Craftiness

I have a formal wedding to attend in June and I really don't want to/can't afford to buy a new dress, but all the dresses I own are a bit too snug (meaning I can't breathe in them). So I've got a long black broomstick style skirt with a very pretty silver flowery print. I just need a top to go with it. So I've decided, since I have time between now and June, to make a top. This one in fact:

Lion Brand Elegant Shell

Instead of using the organic cotton, I originally thought to use Paton's Brilliant in Black Dazzle(on my good friend Griffinitter's suggestion), but then I thought the finished product might be too scratchy. So she suggested Lion Brand's Microspun in ebony, and wow! how soft! Then we determined that the outfit needed a bit more up top to balance out my sizable hips. So I'm making a short-sleeved shrug to go with it in the same basic pattern as the shell, but with the Brilliant.

I'm quite excited because I ordered 3 balls of the Brilliant and thought I would need more for the shrug, but so far, I've gotten 7 rows out of the first ball and I'm almost sure I can get 2 more. So I might squeak through with what I've got. If I can get 27 or 28 rows, I'll have a rectangle of about 31 inches by 13 1/2 or 14 inches. That should make a nice sized, summer weight shrug. I may even get fancy and put a little silver edging on the sleeves, but we'll see how it goes. Hopefully I'll post some pics soon.