Knitting lace

I just subscribed to the magazine Piecework.  What a wonderful magazine.  The first two issues had absolutely wonderful patterns.  The first issue was about crafts in literature, like Miss Marple knitting and the March girls knitting socks and Jane Eyre netting purses.  It had patterns for these types of crafts.  In this issue they have a wonderful writeup about knitting and crocheting lace and a great abbreviated history of silk thread.

I decided, as all my Christmas presents are done (YAY), I would try knitting the Holly Berry Cowl.  It is a very lacy piece done in lace or fingering weight yarn.  I've never knit anything like this before.  It's lacy and delicate and the pattern is done in diagram instead of being written out.  This will be an amazing learning experience.  I'm using a fingering weight soft baby blue yarn and size 8 16" circular needles.  The pattern states size 4 24" needles, but when I made the gauge swatch with size 4 it came out 1/2 of the required size.  I think I may be using a thinner yarn than they used (theirs was a wool lace weight).  This is why I always make a gauge swatch, although I don't save them, I pull them out.