Cotton Shrug = Shrug Addiction?

I love shrugs. I bought my first one at Nordie's last summer and then lost it last fall, around the same time that I learned how to knit. A shrug is a strange, dismantled sort of sweater, without a front, simply sleeves and a collar of some sort.

But they fit my lifestyle: southern living; ducking in and out of over-AC'd cafes to read and write; layers of clothing rather than large, heavy pieces; small enough to tuck into a shoulder bag.

This one I made out of Schachenmayr Nomotta "Maxi Cotton" using size 8 needles.


To start, I used the principles of the top-down raglan construction from Stefanie Japel's Fitted Knits, reconfigured for this larger yarn and needle size.


I ribbed the sleeves, then brought them down to a 3/4 length. The variegated yarn makes it lots of fun, and cotton is nice too, in this climate of ours down heah.

Yay! Soul-mate! (She just doesn't know it yet...)

Right after my free-form rant of my last post I watched a rerun of Knitty-Gritty and the guest was Lisa Shobhana Mason. Her blog is My Life in Stitches. At first I loved her because she was hot and had awesome hair and very cool glasses. (As a four-eyes myself I can appreciate her selection.) Then she mentioned something about there being two types of knitters (correct if I'm misquoting horribly)--those who are interested in patterns, and those who are interested in colors. And SHE is interested in colors.

When I saw her sample work at the end of the show, fabulously shaped and structured yet free-spirited sweaters, I knew I had found my soul-mate. (Lisa, if you are reading this, I promise I am not scary. I'm an English professor. I'm like the least scary person in the world. Okay, that's actually a lie, I can be scary sometimes especially if you are a slacker in my class, but I believe in nonviolence. So much for reassurances.)

In short, support this V.C.P.!! (very cool person) Go buy her books! Now!