Knit a Super Simple Cozy Cowl Shrug

Just yesterday I was thinking about Fisherman’s Rib, which is a variation on 1 x 1 ribbing, so I guess it’s appropriate that I share this pattern today.

The Saturday Shrug is a lovely and really easy pattern from Jackie Rose available on Ravelry. It’s all 1 x 1 ribbing worked in the round, with a worsted weight yarn and a mohair held together to make a bulky weight yarn. So while 1 x 1 ribbing is a little slower to knit than plain stockinette, it will still go pretty fast because this project is worked on size 9 US knitting needles.

There are lots of variations you can make of this simple cowl/shrug too. The pattern page on Ravelry shows it with wide stripes of two different colors, as well as with a solid broken up by narrow stripes.

You could make it all one color, or use multicolored yarn, or bust your stash and add a bunch of wild stripes.

As meditative as this project would be to work, you might find yourself wanting to make more than one.

It looks like a great winter accessory that can stretch down across the shoulders or be worn more as a cowl (thus me referring to it as a cowl shrug because it can be both or either).

I was going to mention you could also play with the yarn weights, if you have a lot of worsted weight yarn you wanted to work through you could hold two of those together for more of a super bulky project. Then I noticed she actually has another version, called the Sunday Shrug, which is a worsted and bulky yarn held together for a super bulky gauge.

That one looks even warmer and more cozy than the first one, and would be a great way to use up a bit of stash combining yarns. These would make great gifts, or you can just make a bunch for yourself in all your favorite colors from your finished projects.

Next Pattern:

Now that all the Joann stores have closed, a mysterious message has appeared on the company’s website:

For generations, Joann has been honored to be part of your creativity: your quilts, costumes, school projects, and handmade moments of love. It has been our joy to serve markers and dreamers across the country.
We’re stitching up something new behind the scenes and we can’t wait to share what’s next.
Stay tuned for exciting news about the future of Joann.

To quickly recap, Joann filed for bankruptcy in January for the second time in less than a year. In February, in the hope of making the company more attractive to potential buyers, it petitioned the court for permission to close about 500 of its 800 stores. The company was put up for auction, with Gordon Brothers set to buy the company, sell its assets and close all the stores if no other buyer materialized.

In the end the winning bidder was GA Group, but the result was the same: all stores were to be closed by the end of May if not sooner.

Once store closure sales started the company quickly stopped selling on its website, and now all that remains is this jpeg image hinting at new ventures.

I’m sure there will be a tone of speculation in the coming days and weeks (or as long as it takes for them to announce the meaning of the message) as to what sorts of plans Joann could be cooking up.

My theory based on nothing but my gut is that they will transition to an online only storefront, probably with much reduced inventory, sort of like Herrschners (which had previously announced that it will be carrying Big Twist yarn, the beloved private label yarn brand sold at Joann). I also think they will use whatever retail sales they do to support CreativeBug, the digital learning platform that Joann purchased in 2017. That could mean producing kits for projects that already have classes, or developing classes based on products they want to sell, or both.

As of this writing the CreativeBug website seems to still be functional and there’s a full slate of new classes planned for June. I’ve got my eye on both the Joann website and the Joann restructuring website and will let you know as soon as I see changes.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear your speculation as to what the next chapter might be for Joann.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?