

For the vague instruction to "make one," I'm knitting into the ladder of the stitch in the row below (mostly because it's my favorite increase).
Also, I changed the weird "SK2P" into the much more standard "sl1, K2tog, psso" for my own instructions, and that's also helped.
Lastly, I knit left-handed (Continental). So, when the pattern calls for a SSK, I'm working a K2tog, and when it calls for a K2tog, I'm working a SSK (except for the aforementioned double-decrease).