Shawl Inspiration

I have attempted to knit a shawl twice now and neither have been successful. The first one was just too difficult for me. I knit about 6 or 7 repeats of the stitch pattern and could just not get the hang of it. It was too tedious and frustrating to me. The second one got much further but I have recently come to the realization that the yarn is not quite right for the pattern and/or I don't think I have enough yarn for it. Here is my Sarcelle currently: I still love the pattern and it's easy enough that I was able to memorize the stitch pattern after just a few repeats. I think it needs a finer yarn than the Hand Maiden Sea Silk that I started out using. Even though the Sea Silk is labeled as a laceweight yarn, I think it's actually closer to fingerling weight. I want one that looks like this one!

So, the other day while surfing blogs I ran across two different gorgeous shawls completed recently. These inspired my third try: The Swallowtail shawl from Fall 2006 Interweave knits.

I have seen so many beautiful versions of this shawl ever since the pattern came out. Everyone said it was a fairly easy lace project to do. Guess what? so far they are right! Look at how far I've gotten since starting it yesterday! Of course I am following Vanessa's lead by using a single skein of Sea Silk and size US 7 needles. I think hers came out absolutely fabulous! I like how the larger needles are making it nice and lacy. Plus, it's knitting up quicker and making a bigger shawl overall. :)