Dragon of Happiness

The problem with asking yarn what it wants to be is that sometimes it tells you. I'm participating in a Wollmeise Lace KAL on Ravelry. I thought it would be fun to do a large project that would utilize as much of this beautiful yarn as possible. I was thinking about the lovely Forest Path Stole, which is entrelac lace, so each rectangle is a mini project. Very satisfying. However, after I wound the lace, I changed my mind. I searched the Ravelry patterns and came up with a short list of possible patterns. That's when the trouble started. The yarn didn't like any of my choices. I went through and discarded numerous patterns, when finally a tiny voice said, "Dragon of Happiness?"

My immediate response was no, absolutely not. I'd have to be crazy to tackle it. It's true knitted lace with no rest rows. According to Ravelry and Google, only 4 people have ever completed the shawl, with one of those being the designer. The pattern is 23 pages long with 18 pages of charts. There are 6 charts, each 3 pages and 100 rows long. Over 125,000 stitches. The KAL deadline is March 31. March 31, 2010. 3 months from now. I must be insane.

So I've spent the morning assembling my materials and taking pictures and generally dawdling to avoid casting on for this monster. Choosing the right knitting bag for each project is so important! After all, I wouldn't want the bag and the project to clash, right? But I think I'm ready to start now. Right after lunch.

Pattern: Dragon of Happiness by Sharon Winsauer
Yarn: Wollmeise Lace-garn Dunkle Kirsche
Needles: Knitpicks Options US1 (2.5mm) 32" circular
Knitting Bag: Green Mountain Knitting Bags Madison Sweater bag