/autumnal shrug

I've actually finished the project I surmised I would! It is warm and soft and amazingly drapey. Since I'm wearing it in Autumn and will take every chance I get to employ the word "Autumnal", it is henceforth the Autumnal Shrug.

I started using the Acorn Shrug pattern on the Lion Brand site, but switched it around a bit. I didn't want it to be super big (it was definitely swallowing the model whole), but to still keep the drape factor. I also wanted to put in some stripes.

Can't really call it 'altering', because the pattern in itself wasn't really complicated at all. Just a giant rectangle folded in half and sides stitched together, leaving armholes. I simply did the lazy crocheter's version. First, I decided that I'd have to switch around the way it was folded because of the way I wanted the stripes to lay. Then I changed pretty much all of its dimensions. The official Acorn Shrug folded measured 38"x21". Mine was 32"x13" (32"x26" before folding & seaming), and was much less engulfing.

 I used Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller Bamboo Ewe yarn in mercury and geranium (stripes). 55% viscose from bamboo/45% wool. Unfortunately, this blend isn't more eco-friendly than other inexpensive craft store yarns, but the bamboo does allow it to have much a nicer hand than most other synthetic/wool blends. Don't be fooled by the sustainability of "bamboo" because it's a quickly renewing resource, it's still a chemically processed viscose fiber! (read this article for more) In the end, me being poor and the $3.99/skein sale still made for a good match despite the questionable fiber content.

 My face shows just how much I like this front-pinned-together look. Not very. I was actually facing the sun, but the expression manages to tell all. I just wish those seams would disappear, but like the way the stripes are circular and match up.

On a totally different note, I caught Nigel either mid-bark or mid-pant. Haha, he's so furry! I am off right now to take him to get a haircut; his hair is starting to grow over his eyes! oops.