This is a lovely, dignified shrug, one that can be worn to a wedding or to church or to the office. Its construction is simple and elegant--nothing but a rectangle stitched together to make armholes, with an edging to make it look fancy. But I’m naming it after sarvangasana (shoulder stand), that world-upside-down, playful, and childlike yoga pose, because just because something looks elegant, doesn’t mean that it was easy getting there.

We all make mistakes, and I made a lot while working on this shrug. I ended up redoing the edging on the sleeves about six times. (Don’t ask). If you’ve ever found yourself working the same irritating section over and over, and you can’t figure out how to get it right--know that you’re not along. We have all been there. I wanted to tear my hair out working on this shrug.

But I took a break, I did something silly and fun, and then when I came back to my crocheting, my mind was clear and whatever had been blocking me was gone. When you find yourself caught in a tricky stitch, whether that stitch is in crochet or in life, put it down for a while and do a metaphorical shoulder stand--or a real one! You’ll come back with a new perspective.