It Feels Good to #Crochet (a Black & White Shrug)

One of the things I really love about crochet is how it makes me feel.  I love the entire process of creating something unique and useful.  It may sound funny, but it actually makes me feel powerful! :)

I started this Black and White shrug on an airplane to visit my alma mater, Mount Holyoke College, in the beautiful mountains of Western Massachusetts. It had been almost five years since I'd been home, except for a very quick jaunt last summer.

I just followed the pattern for the Lacy Springtime Shrug from Lion Brand Yarn (free login required). Don't tell anyone, but I didn't swatch (gasp!) I just had a huge ball of B/W yarn I bought in the streets of Mexico City's yarn district, and my trusty hooks, so I went for it! I made the largest size.

The entire time I was making it, I was thinking, 'Hm. Is this thing going to fit me? Am I going to run out of yarn?' Well, when you crochet like I do, those are some pretty common thoughts. I'm more of
a 'fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants' crocheter. I just go for it. Hook now, worry about yarn later. It's just how I am. Somehow, it all works out. I either end up with a cool project, an excuse to buy more yarn, a mass of something for the frog bin, or a piece begging to be yarnbombed. If you ask me, that's okay. There's always more yarn.  There are always more patterns.

I ended up getting to the very ends of my mega ball of yarn and realizing that THIS WAS FAR TOO BIG, AND THERE WAS NO WAY I WAS GOING TO FINISH THE PATTERN AS WRITTEN. Luckily, I understood the construction well enough to understand that I could just make the sleeves a little shorter and then hope for the best.

To make a long story short (too late,) I skipped the sc border rounds, fit the shrug to myself, addressed the resulting "space age" shoulders, and added on some little sleeves. The resulting shrug is a short-sleeved cutie, and I like it a lot! I can wear it to work or out and about. I love wearing shrugs with camisoles in the Southern Florida heat. To me, they're the perfect layering garment.

Since the shrug has a definite "top and bottom," I stitched a little red yarn onto the inside seam of the right armhole. I will remember that "red is right," and never put my pretty shrug on upside down! :) 

So, what do you think?  Have you ever modified a pattern at the last minute?  Tell me your story! :)

Attention, Yarn Snobs

There's nothing wrong with loving expensive yarns that were cultivated in exotic locales and are hand-painted by rustic artisans.  I love those yarns.

By the same token, there's a lot to love about Red Heart.  Yes, I said it. 

 

Well, look at it.

Using the brand new e-book, Fashion Forward by the Double Stitch Twins for Red Heart, and my stash, I made a totally cute, versatile, and comfortable shrug using 100% acrylic.  It's cute, isn't it?  Here's my Ravelry page about the project.

I love the e-book, and at $4.99, it's very affordable for 10 patterns.  Bravo to Red Heart for signing the Double Stitch Twins.  Now we fans get their patterns for much less money AND they're all done in economical yarn!

I know this shrug is going to last.  I plan to launder it in a garment bag in the gentle cycle and air dry it.  This will reduce pill formation and prolong the life of the garment.  I think I see more of these shrugs in my future.

To see what else Erika and Monika are up to at Red Heart, check them out here.