Shrugging out of March

Or "It's a wrap!"

I had hoped to get three shrugs done in March. Those the shawl and then the socks seem to suck up time in their own ways. I then tried to get a shrug pattern to work for ten and eleven year old girls. I cast on with the recommended needles, said no way was that going to work. Tried on the needles three sizes larger and still wasn't going to work. I even thought I'd add in the motif pattern on each side to increase and that threw other numbers off and all of this took a couple of days earlier in the week and kept me from getting all three done.

I put that pattern aside and went with the one intended for the adult. It went really well, even with adding a couple extra increases and lengthening the body. I imagine that if I wanted to I could try to spice it up, but its a nice simple little shrug that will keep her warm in the spring or fall. Could be used in the other seasons I'm sure too.

I used a ball and almost another one out of my three leftover ones of the Berroco Love It! I'd used in my February Lady Sweater. I'd gotten these in one of Susan Pandorf's destash sales she had last year. I think I can get a hair out of the leftover ball and a smidge.  Here's the shrug that I'm currently thinking may go to Bailey, but may go to Keisha. It was originally intended for Keisha but looks small, but when I see her next I may decide it would fit her. Trying to be flexible here!

I had given my stepmother, Linda, my Sunflower Tam for Christmas last year. After being told by the DH that it wasn't my shade of yellow, I thought doing a shrug out of the remainder might be a good use of it. The original pattern called for a bulky yarn on US 10-1/2 needles, so I made cakes out of the two skeins and then knit from each of them, holding each strand together. I think this took a semi-solid yarn and made a heathered one because of how the light and dark parts of each came together. I polled a few friends that I thought would have similar arm size to get their measurements and decided to do a couple extra increases on the sleeves. I also thought it looked way too short in the body, who wants a shrug that lands in the middle of their boobs? So increased in length there too. I'm also on the look out for a cameo pin so if she wants to 'close' the shrug she can use that. Here's Linda's:

I still have yarn leftover from this too. I see another hat for the leftovers. Hats just seem to be good uses for those oddball leftovers sometimes, don't they?