Finished Shawl - Lady MacBeth

Isn't this ethereally lovely?  I've been working on it since March.  This is my 7th shawl in the 12 shawls in 2012 challenge, Susanna IC's Rose Lace Stole.  I'm calling it "Black Roses" or "Lady MacBeth." 

Here's why.  After three soaks in water with vinegar added, it's safe to wear.  I wore it today!  It might leave a slight pinkish glow on my skin, and I'm not trying it over a white blouse.  But it's finished!

 It has beads, but it's really hard to see them.  Imagine how hard it was to put them on.  I'm really not sure I'll ever do beads again.  But!  It's 100% cashmere, from a reclaimed unravelled thrift store sweater, dyed with Wilton's cake decorating gels, it used up about 1000 yards of the yarn, 22"x70", and earns me some kind of knitting brownie points.  Maybe even a merit badge.

I loved how it fluttered in the breeze outside.

In the knitting Olympics, a setback today: I realized my gauge was consistently 4.5 stitches per inch when the pattern was 5 per inch, and this made the circumference of the garment too big, even for someone who grew up in the '80's.  I mean, the recipient is a size larger than I am, but not 3 sizes larger.  So I ripped back to the beginning and cast on a smaller size.  I'm almost caught up with where I was after 2 days of knitting.  Does this count as a false start in the Sweater Triathlon?