Finished: Two Tone Ribbed Shrug from Fitted Knits

Pattern: Two Tone Ribbed Shrug
Book: Fitted Knits, Designer Stefanie Japel
Yarn: 3.5 balls of Wave by Filatura di Crosa
Needles: Addi’s circ 24″ US 7 and Plastic circ 24″ US 5
Cast on date: March 12 , 2008
Cast off date: March 16 , 2008

What a simple and quick knit

I am smitten by this simple and quick knit! It was so easy, and the pattern was so easy to follow and very well written. Really… easy peasy.

Let’s look at the details!

Raglan from the top down

Just like all other designs in Stefanie Japel’s book Fitted Knits, this cute shrug is knitted from the top down with the raglan technique. This entails that you will start at the neck section and make your way down to the arms by simply making increases. This is best viewed from the back:

After the main body and sleeves are finished you will pick up stitches and then work your way up with a simple 2×2 ribbing.

Within this ribbing you will increase at the sides of the neck and at the sides of the bust.

These increases at the ribbed section make for a wonderful and elegant shape at the neck! So feminine… I love that.

Tips from me to you

• Please make a gauge swatch before you start knitting this up! I had to go down a needle size and if I hadn’t done that, my shrug would come out to big!
• The pattern tells you to increase by M1P. When I did the M1P, I made sure that I knitted in the back of the loop. By doing it this way, it did not create a hole.
• The bind off has to be done very loosely. I am a tight knitter and “binding off very loosely” is kind of hard for me to do. Solution: I did my bind off with a needle that is 2 sizes bigger than the needle I was working with. And besides that I did my bind off in ribbing pattern. Came out just perfectly!

LOVE the neckline!

Sigh… it’s so elegant and lady like… it makes me swoon!

Needles to say that I am very very happy with the outcome of this project!

This shrug comes in so very handy when the airco is blowing on your shoulder and neck and you are wearing a sleevless dress or tanktop. Also when you have to work in an office and your outfit is just a tad too revealing, just slip on your shrug!

Just the other night, I simply got mobbed by two female colleagues of my husband’s. They screamed and were lusting after my shrug. When one of them asked me to please please knit one for her, I said: “Nope. But I can teach you how to knit!”

Thanks for reading and untill the next entry!

Intimidated by Socks and dpns Part III

In this third and final part of “Intimidated by socks and dpns” I am, as promised, going to touch 5 topics:

1. Zen of picking up stitches
2. Zen of picking up DROPPED stitches
3. Seriously getting Geeky with it
4. How variegated yarn behaves in stockinette stitch
5. How the journey to get there can be more captivating than the destination itself

Should you have missed part I and II, see here:

Intimidated by socks and dpns Part I
Intimidated by socks and dpns Part II

But before I start, here is a little sneak peek of “Emanelle”:

Now let’s get started!

1. Zen of picking up stitches

At some point, you have to pick up stitches when knitting socks. These stitches are picked up alongside the heelflap:

The instructions of the pattern I was working with, said to slip every first stitch while working the heelflap. Why is that? Well, this is because alongside the ridge of those slipped stitches, you are going to pick up stitches later on.
Over at knittinghelp.com is an excellent video tutorial about picking up stitches in the “and more” tab of the basic techniques section.

Now picking up stitches was for me very difficult in the beginning. I would fail time and time again… but I kept on trying and finally I got the hang of it.

Just remember… with every stitch you pick up, breath in… and once the stitch is picked up, breath out… Just keep on breathing, okay, and things will be just fine.

If you get frustrated, lay down your work and walk away. Once you find the peace of mind again, go back to your knitting work, and try again. And remember… it is just picking up stitches…

2) Zen of picking up DROPPED stitches

Ever had this happen to you:

Notice how the green strand in the back is not attached to the stitches that are hanging their heads down? Mercy mercy me, those are called dropped stitches… Now I can say to you not to panic, but I know you will. So panic for just a little bit, scream for all I care and then gently put your work down and s-l-o-w-l-y back away.

Take a deep breath, and rest assured that when you find yourself in times of dropped stitches troubles, crochet hook and a US#1 needle will come to you:

Take another deep breath, and with the needle, catch the dropped stitches so that they will not drop any further down your work:

In order to whip them back into the place they belong, you use the crochet hook. Put the very first stitch you are going to whip into place again, from the “rescue needle” to your crochet hook:

Now remember that green strand the stitches dropped down from? Make sure that green strand is now around your crochet hook next to the stitch that needs to be whipped into place again:

Next step is pull that green strand trhough the stitch next to it and you have safed your first dropped stitch! :

Slide that safed stitch from your crochet hook onto the needle it belongs (that would be the bamboo needle on the left in the picture).Now that you have whipped that stitch into its place again, continue to do so with all the other stitches untill everybody is in place again!

Remember… they are just dropped stitches. They won’t kill you. You are the boss of them and with the help of a crochet hook and a “rescue” needle you will be just fine.

4) How variegated yarn behaves in stockinette stitch

I realize that I could go on and on about this so I decided to dedicate another post to this very topic. So I think I will skip this one for now!

5) How the journey can be more captivating than the destination itself

When I started my journey with the Great Adirondack Soxie yarn I was simply thrilled. I so much loved the yarn when it was in a skein, and I so much loved the yarn when it was wound up in a ball.

The uplifting colors from the stitches on my needle would make me knit faster and with every change of color I was in heaven. From soft pink, to fuchsia, to orangy pink, to orange to yellow and finally to go into the green, bleu and grey. I LOVED IT! It genuinly brought me joy.

The silky feel of the yarn made it truly a pleasure to work with.

As for the endresult or so to speak “destination”, the sock itself…eh… what can I say.
I like it. I am not loving it… I think it is okay.

I think what I am trying to say here, is that I don’t particularly like how the colors of this variegated yarn behave in stockinette stitch… But as promised, I am going to dedicate a post just to that very topic.

And now, I am DONE talking about socks!!!