While admittedly I have very little time to knit, I literally drool over the designs in the catalogues my mom sends me and fantasize about making a fair isle sweater dress and raglan sweaters for the kids. Alas, my skills just are not there yet. Nor is my time. But then I remember meeting a medical doctor at our knitting circle in Oakland who made sweaters, etc. for her family on a regular basis, and if she has time to knit, I do too.
An opportunity to do something different arrived with a package from a former student at UC Berkeley. Two things my students there knew: I like tea and I like knitting (or the idea of it). This was an incredibly thoughtful gift, but it sat in the envelope in which it was mailed for months before I took it out this fall determined to make something of it. She had sent 4 50 gram hanks of Nero Big Bebe yarn. This is Japanese hand-dyed and hand-spun yarn, so I wanted to make sure I made something good with it. At first I thought of making a little bag, since I saw on someone's knitting blog that they had used this same yarn to make a little handbag. But, considering how hard I am on my bags, I thought I would ruin it right away. Also, 200 grams of the Big Bebe is not a lot of yarn. Then, I thought I'd do a scarf, but still that problem of not enough yarn. Jack's mom helped me brainstorm a bit, and she suggested a hat for the kids, but I was like (with my 'inside my head voice"), "no way--this is luxury yarn--not making something that will get lost on a playground somewhere." My outside voice said, "Oh, yes--there's an idea."
So, I sent a message to my dear friend and professional knitter Zoe. Her knitting skills are way beyond my league, but considering that I first learned to knit from her (before forgetting and relearning it from my dad and Dahin collectively) I thought I could play the student card and ask for some advice. She wrote back, "Why don't you make a shrug?" Not only did she provide the suggested needle size for the yarn, she sent me a very easy pattern idea that I used to make a garment in one day. I've learned that figuring out the correct gauge is especially crucial in making a garmet. I did a gauge swatch, despite the fact that Zoe was right on with her gauge directions. Some people knit more tightly or loosely than assumed by a pattern, so always good to check gauge to see if maybe you need to adjust the measurements. I came out around 2 1/2 stitches per inch, but it was really close enough and the yarn changes in texture and thickness, so not easy to measure an exact gauge. This is what she wrote:
She suggested looking at shrug patterns on the web for inspiration, and I found this beautiful pattern that I plan to make after the holidays so that I can use it this coming summer:
But, I stuck with the shrug pattern that Zoe suggested because it is so basic and did not require things like raglan increases (which freak me out), and I wanted to try this simple pattern to see what I would get. I ended up not having enough yard to work a collar, but I think it is fine in its basic form. The end result is a garment that basically wraps around your upper arms and stretches across your upper back. A fun accessory to wear on occasion!
The biggest issue is, when and where to wear it? I think it might look great in the spring with a tank top and jeans. This accessory is so bright, that it definitely will stand out in black, brown, grey, and white Korea (people here just do not wear bright clothes on average, with the exception of the 'Namdaemun ajuma" type with their gold imprint and sparkly clothes).
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