I am not a size queen, but...

This is an awkward project. 
Or is it me? Am I doing something wrong?

I loved the lace-weight Pi shawl pattern Lucca by Brooklyn Tweed so much that  I had to buy it.  Never mind that I have a huge amounts of patterns I could do instead.  Sometimes you just see something that grabs your attention and you have to go with it.

This is a pattern where you don't knit knit rows in between lace pattern rows, you do something in each row - at least in the lace pattern sections that look quite delicate.

I was very intrigued by the roundish looking pattern rows (you get to do alternate rows there!) – these turn out to be one and a half repeats of the tulle pattern common to many lace shawl or tablecloth patterns.  You know the patterns that make big doilies?

I am really taken with the fact that using only six rows of this pattern gives such a different effect to what this pattern usually looks like.  In ‘doily’ patterns it is very often used as background - typified by two yarn-overs that you have to purl and knit to in the alternative row above.  What I get when I knit this it tends to look a bit loose and rough so I am not that keen on it, I much prefer the diamond shape pattern for lace backgrounds.

This is a really awkward pattern for me because I started it three times now in three different yarns and with increasingly bigger needles.

First attempt: petrol yarn and needles sized 3mm
Second attempt: a Fyberspates Scrumptous yarn (in DK?) and 4mm needles
Third attempt: a bright pin/purplish BC Garn Silkbloom Extra Fino yarn and x needles

My first attempt resulted in a tiny size that’s less than half the desired size. I wasn’t keen on producing something the size of a handkerchief!

Pretty. But just too small.

Second one was even worse: despite the bigger needles, this thick yarn wasn't working at all:

Just look at it! Tiny, compact, not what I wanted...

And the third attempt that I am determined to go with:

I already increased the stocking stitch sections by a few rows

So I started again.  And again the size wasn’t what I wanted nor what it looks like in the instructions. So I started again. Yes, I know I said that already, but I did. Third yarn, even bigger needles!

I am still not terribly happy with the size I am getting – but at least it’s a lot closer.

Maybe I can repeat some rows or pattern sections to make it bigger?  But I don't understand why my attempts come out tiny whereas the original photos make this look like a very comfortable size.  It is downright weird.

A funny outcome of this would be if blocking it would eventually give me a bigger size. That has happened to me quite often: I knit and knit at this misshapen blob of a thing and as soon as I start to pin the wetted down shawl, it seems to grow and grow and grow!

But this project has lots of stocking stitch sections, I really don’t think this is capable of growing much!?  But if it came out just a little bit bigger I would be very pleased.

Let me keep my fingers crossed!