Not your average beginner...

First time I met Stephanie, she was a dedicated crocheter - she came into Leonardtown for some yarn for various projects. She crocheted the felted hat in Kureyon - her own pattern, I think. Anyway, she fell in love with the Noro shrug model we had, but it's knit. I told her she could probably duplicate it in crochet, but she said she'd give the knitting a shot. You can imagine my delight when she showed up not very long after that with the whole thing completed. While it's a fairly simple lace pattern, it's still lace, for pete's sake--and it's her first project!