First of all, thank you for all comments and pictures! They helped me to successfully complete my shrug! I had been wanting to make it since it appeared in the Fall 2005 issue of Vogue Knitting . I discovered I could get Lorna’s Laces yarn online from Angelika’ s and finally decided to take the plunge. I haven’t regretted it! I wore my shrug for the first time this week and , wow, I’ve never had so many compliments on a garment. Here are pictures of the finished product.
Like many of you I started and ripped out a couple of times before I got onto the circular needles. Your close-up photos of the beginning were especially helpful !
The only regret that I might have is the yarn color I chose. I wanted something subtle . However, by choosing a contrast color (Chocolate #36ns) which was so close to one of the colors in the main variegated yarn (Pilsen 
#408), the braided effect wasn’t as noticeable as I had expected. On the other hand, by making this choice, I may have avoided the color change lines that some of you didn’t like. (Maybe the best solution is just to continue in pattern without doing those solid-color lapel rounds.)
I enjoyed making this so much that I may attempt another. If I do, I will choose a lighter main yarn (maybe dusky blues?) and stick with a dark contrast color.
Right now, I think that I’ll use my leftover yarn to make a cowl neck (about a 12-inch long tube using the same technique as the sleeves but with the 24” circular needle).
