Overcoming Finishing Fear

This represents a major milestone in my knitting journey - a sweater that is actually finished. I haven't finished a knitted sweater since the mid 1980s, and that one didn't really count as it was knitted in one piece.
I recently acquired an invaluable resource, The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques by Nancie M. Wiseman, which explains just about everything about knitting and how to make your knitting look handmade rather than homemade. The pictures are great for someone like me who has to see how a thing works rather than read about it. The pattern for this shrug is free from the Ornaghi Filati website, and the directions are European and only for a size Small. I wanted to make a Medium size so I increased the number of cast-on stitches for all the pieces. It was a challenge deciphering the European abbreviations and measurements, but the pattern is fairly simple. I used some sparkly acrylic Turkish Orma Crystal sport yarn that has been languishing in my stash for many years, I have a huge box of it in 4 coordinating colors that I ordered from Smiley's about 15 years ago. I doubled the yarn and used US size 10 needles to get the correct gauge. This shrug is for Sarah, and if I didn't get the size right it may get passed to other granddaughters until it fits someone. More about Sarah in my next post....