Thursday, February 04, 2016

Cast On | Chocolate Shrug



I am very much surprised that my second post for February is one about knitting, given it has been so very hot and humid here these past few days. But, I have still found ways to knit. Early in the morning and then in the evening are perfect knitting times, and I am making speedy progress on my Chocolate Shrug.
I'm taking a break from blanket squares for now, at least until I get this off my needles. I'm planning on finishing it fairly quickly, and then it will be ready to wear as soon as the first cool months arrive.


I'm using this pattern, and working it in my favourite organic cotton, Twilleys of Stamford Freedom Sincere DK. I've got a bucket load of this brown so thought I would use some of it up on a shrug. I plan to it wear around home. I think it will be just the right thing to wear whilst feeding the chickens and milking the cow when the first chilly mornings arrive in autumn.




Initially I was a little daunted by the pattern, as it is written in a style I am not quite used to. To be honest, I chickened out completely and put the pattern into the drawer. A few days later, however, and I was wondering what on earth to cast on, so I decided it was high time I got out of my knitting comfort zone again and I cast on.
And you know what? Aside from one small part that baffled me for a good few minutes, I've found it rather easy to follow and not as complicated as it seemed when I read the pattern all at once.
I'm not looking forward to working the sleeves, however, as they are in-the-round. I know how to work in-the-round, I'm just not a huge fan of it. But, do it I shall, and hopefully I'll get through it and have a warm Chocolate Shrug to wear at the end of it.


Now, in the spirit of Yarn Along (which I am joining again), I am about to start reading Persuasion. Yes, I'm still on my Jane Austen fad and have enjoyed each book I've read so far (I finished Emma just the other day).

What are you knitting or reading at the moment?

If you would like to know, Chocolate Shrug raveled here

Also joining Frontier Dreams for Crafting On

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18 comments

  1. What a beautiful colour, so many people are scared to use brown when creating things. I am assuming you have air con. cos it would be pretty hot going other wise.

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    1. Thank-you Julie! No we don't have air conditioning (although some days I would love it!) but it generally cools off enough of an evening to get some knitting done :-)

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  2. I love Persuasion!!! It's one of my all time favorite Jane Austen novels, after Sense and Sensibility. The BBC made a great movie out of it about ten years ago - Captain Wentworth - wowza! Can't wait to see how your shrug turns out.

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    1. So far Pride & Prejudice has been my favourite, I'm only one chapter into Persuasion so it's too early to tell, but I am sure I'll enjoy it :-) I saw the BBC version on TV years ago, but I don't really remember it.

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  3. I am jealous that you can make sense of a pattern in just a few minutes. Patterns, other than very simple ones, bamboozle me. I got a bit adventurous recently and started trying to knit up a scarf with more complex stitches. I have had to pull it out so many times because I either drop stitches or make extra ones. I decided to put the pattern away and find something easier until my Mum comes to visit and can help me figure it out!

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    1. Oh I'm sure you'll get there with patterns. I used to think I'd never be able to make clothes or knit lace but it's not as hard as it look most of the time :-)
      What scarf are you making? x

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  4. What a pretty color of yarn. That pattern looks great. It is funny how we avoid new patterns only to find that they are not as difficult as we thought.

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    1. Thank-you Cathie! Yes I often do that and then discover there was nothing to be afraid of ;-)

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  5. I love the chocolate yarn! And I agree about knitting sleeves in the round, but have you tried with very short circular needles (I think they're about 30 cm)? They take a little bit to get used to, but I've found them much nicer to knit with than 4-5 dpns!

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    1. Thanks Fiona! I've just started the sleeves this morning, and am using a short circular at the moment (a 30 or 40cm I think) but the pattern suggests later on using DPNs or the Magic Loop Method. I'll see which I choose when I get there :-)

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  6. What a rich colour - chocolate is absolutely the right name. Given the choice, I'd knit everything in the round; I know garments sometimes lack structure when knitted this way but I detest sewing up seams. Also, it makes unravelling a lot easier! I haven't read any Jane Austen since I was at school but maybe I should give her another go.

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    1. Oh I don't mind sewing up seams or darning in ends at all, but I know it is a big deterrent for some :-) It's interesting how we all prefer different methods, isn't it?

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  7. I have a wonderful brown crochet shrug that I made years ago and have never worn. I am not a brown person so don't ask why I even bought that yarn! Such a waste so i'm a mission to find someone to give it to.

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    1. Oh that's a pity. I hope you find someone to gift it too :-)

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  8. Persuasion is my absolute favourite of Jane Austen's books! I love the chocolatey colour and can't wait to see the finished product. I get the same feeling about certain crochet patterns but I always feel so accomplished and clever when I manage to conquer them :)

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    1. I've heard that it's a few people's favourites so I'm looking forward to getting into it. I'm only into chapter three.
      It is a great feeling when you make something you didn't think you'd be able to, isn't it? x

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  9. That yarn looks so lovely! I loved both those Jane Austen books - in fact I love them all, she's awesome! :)

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    1. Thank-you Elise! They are excellent books aren't they? x

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