I’d had my eye on this shrug pattern (Hyss) since last summer – I just ran out of time/interest to knit it. Then again, last summer I was still on the sock kick. So this spring, when Drops had their sale on wool based yarns, I went ahead and bought a ton of yarn (actually, about 1000 SEK / 115 USD worth of yarn), including some black Cotton Merino to knit this up with. How hard could it be?

According to the designer:

Hyss, Swedish for “mischief”, is a perfect little mini cardi or shrug for the upcoming spring and summer. Worked top down and seamless, with a new take on raglan increases. An open front to really complement beautiful summer dresses and tops. Uses a ridiculously low amount of yarn, too!

This sweater actually came together fairly well – the biggest issue was pretty silly, actually. Remember that big order of yarn that I did? I figured out I could just grab any black yarn out of that bag… but I also ordered a ball of black Drops Baby Merino that I’d meant for the Hail Hydra Mitts that Fred had requested. I realized that that the yarn looked a little different once I had joined it in, just at the end of the shoulder increases, but shrugged and put it down to different dye lots. Once I’d gotten to the end of the ball, half way down the back, I realized that it just looked too different. And then I realized that not all of the yarn was Cotton Merino. Oops. So I actually knit most of the shrug twice. 🙂 In hindsight, I wish I’d taken a picture for posterity!

One of my biggest challenges was learning to pick up stitches, as I really didn’t have much experience. Learning that “pick up” actually means “pick up and knit” went a long way.

Once I bound off, I wasn’t entirely thrilled with the result. I could have made it a bit longer. Meh. I debated undoing the collar and ribbing and making it longer. But I ended up taking it with me to London for SharePoint Saturday and it was absolutely brilliant for a quick little shrug for evening drinks. I like it a lot better now and love wearing it! It really is a good length and I like the shoulder details, the ribbing in the back and the sleeves are simple and great. I realized that I liked it so much, I almost immediately cast on another Hyss!

Cost breakdown:

• Pattern: Yarn-Madness, 43 kr
• Yarn: 4x Drops Cotton Merino frm Yll o Tull, 96 sek*

Total: 139 sek ($16 USD)
* Bought during the Drops supersale, normally 37 sek per ball.

On a side note: I’ve been trying harder to have a project image on Ravelry even if I haven’t gotten around to taking a picture of the WIP yet. This time, I chose this quote by J.K. Rowling, as said during the commencement speech at Harvard:

I really like these quoteable images – everybody can use more positive energy in their lives!