I finally knitted a Henslowe! I kept holding out for a skein of yarn that was at least 450 yards, since the pattern calls for up to 437 yards. This was knitted up in Zen Yarn Garden Serenity Silk (Colour: Yellow Opal) which comes in skeins of 500 yards. I bought it at Eweknit in downtown Toronto which is where I discovered the loveliness that is Zen Yarn Garden.

I read up on a few other projects in Ravelry – one user was using a smaller skein of yarn but still had a lot left over, so she repeated the lace panel one extra time. I did this – and still had an enormous amount of yarn left over (27g!). I wish I’d known – I would have added extra repeats to the garter stitch body.

The pattern itself is a breeze – way easier than it looks (with that complicated cascade of heirloom-looking lace at the bottom….so yummy). It’s good take-along knitting – the pattern is mindless and relaxing and doesn’t demand too much attention.

The picot edging however…. I took it on a business trip to Montreal naively wishing I’d brought more knitting since, with only the bind off to achieve, I would doubtless run out. Not so – the picot edging took a surprising amount of time – possibly about a third of what it took to knit the rest! Stamina should be listed as a notion for this pattern. 

The results are worth it though – and I already know who it’s for and she’s already seen it so I’m not blowing my cover. She’s on the short list of people I think are awesome enough to endure a picot bind-off for, my spinning instructor and kitty-cohort Leslie! Ravelry Project Page here.

Les, I’ll pack it up nicely, remember to act surprised :)