An orange, turquoise and really pretty shrug

Don't you just love it when you dare to try something new, and it works out just perfect? That's what happened with this shrug. I had quite a lot of this yarn left from Nick's Eccentric Sweater so I decided to make myself this shrug, on which I've had my eye on for a good while now. I originally planned to do the cuffs and ribbing in black, but I didn't really have enough yarn to give it a try, so I sticked with the orange.

Now, orange and turqoise is not the kind of combination I'd wear every day, so I was a bit suspicious, but then I thought that something really eccentric in my closet is not so bad, either! So I cast on, knit, cast off and was very happy with the results.

Here are the specs:
Pattern: Two Toned Ribbed Shrug by Stephanie Japel from Fitted Knits
Yarn: Lang Yarns Eve
Needles: 60 cm KnitPics circular, I used 6mm tips for the body and sleeves and 5mm tips for the collar ribbing
Modifications: the gauge! And I made the sleeves full length rather than short - (I knit 18 rows, on the 19th I decreased two stitches) twice, then (knit 8 rows, on the 9th I decreased 2 stitches) four times before working 14 rows of 2x2 ribbing.

This yarn is bulky, so the gauge was rather different from the one called for in the pattern, but I decided to knit the pattern two sizes smaller than my actual size to make up for the difference in gauge - a method I've used in the past as well. And again, without swatching, I get a great result. It's a gamble, but I'm really getting the hang of it I must say!

Another thing I'm really proud of is that I actually seamed the sleeves - and they don't look half bad! I hate seaming and I'm really bad at it, so I try to avoid it at all cost, but this time I surprised myself and worked the seam in rather neat mattress stitch. You can see the seam, sure, but it's not extremely ugly. At least it gave me some confidence to maybe try another project that needs seaming later on.

The pattern was really good, easy to follow and the finished product is flattering and fits me very well. A true feel-good-and-brave piece of clothing! It's the first Stefanie Japel pattern I've knit, but I doubt it will be the last.

Have you ever knit anything really untypical to yourself and been (positively) surprised?