Amanda's Shrug

I'm struggling along making a knitted shrug for my daughter, Amanda. It's almost finished and I'll have to find someone her size to try it on pretty soon. The reason I said I'm struggling......is because the pattern said to "pick up stitches" along the neck opening which I found difficult. I truly need help with this the next time I try a pattern with picking up stitches. It's not supposed to be hard to do, so I must be making it into a problem. LOL

Here's a picture of the shrug from the Lion Brand website where I found this pattern. It's called:Lion Brand Homespun Pattern # 60082AD