Screamin' Green Victorian Shawl

I have heard/read so many stories of knitters who picked up Jane Sowerby's Victorian Lace Today and immediately knew which project they wanted to do first. For me, it was the cover shawl, aka the Melon Pattern Shawl. Here it is:

Ooooh. Aaaah. Just aglow with rich mohairy goodness.

I love everything about it, including the funky green color. The instructions call for Rowan Kidsilk Haze, but after seeing a gorgeous 40% silk/60 % mohair blend online at Sarah's Yarns (available in natural white only), I decided to try and dye my own. What motivated me? Price, for one thing. I could dye my own for less than half the cost of the Kidsilk.

If you would prefer not to discuss filthy lucre, please skip down 2 paragraphs. For everyone else, here's the straight scoop on costs:

• Kidsilk Haze, 3 skeins @ 13.50 per sk = 40.50
• Sarah's Yarn Kid Mohair Silk, 3 skeins @ $5.50 per sk. = 16.50
• Both yarns are 230 yards/25 gms per ball. I already had the acid dye.

In addition to cost considerations, I've been wanting to work on my dyeing skills. Right now I'm something of an "advanced beginner" -- smart enough not to use the dye as a margarita enhancer, but not a lot beyond that.

And, as much as I'm a flighty knitter, I am a serious-as-a-traffic cop dyer. A row of knitting goes bad, you rip it out; a dyepot of woolens goes seriously bad, and they can hear me cussing the next town over. I take my time, use separate "dyeing only" spoons bowls, measuring cups, etc., and pray A LOT. But nothing beats seeing a yarn come up the color you were hoping for. I wanted "CHARTREUSE" and that's what I got:

I'm about 22 pattern repeats into what is supposed to be a 62-pattern-repeat shawl, and there is a cloud on my horizon: Word out on the street is that this shawl is a "yarn hog" and silly me only dyed 700 yards (what the pattern called for). In other words: There is no getting more of this yarn! (Picture knitter hitting her forehead repeatedly with a tailor's ham. It was handy.)

One thing that makes this situation less nerve-wracking is my handy, dandy electronic scale. I don't know what I ever did without one. I can weigh my stole-in progress, see how many grams of yarn I've used:

• 15 grams for 23 repeats (I weigh the other needle & same # of stitch markers, so I can subtract that number from the working stole weight.)


• from this information calculate that there is approximately .652 grams of yarn in each of my pattern repeats, and
  
• multiply out .652 grams times total # of repeats (62) = 40.424 grams.

SO, based on this info, I should have enough yarn, since I have 75 grams and 35 grams (75 minus 40) should be plenty for the border.

Unfortunately, I was an English major and I never trust my math (you probably shouldn't either). Still, I will probably keep weighing my shawl-in-progress -- every 5 repeats or so -- to see if that .652 grams per repeat is holding true. Also (I'm not joking about this), run my calculations past my 16-year-old son, because I can trust his math.

So maybe I'll be okay. If not, 52 pattern repeats should be plenty.

Also, here are a couple of detail photos of the "Cathedral Window" lace pattern I used on the lambspun shawl. The pattern stitch can be found in The Knitter's Bible; If anyone wants more information on how I made my shawl just let me know. I'd be glad to write down my pattern -- it's super-simple.