Drops Top Progress - July 21st

Drops Design Top - Pattern is from Garnstudio Drops Design. I'm using a 3.0mm hook with GGH Bali yarn shown here (scroll down a bit). Previously I had finished the front panel. I finished the back panel around July 21st. In making the back panel I discovered that the front panel width was narrower that I had intended because my tension was too tight on those blasted bobbles . I was extra careful with the back, but as the picture shows, this would need some creative seaming! I decided to "seam" each side with a "panel" that would be two chain 5 loops wide. Here it is with the shoulder seams in and the side seams held with stitch markers!

Blogging Draught explained

So, I can't believe I haven't blogged in a month. Here are the excuses - just so I get them out of my system...

1. I was desperately trying to finish my Drops Top before family party on 7/29.
2. My dh is finishing up his training to get his instrument pilot license (see his blog) and has been studying online most evenings (forcing me to continue with #1).
3. We went on vacation to what my kids call "NY country" (not NYC) and were offline 7/28-8/2.
4. The day after we got back I was hit head-on by a UPS truck, in my driveway, almost totaling my vehicle. We're all OK, bumps & bruises have healed, but the aftermath is incredibly time-consuming.

OK, that's a pretty good excuse list, if I do say so myself!

Here's my plan. I did take some pictures of the various projects as they have progressed so I'll post those with a few (HA!) comments.

Swatching mania

I'm not sure what came over me last night. I was thinking about possible and probable Garment CALs at Yahoo crochet-a-long - which ones I am doing, which I am skipping, and which I should offer to moderate etc. I had myself so confused, I decided that I needed to figure out what yarn I could use for which patterns... the next thing I now I'm a swatching fool. So here's what I did (these may or may not end up as CALs).

First I started with Twyla - when I saw this stitch detail I fell in love. Even though I knew I'd be changing the pattern a bit to taper the arms and maybe change the edging width (I'm a pattern tweaker, what can I say), I wanted to make this sweater as I loved the texture & pattern of this stitch in the photo. It calls for Berroco Softwist - a rayon & wool blend ww with 100 yds/50g. I have the Wool of the Andes in Mulled Wine that I originally intended for the Spring Crochet Cardigan and thought that would make a great Twyla. So I grabbed my Brittany 5.5mm I hook and did the 8 cluster repeat for 5 rows.... well, it was 5 inches long and just barely 2 inches high (short & fat!!). I frogged that and tried again still using the I hook , but with a pretty tight starting chain and hit the gauge this time. After all this, I realize (once again) that this is a yarn eating stitch pattern and requires 1700 yds ( I have 1540 yds of Mulled Wine). In all honesty, this yarn didn't accentuate the stitch pattern as much as I would like...maybe I will make the Spring Cardigan with this yarn after all!
So next yarn ... Sirdar SalsaDK in Flamingo (this time I checked yardage first - I have over 1900 yds). I grabbed a Brittany 5.0mm H hook this time and worked up a gauge swatch. Even though it's DK insteak of WW, I think it will work fine. The gauge swatch looks nice and I like the pattern in this wild yarn! I hope this will be a September CAL.

Second pattern I swatched was Robyn's Crystal Lace Bolero - likely to be a CAL in August. Robyn also used Berroco Softwist, but I wanted to use up some stash for this so I went with some basic acrylic in a dusty rose color. Once again grabbed the recommended hook size and started hooking. Well, again I was huge! My square was closer to 5.25" than 4". (Hmm, maybe Softwist is more of a light ww). I could go with some Simply Soft I have in stash, but now I like this color, so I tried again using my Addi 4.5mm G hook. This time, crocheting rather tightly, I have a 4" square.

Well, I was on a roll now and it wasn't midnight yet, so I grabbed the third pattern, one I'm now dying to do myself, Drops 68-15 Summer cardigan and the Catania Cotton in Marine from my stash. The width of the repeat is right on gauge, and as best I can tell, the height is okay as well (the clock struck midnight, my dh groaned that my light was still on and I put my crochet down and went to sleep!)

New WIPs on my hook

Shhh... don't tell... but I'm not supposed to have any more WIPs right now. I sort of committed publically, in many places, that I wasn't going to start anything until I finished my Drops Tops. But... my dh bought me that gorgeous afghan kit and the yarn was calling to me..touch me, feel me, wind me, hook me! So while reading stories with my kids the other night, I wound those gorgeous hanks of yarn into cakes. That night while working on my Drops Top, when I reached for the measuring tape I came upon my K hook (it just jumped out of the hook case into my hand, really, it did!). So, to satisfy my curiosity (and my dh's to be honest) I started hooking, just a bit of the Colinette yarn 'ghan. Well the next night, as the yarn winder & swift were still set up, while upstairs reading with the kids again, I wound some hanks of the Beth tank top yarn into cakes. Then, as I'd left my Drops Top in the car, I grabbed an F hook and started the Beth tank while singing to my dd. (I had to be hooking something.) I finished the lower edge of the Beth tank that night. Ever since then, I've been allowing myself a few rows of the lap-ghan and/or a few stitches of Beth each evening (provided I've worked for a bit on the Drops Top that day!)

So here they are. Active WIPs 1,2,& 3:

1. Drops Design Top - Previously I finished the front panel. Now I'm working on the back panel. Pattern is from Garnstudio Drops Design (link above). I'm using a 3.0mm hook with GGH Bali yarn shown here (scroll down a bit).

2. Beth tank from Berroco - I haven't done much (must work on Drops Top first) but I did the lower band just to see the pattern in this yarn. I'm using a 4.0mm hook with Knit One Crochet Two 2nd time cotton in the Nantucket Colorway shown here (scroll down, bottom right photo). I wish the lower photo was the more accurate color, but I think the top one really is (more gray, less blue).

3. Colinette yarns afghan kit - this was my birthday surprise from dh. The kit pattern is for a wave-like ripple afghan (3'x4'). I'm using a K hook and the gorgeous yarn shown unwound in my birthday post and in cakes with the ghan here. I've completed 1 of 4 1/2 pattern repeats.

In the end I'm probably getting as much if not more done on the Drops Tops. I really work much better this way.

July WIPs, PIGs & WIMs

Can you say ROLLOVER?? Looks like a few items on my July challenge list will be unfinished projects from June! But first let's do the monthly review of all the possibilities - I find it's nice to see it all down in writing so I can reassess each month and decide what to put on my monthly challenge list for Yahoo crochetchallenge. In case you're interested, here are the links to my April, May and June lists (the April one gives acronym definitions).

WIPs
1. Drops Design Top - progress = 45%
2. Navy blue cardigan - progress = 15%
3. Toddler cardigan - progress = 50%
4. "High-Stylin' Pillow" (Crochet calendar)- progress = 10%

PIGs
1. Beth tank from Berroco
2. Drops Safran Tank
2. "Easy Ripple" Afghan
3. 63 squares Afghan - Aran
4. Spring Crochet Cardigan
5. 'Oxford Style' socks (Crocheted Socks!)- Bob
6. Felted Hook Case
7. 'Alpine Meadow' hooded sweater
8. Marble yarn sweater for me - Todays Crochet pattern
9. Colinette Afghan kit
10. Twyla Cardigan

WIMs
1. Letter pillows "Y" & "X" from Woven-n-Spun
2. Granny Ripple Baby Afghan
3. Picot Cropped Cardigan
4. Cream Cotton Shrug
5. Bob's sweater Teal/black/gray
6. Alex's sweater - Green
7. Abby's sweater - grape chunky
8. Mittens & Hats
9. Abby's sweater - periwinkle
10. Abby's snow girl cardigan (Crochet! Jan '05)
11. Alex's sweater vest
12. Robyn’s Spider Shrug
13. Socks - soon to start sock-a-long at crochetsocks.

I love getting this all written out to look at. OK – for July… I want to complete the first WIP - the Drops Top we’re doing at Yahoo crochet-a-long. I'd like to also do the Beth tank for me (PIG #1) and maybe (but most likely not) the Safran tank (PIG #2). Then there's the elusive sock-a-long CAL at crochetsocks (WIM #13) - if that starts I'll have to keep up with that as I am a moderator there. On some cool evening, I'll probably dig out and start the afghan kit just to pet the yarns...

(In case anyone noticed, I moved the "X" & "Y" Letter pillows from PIG to WIM since the patterns still haven't been written. I may try to write then myself this fall if Kim hasn't done it. My kids beds look pretty funny with 3/4 of the letters of their names!)

Time to start hooking!

Tank Top ideas...

These are the sleeveless summer tops that I've found (and I like) on the web. I posted this on several forums, but for some reason not here. For my own sake I'm adding in yarn type and yardage needed for the higher possibilities.

1. Adriafil tank - pattern & photo
2. Beth by Berroco - this uses 8 hanks Touche (712yds ww yarn) for the large (39")
3. Crochet Shell (or dress)
4. Drops 88-20 Safran Tank - this uses 5 balls Safran (875 yds DK yarn) for the XL (41")
5. Fitted Scoop Neck Tank - this uses 720 yd Patons Katrina (ww yarn with stretch) for a 39"-41" Long
6. Jessica Tromp tank - photo & diagram
7. Lily Tank Top - pattern & photo - this uses 7 (70g) Sugar & Cream (ww yarn ~1000 yd) for a large (40")
8. Mango Mesh Top
9. Sherbert Tank Top - this uses 8 oz Patons Katrina (~600 yd ww with stretch) for a small...
10. V-stitch sleeveless

In addition there a a few patterns in some publications that I own that I was considering:
11. Sunny Days Tank Top by Denise Black in "24 hour crochet projects" R. Weiss - this uses 16 oz of Luster Sheen (sport/fine) yarn (1340 yd) for the large (38" - 40")
12. Flutter-Sleeve Top in "Fabulous & FLirty Crochet" K.Lee - this uses 6 balls (720 yd) of GGH Mystik (DK) for the large (39")
13. Designer Wannabe Tank Top by Ajda Mesic in "Happy Hooker" D. Stoller - this uses 12 balls (1474 yds) of Catania (sport/fine) for the large (40")
14. Cupcake by L-J. Bernhardson in "Happy Hooker" D. Stoller - this uses 8 balls (920 yds) of Amazon DK Cotton for the large (40.5")

So in trying to match up the cotton yarn I have in stash with some possibilities...

I have a sport/dk cotton - 12 balls (137yd/50g) of Catania - could go fo the Designer Wannabe Tank or the Drops Safran Tank or even the Sunny Days Tank Top

I have worsted weight cotton - Knit One Crochet Two "2nd Time Cotton" (180yd/100g) in 2 multi colorways - I have 4 balls (720yd) of one and 6 balls (900 yds) of the other. This could be used for Beth... Don't think it's stretchy enough to sub for Patons Katrina, but it might be thin enough to sub for a DK weight....

Birthday surprise...

My dh did it again! I love this guy. He took the kids out shopping for birthday presents for me and with a lot of guidance helped them pick out a beautiful necklace (my dd likes to get me jewels), and some chocolates. Then at their favorite place to shop for me, Yankee Candle, dh gave a little guidance for choosing a tea light warmer for scented wax potpourri and then let the kids spend over 30 minutes choosing the wax tart potpourri "flavors" all on their own. They had a great time and I certainly received some beautiful and interestingly scented gifts! He went off to work yesterday, telling me the kids would give me my presents. My ds woke up my dd and off they went to draw me cards (I stayed in bed, half sleeping and half waiting). They arrived (pouncing on top of my bed) at 7 am bearing those great hand drawn cards that you cherish forever and all the loot from their day out with Dad. I was smiling, the kids were smiling, it was terrific. We called dh at work, I thanked the love of my life for my wonderful birthday gifts, and the kids and I went about our day.

I didn't expect dh home until late, as per usual on Wednesdays, but he surprised me walking in at 4 pm. He had canceled his evening plans, bought a birthday cake and had detoured 25 miles on his way home form work to go to my LYS, Ewe'll Love It (but I didn't yet know this). He said he went to a lighting store to get a desk lamp he wanted - so we set that up - and oh yeah, he stopped in to the LYS and grabbed a book for me - a book of knitting patterns of Shetland sweaters - just in case I want to learn to knit - (I guess I can make him a sweater since I've never made his socks!!) Well, he showed no hint that he had purchased anything else at the LYS - he usually has a tell-tale twinkle in his eye - so we went ahead and ate dinner, had cake and then he surprises me - he produces this monster bag of fiber for an afghan kit!! What an amazing assortment of color and texture! Then the eye twinkle appears as he tells me all about choosing these colors and these fibers from amongst the various kits available. He does a great job of choosing colors and putting together items that I would most likely never choose on my own but love when I see them assembled. He has done this in everything from kitchen countertops to clothes to jewelry and now he's doing it with fiber!! So here's the lastest yarn loot. It's all from Colinette yarns of Wales. The kit includes Wigwam cotton tape - lichen colorway - 100% cotton - 143yd/100g; Zanziba - in 2 colorways: Jay & Autumn Leaves - 51% wool, 48% viscose, 1% nylon - 99yd/100g; Fandango chunky cotton - cezanne colorway - 100% cotton - 110 yd/100g; Skye - velvet bilberry colorway - 100% wool -152yd/100g; and finally Mohair - in 3 colorways: Tapis, Mist & Renaissance - 78% mohair, 13% wool, 9% nylon - 193yd/100g. The kit is for a ripple lap afghan (3' x 4') with a hook "not larger than K".
All in all, I'd say I had a fantastic day, but moreover, I am blessed with a fantastic dh and wonderful kids!!

June challenge report

OK, it's time to check in and see how I did in June. So what did I theoretically commit to on my June challenge list for Yahoo crochetchallenge, and what did I actually do? On my list was finishing the Absolutely Precious sweater #2, the Sideways Shell Baby Blanket, and the Drops Top with my CAL. I also wanted to make the Caprice Sundress for my dd and possibly the Beth tank for myself and finally I expected to start a Sock-along as well. Here's what really happened in June. Click on "progress" for a link to the post showing current state of the project.

1. Absolutely Precious Baby sweater #2 - progress = 100%.
2. Sideways Shell Baby Afghan - progress = 100%.
3. Drops Design Top - progress = 45%. I'm actually moderating this CAL at Yahoo crochet-a-long group. I can't believe how little I actually accomplished again this month (I said the same thing in May!!). This time it's because after finishing all those baby items I couldn't resist making the dress for my dd (see #4). I am finally working on this full time now. No other WIPs allowed!
4. Caprice Sundress - progress = 100%. This was quite a project as I ended up frogging, redesigning and re-crocheting the entire body of the dress. I think I will end up lining it as soon as I can get to a fabric store.
5. Beth tank from Berroco. Progress = 0%. I'd love to start this I just haven't allowed myself to get distracted away from the Drops Top. I may need to let it happen to prevent burn out, we'll see in a few weeks...or days! Of course the list of possible tank tops has grown....
6. Socks - soon to start sock-a-long at crochetsocks. Progress = 0%. This is entirely NOT my fault. I don't even have the pattern yet. We'll still waiting for this to start.

All in all, I did OK! I really wanted to do more on the Drops Tops, but redesigning the Caprice Dress took a bit of time!!

WIP: Drops Top

Wow has it been a while since I posted. Believe it or not I'm only working on one WIP right now, and I'm still not finding a lot of time to work on it. Hopefully, now that we're through the Holiday weekend, life should settle down a bit here and I should be able to get a bit more crochet time in!

This is the Drops Design Top I've been working on with my friends at Yahoo crochet-a-long. I'm moderating this CAL so I'm embarassed about how slow my progress has been, but at least I'm still working on it. We had many start it, but few seem to still be working on it. Anyway, I have finished the front panel complete with armhole shaping and neck/shoulder shaping. Now to attack the back panel and then the sleeves. It's shown here over the white tank I will wear under it. The width of the front panel seemed to tighten up a bit on me with this stitch pattern. I'm going to pay close attention to this phenomenon on the back panel otherwise this will have to be passed on to a skinnier sister or niece!

Edited to answer the obvious question...Yarn is GGH 'Bali' (50% cotton, 50% acrylic) in a beautiful lilac color.

Caprice Dress Modifications

OK, let's be perfectly clear. This is NOT my original pattern. I started with the NY Yarns Caprice Crochet Dress. I loved the bodice & the flared skirt at the bottom, but hated the tight-fitting, stiff, yet open (see-through) body of the dress. You can see it here before and after I frogged it!
So, I reworked the pattern to achieve a body that was less see-through (ie more modest), had a nicer drape, and flared out a bit right after the bodice to make it more roomier for the average 4-6 yo. So the original pattern link is above. Here's what I did.

Caprice Dress modifications

It calls for a 3.75mm F hook. I used my Addi Skacel F hook which is 4.0mm. I did not use the NY Yarns Caprice (80% cotton, 20% nylon), (92yds/50g). I used Classic Elite Yarn ~ Flash in Pink Tweed, 100% mercerized cotton, 93 yds/50g. Pattern calls for 8 skeins for the largest size. Even with all my additions, I only used 6 skeins.

Bodice (as written)

Body (begins with 84,(92, 100) sc from bodice)

Rnd 1 (as written): Ch 1, * sc in back loop only (BLO) of sc, ch 3, skip next 3 sc; rep from * around, sl st in first sc to join – 21(23, 25) ch 3-spaces.

Rnd 2: Sl st in first ch 3-space, ch 3 (counts as first dc), 2 dc in same space, ch 1 (3dc, ch 1) in each space around, ending with 3 dc in last ch 3-space, sl st to 3rd ch of turning chain (tch) to join – 21(23, 25) groups of 3 dc.

(Here’s the general plan from here. I wanted the dress to be less see-through. So I replaced 3 out of every 4 rows of (3dc, ch 1) with rows of solid dc. But to give the garment more drape, and to blend with the pattern of the bodice I used BLO dc. I also wanted to increase the width of the dress after the bodice to make it a bit roomier. I planned to add 10 stitches with 2 dc in every 10th st in round 3, and then realized to keep the (3dc, ch 1) pattern on a few rows I needed to have a multiple of 4. I added 2 more stitches to get to the needed 112dc – one in the base of the turning chain at then end of round 3 and one at in the base of the new turning chain at then start of round 4. One could re-work the spacing of the increases in round 3 so there are 12. I wrote out exactly what I did. Also, I made the largest size and will continue with stitch and row counts for only that size.)

Rnd 3: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), dc in next 8 st, 2 dc in next st, *dc in next 9 st, 2 dc in next st, rep from * around, end with one more dc in base of tch, sl st to 3rd ch of tch to join (111dc).

Rnd 4: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), BLO dc in base of tch (same st as joining), BLO dc in every st around, sl st to 3rd ch of tch to join (112dc).

Rnd 5: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), BLO dc in every st around, sl st to 3rd ch of tch to join (112dc).

Rnd 6: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), dc in next 2 dc, ch 1, skip 1 dc, *dc in next 3dc, ch 1, skip 1 dc, rep from * around, sl st to 3rd ch of tch to join. (28 groups of 3 dc).

Rnd 7: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), dc in every st around, sl st to 3rd ch of tch to join (112dc).

Rnds 8-9: Repeat round 5. (112dc).

Rnds 10-13: Repeat rounds 6-9. (112dc).

Rnds 14-17: Repeat rounds 6-9. (112dc).

Rnd 18: Repeat round 6. (112dc).

(I decided to add just a few more stitches (4) to give a little more room around the bottom.)

Rnd 19: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), dc in base of tch (same st as joining), dc in next 27 st, *2 dc in next st, dc in next 27 st, rep from * around, sl st to 3rd ch of tch to join (116dc).

Rnds 20-21: Repeat rounds 8-9 (116dc).

Rnds 22-25: Repeat rounds 6-9 (116 dc).

Rnd 26: Repeat row 6. (116 st: 29 groups of 3 dc, ch1).

Skirt (as written, except for last round)

Last round: I dropped off the last round – I thought the 7 sc in the ch 7-space made the last round too heavy.

Top edging (aka front bodice extension) [PM = place marker]

(Here I thought the dress needed a little more coverage in the front so I tried to replicate the pattern from the bodice, only now I am working in turning rows instead of in the round.)

Row 1: Attach yarn at “seam” of the rounds, ch 1, sc in each ch (other side of the foundation chain) around, sl st in first sc to join. (100 sc)

Row 2: Ch1, turn, *working in front loop only (FLO), sc in sc, ch 1, skip 1 sc, rep from * half way around ending with FLO sc. (49 st)

Row 3: Ch 1, turn, skip 1st sc, (always work sc in ch and BLO sc in sc) sc in next 2 st, sc2tog, (sc in ch1, BLO sc in sc) 6 times, sc2tog [PM], (sc in ch1, BLO sc in sc) 5 times, sc2tog [PM], (sc in ch1, BLO sc in sc) 6 times, sc2tog, sc in next 2 st, sc2tog. (43 st)

Row 4: Ch1, turn, (working FLO throughout), FLO sc, ch 1, skip 1 sc, (sc2tog, ch 1, skip 1 sc), (FLO sc, ch 1, skip 1 sc) 5 times, (sc2tog [PM], ch 1, skip 1 sc), (FLO sc, ch 1, skip 1 sc) 4 times, (sc2tog [PM], ch 1, skip 1 sc), (FLO sc, ch 1, skip 1 sc) 5 times, (sc2tog, ch 1, skip 1 sc), FLO sc in final sc. (39 st)

Row 5: Ch 1, turn, skip 1st sc, (always work sc in ch and BLO sc in sc) sc in next 2 st, sc2tog, (sc in ch1, BLO sc in sc) 4 times, sc2tog [PM], (sc in ch1, BLO sc in sc) 4 times, sc2tog [PM], (sc in ch1, BLO sc in sc) 4 times, sc2tog, (sc in ch1, BLO sc in sc), sc2tog. (33 st)

Row 6: Ch1, turn, skip 1st sc, (working FLO throughout), FLO sc, ch 1, skip 1 sc, (sc2tog, ch 1, skip 1 sc), (FLO sc, ch 1, skip 1 sc) 2 times, (sc2tog [PM], ch 1, skip 1 sc), (FLO sc, ch 1, skip 1 sc) 3 times, (sc2tog [PM], ch 1, skip 1 sc), (FLO sc, ch 1, skip 1 sc) 2 times, (sc2tog, ch 1, skip 1 sc), (FLO sc, ch 1, skip 1 sc), sc2tog. (27 st)

Row 7: Ch 1, turn, skip 1st sc, (always work sc in ch and BLO sc in sc) sc in next 2 st, sc2tog, (sc in ch1, BLO sc in sc) 2 times, sc2tog [PM], (sc in ch1, BLO sc in sc) 3 times, sc2tog [PM], (sc in ch1, BLO sc in sc) 2 times, sc2tog, sc2tog. (21 st) Do NOT fasten off.

Strap

Beginning from top corner of front bodice extension, ch 34 (or desired length) attach with sl st (2) to point 3 inches to the same side of center back (making sure not to twist), sc in each ch back to front of bodice, attach to bodice with sl st. Sl st in 7 st across front of bodice (to marked st), ch 7, attach with sl st to 8th st from front on strap. Sc in each ch back to front bodice attach to front with sl st.

Sl st across front of bodice to marked st, ch 34 (or desired length) attach with sl st (2) to point 3 inches to the same side of center back (making sure not to twist), sc in each ch back to front of bodice, attach to bodice with sl st. Sl st in 7 st across front of bodice (to marked st), ch 7, attach with sl st to 8th st from front on strap. Sc in each ch back to front bodice attach to front with sl st. Finish off!

Weave in ends!

Poll on the Caprice Dress

OK - here's the modified Caprice Dress. It's 99% done. I just have to weave in ends - trust me, with the number of times I have frogged portions of this dress, it paid to have none of the ends woven in!! I have written down every row I changed in this pattern (the entire body) and I will write it up and post it shortly. In the mean time, here's the question... is it modest enough, or does it still need a slip or lining?
The good news is Abby loves it - which is very good news after all this dress took to figure out!. (Anyone who wants to see my version of the original pattern can check out this post. Abby was patient, albeit a very wiggly patient while I tried it on her several times this morning to measure, remeasure and double-check for strap length. After I finished the straps and she tried it on again, I had to pry it off her (with promises she can wear it tomorrow!) . "But Mommy, can you make these strings at my feet go away?"

Caprice Dress Update

I love my dd. She is so easy going and amenable to change. (I'd love her even if she weren't...after all, I love my ds too!) I had to tell my daughter, when she woke up this morning, that I had frogged her dress last night. Her response? "That's OK Mommy, I can wear something else!" followed a few seconds later by a hesitant, "Will you still fix my dress so I can wear it another day?" You got to love a kid like this. Of course I promised I would! Then when I went to start a load of laundry while the kids ate breakfast, I discovered a forgotten purchase on the back of the laundry room door. I brought it out to my dd who burst with glee, " A dress for me!! So here's the substitute dress that gets me off the hook for Friday.

Speaking of off the hook... Here's what I've done in hopes of salvaging this dress. I left the first round of repeating (sc, ch3, skip 3 st) that begins the body, and the second round, repeating (3 dc in ch-3 space, ch 1). This gives the 100 st that the pattern calls for. In the third round, I put a dc in each st around increasing every 10th stitch to give 110 dc. At this point I realized that my plan needed the stitch count to be divisible by 4 so I added one more dc right at the base of the turning chain before joining to the top of the turning chain with a slip st (111 dc) and to finish the increase to 112 st (multiple of 4), I started round 4 with the ch 3 but then put a dc right into the joining stitch at the base of the ch 3 and then in every stitch around. Round 5 was just dc in every dc around. (Oh yeah to improve the drape of the dress, rounds 4 and 5 were worked in the back loops only.) Round 6 looks like round 2 - (3 dc, ch 1) around, but this time the dc are in the dc from the previous row. Round 7 is just dc in every st around. Rounds 8-9 will repeat round 5 (dc in BLO around). Then the plan is to repeat rounds 6-9, probably 4 more times to complete the body. I didn't put in any more increase in round 7, but that's where I'll put some in if I decide it needs more width. This time I'll be trying it on Abby as we go! So, what do you think so far? If this works, I'll write this out for real!

Caprice Dress lands in frog pond

I still can't believe I just did this. I'll show you in a minute, but I guess I should back up a few days. I finally started working on my Drops Top again last Thursday. I even made some progress, but that night my darling dd turned on her most charming voice and asked if I could please make her pink dress so she could wear it on her last day of school (this Friday). So I wound up some balls of this yarn (scroll down a bit) and started working on the Caprice Sundress on Sunday. I loved the pattern of the bodice. I tried it on dd and the fit was great. It was loose enough to be possibly be worn next summer, and not too baggy for this summer! (Two years of wear is always my goal with my kids!) The pattern of the body left me somewhere between bored/unimpressed and a bit miffed that the dress would require a lining (Sorry, call me a prude, but my 4yo is not wearing an unlined mesh dress!). I decided I could tack in a long tank undershirt and all would be well. The pattern works up fairly quickly, so in spite of the zillion activities accompanying the last week of school, I made significant progress. Except that I never tried it on dd again until tonight and I just didn't think about the fact that the dress is STRAIGHT, not a single increase in the whole bloody body! Now, my dd is not a chubby 4yo, but neither is she a twig; she is tall but she definitely has some meat on her bones. Well the dd whose prudish mother would not allow her to wear a mesh dress without a lining is also not wearing a skin tight fitted tube dress. What was I thinking? Here's the before and after frogging pictures:










I left the bodice because I really like it. Now, instead of working on the Drops Top, I'm trying to redesign this dress with increases and a new stitch (again, the old body stitch pattern just didn't wow me) !

So my darling dd does not yet know that her dress went to the frog pond tonight. I have 36 hours until she thinks she's wearing it.

FO: Shell Baby blanket

Finished! Here's the Sideways Shell Baby Afghan made to be a car seat size blanket. This is for a woman who works for my dh. She & her husband just adopted their second son. I made it using an H hook with an acrylic, baby/sport weight, pastel variegated mill end. I sewed my label on this one too!

FOs: Sweater & hat

Finished! This is my second Absolutely Precious Baby sweater & hat. The pattern is designed by Denise Black in 24-Hour Crochet Projects ed by Rita Weiss. I used a Brittany G hook (4.0mm) with Caron Simply Soft White' and RH ‘Monet’ for the edging. This is the one for my ds's kindergarten teacher's yet-to-be born grandchild!


This is the first project that I have sewn my own label in. I made them using iron-on transfer pages and white ribbon. Here's a close-up that shows the star buttons my son chose and my label!

June: WIPs, PIGs & WIMs

OK I decided to make this a monthly post so here it it. Remember this includes WIMs (just thoughts or possibilities) but it's nice to see it all down in writing so I can reassess each month and decide what to put on my monthly challenge list for Yahoo crochetchallenge. In case you're interested, here are the links to my April and May lists (the April one gives acronym definitions).

Two items from the May WIP list are now FOs as are some additional gift projects I decided to make last month. (see May report)

WIPs
1. Drops Design Top - progress = 14%
2. Absolutely Precious Baby sweater #2- progress = 95%
3. Sideways Shell Baby Afghan - progress = 50%.
4. Navy blue cardigan - progress = 15%
5. Toddler cardigan - progress = 50%
6. "High-Stylin' Pillow" (Crochet calendar)- progress = 10%

PIGs
1. Letter pillows "Y" & "X" from Woven-n-Spun
2. "Easy Ripple" Afghan
3. 63 squares Afghan - Aran
4. Spring Crochet Cardigan
5. 'Oxford Style' socks (Crocheted Socks!)- Bob
6. Felted Hook Case
7. Caprice Sundress
8. 'Alpine Meadow' hooded sweater
9. Beth tank from Berroco
10. Marble yarn sweater for me - Todays Crochet pattern

WIMs
1. Summer tanks for me: have yarn - must find patterns!
2. Granny Ripple Baby Afghan
3. Picot Cropped Cardigan
4. Cream Cotton Shrug
5. Bob's sweater Teal/black/gray
6. Alex's sweater - Green
7. Abby's sweater - grape chunky
8. Mittens & Hats
9. Abby's sweater - periwinkle
10. Abby's snow girl cardigan (Crochet! Jan '05)
11. Alex's sweater vest
12. Robyn’s Spider Shrug
13. Socks - soon to start sock-a-long at crochetsocks.

I love getting this all written out to look at. OK – for June… I want to complete the first 3 WIPs, the 2nd & 3rd are actually done (it is June 9th!!). I'd also like to do the Sundress for Abby (PIG #7) , and maybe (but probably not) the Beth tank for me (PIG #9). The Drops Top we’re doing at Yahoo crochet-a-long is a slow going pattern, but I really need to make some significant progress on it! Oh I almost forgot, I just added that WIM #13) we're about to start a sock-a-long CAL at crochetsocks and I'll have to keep up with that as a moderator there. I guess I'll be busy!

The felted hook case should be fun to make sometime, but there are just too many cute summery things I want to make with the cotton yarns I've found recently. So the fall items need to get pushed back at least another month.

Time to start hooking!

Crochet challenges - May report

Well, it's not quite as bad as I thought. I definitely overdid it in the challenge department - I listed a few more items for May than humanly possible with life as we know it. And lest we forget, on May 1st, I did not know that my baby gift crochet-a-thon (aka BGC) was about to begin (Of course, you know that I really love making things for people, especially all these babies!). So what did I theoretically commit to on my May challenge list for Yahoo crochetchallenge, and what did I actually do? On my list was finishing the Seraphina Shawl, doing the Drops Top with my CAL, the Absolutely Precious sweater, the Felted Hook Case, and possibly the Caprice Sundress for my dd. Here's what really happened in May.

1. Seraphina Shawl - progress = 100%. I did finish this. I even had an epiphany as to whom I should give it too. I'll just say that I think my ds's kindergarten teacher felt really appreciated during teacher appreciation week!
2. Drops Design Top - progress = 14%. I'm actually moderating this CAL at Yahoo CAL group. I can't believe how little I actually accomplished in May. This, however, is NOT my fault. Blame the unexpected BGC. I will return to this ASAP.
3. Absolutely Precious Baby sweater #1 - progress = 100%. Part 1 of BGC. It was finished!
4. Absolutely Precious Baby sweater #2 - progress = 95%. Part 3 of BGC. This one had a deadline to it so it bumped Part 2 of BGC. I actually finished this, complete with buttons and a label, last night... but the 95% was the May 31st progress. Final photos to follow, soon.
5. Sideways Shell Baby Afghan - progress = 50%. Part 2 of BGC. Like I said, I had started this immediately after finishing the first baby sweater, until I realized that the 2nd baby sweater was needed 3 weeks earlier than I had planned!
6. Dishcloth Mania - progress = 100%. Another unplanned project, suffice it to say, my MIL likes crocheted dishcloths, and now she has 3 from me (and I have 3 as well!)
7. Felted Hook Case Progress = 0%. Let's face it, this just isn't going to happen any time soon. There are way too many summer projects calling my name (and my hooks).
8. Caprice Sundress Progress = 0%. I just never had a chance to get near this one. But this will definitely be made in June... this is one of the summer projects calling...

All in all, I guess I did OK!

FO: Dishcloths

When my in-laws' visit for my dd's birthday coincided with my MIL's birthday (did you follow that?) I decided to try to whip up some dishcloths for my MIL. Leah at my Yahoo CAL group had posted this set for 5 textured dishcloths . I must have been distracted (imagine that, in my house!) while making the first starting chain because I ended up with 24 instead of 34. I kept the first mini-dishcloth for myself. I managed to make a regular size #1, and then a #2 and a #3 before my MIL left, but I forgot to take a photo. I started #4, but didn't like it so I frogged it and skipped to #5 (can anyone say Jiffy Jacket? yes it is the same stitch...too funny!). That was enough dishcloths for me! I had to return to the baby gift crochet-a-thon. But... Leah posted a pattern for this Simply Circle dishcloth and I thought it might be nice for gifts for my dd's preschool teachers. I followed this pattern correctly but still came out with a mini-dishcloth. I kept this for myself, too. So I now have one large and two small dishcloths in my kitchen. (Btw, the preschool class is giving a group gift, so I'm off the hook - literally!)

WIPs in progress

Well before I post my overdue May progress report & June challenge I thought I should post the current status of my active WIPs. This should include my Drops Top but since my crochet life was taken over by the baby gift crochet-a-thon, not much new has happened there in the past few weeks. So here’s where we stand:

1. Drops Design Top - progress I decided not to bother posting a new picture showing the 10 bobbles I’ve completed in the last several weeks (and yes, I said bobbles, not flowers).

2. Absolutely Precious Baby sweater #2 - This is the same pattern as the blue one I made a few weeks ago, shown here. It is designed by Denise Black in 24-Hour Crochet Projects ed by Rita Weiss. I’m using my Brittany G hook (4.0mm) with Caron Simply Soft White' and RH ‘Monet’ for the edging. This one is for my ds’s Kindergarten teacher’s yet-to-be born grandchild. It was almost finished when I discovered that I had once again missed turning 6 or so rounds back on the second sleeve. This pattern is killing me. I’m a sock crocheter who crochets all socks in the round, so remembering to turn this pattern every round on the sleeves requires more attention than I usually have available for my crochet! Nonetheless, I should be able to get it finished soon enough to have time to make the matching hat.

3 . Sideways Shell Baby Afghan – This blanket is about half done. The plan is for a small car seat size blanket for a woman who works for my dh. SHe & her husband just adopted their second son. I’m making it using an H hook with an acrylic, baby/sport weight, pastel variegated mill end. Once the sweater & hat are finished I should be able to whip this up pretty quickly. Don't tell me if you think the yarn is too "girly". I don't want to know!

More yarn...

This was a sale I just couldn't resist. Someone on CP sent the link saying Carodan Farm was having 50% off the already reduced prices on discontinued yarns, and that they were happy with their earlier purchases from Carodan Farm. Well, I was in the mood and I went shopping. It took a little hunting to find enough of any one yarn/color choice for the projects I was envisioning, but in the end it was worth the effort. As always, I can count on sock yarn to even out the purchase costs to get the free shipping! So here's what I purchased. I forced myself to put it away so I don't get distracted off the baby gift crochet-a-thon I am doing these days (well that's what it feels like....but you know I love it!!)

I bought 12 balls of Sirdar Salsa DK (flamingo - hot pink!) at $1.75 a ball . The description says a blend of 50% merino wool and 50% acrylic, machine washable, with 162 yds/50g ball [5.5 sts/in on size 5 needles]. I'm thinking I should have enough for a sweater for me!

I bought 9 balls of Schachenmayr Nomotta Catania (marine blue) at $1.00 a ball. The description says a 100% Egyptian cotton DK weight yarn with 137 yds/50g ball [5.5-6 sts/in on size 5 needles]. This is definitely headed for some sort of summer top for me.

I bought 5 skeins of Katia Mississippi 3 (pale purle) at $1.97 a skein. This yarn is 60% cotton, 40% acrylic, with 230 yds/50g ball [7 sts/in on size 3 needles]. I first thought this was headed toward socks, but now I'm thinking there should be enough for some sort of top for my purple-loving dd.

Then for sock yarn, I bought one skein (enough for a pair for a kid) of Silja sock yarn in a nice shade of green at $1.50 a skein. This yarn, from Gjestal (Norway) is 80% wool, 20% nylon with 164 yds/50g skein[6.5 sts/in on size 4 needles]. Finally, I bought 2 skeins of a gorgeous striping yarn called Froehlich Wolle Blauband Jacquard sock yarn (with reinforcing yarn included) at $2.00 a skein. This yarn, from Switzerland is 80% wool, 20% nylon with 225 yds/50g skein[7.5 sts/in on size 2 needles].

OK - I must get off the computer, feed the children, fold the laundry and finish the baby gifts so I can get going on the wearables! Agh, I also need to update May & June challenges.

FO: Baby sweater done!

It hasn't been a great crochet week... the rest of life kind of got in the way. I did find a matching skein of yarn to finish the baby sweater and since I now had plenty of yarn (!) I made the matching hat as well. Here's the finished sweater with cute little bear buttons and the whole outfit modeled by my dd's doll "Big Baby".








Pattern: Absolutely Precious, by Denise Black in 24-Hour Crochet Projects ed by Rita Weiss.
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft 'Light Country Blue'

WIP Progress; FO - Seraphina

I've actually crocheted a bit last night. Here's what happened.

1. Absolutely Precious Baby Sweater - I ran out of yarn. I can't believe it, with just rows to go on the 2nd sleeve. That's what I get for stashbusting. I was using a slightly used 6oz skein of Caron Simply Soft Light Country Blue. The pattern calls for 6 oz for the small sweater AND the hat. I figured I had enough yarn for just the sweater. WRONG! When I first ran out last night I was thinking that I could probably pull out the sweater edging and use that for the sleeve and then redo the edging in some coordinating color. But now as I look at it I realize I have done only 7 of the 18 rows on the sleeve. The edging is a round of sc and a round of (sl st, ch1). I would hate to frog the edging and then discover I don't have enough yarn. Besides, what is an appropriate contrasting color for this? I think I had better hope the "no dye lot" yarn gods are on my side and go try to find a "matching" skein. Only thing is, I bought this yarn over 18 months ago.

2. Seraphina Shawl - I finished it last night! Woo hoo for me!! I decided to give this shawl to a person who is significantly shorter than I am. Hence, the shawl was basically done and I just needed to crochet a few more rows to finish the color striping pattern in the darkest blue. Then I edged it, weaved in all the ends, took photos, labeled, wrapped and gifted it to my ds's Kindergarten teacher this morning (in honor of Teacher Appreciation week - last week). So here it is.. done in Joann's Sensation Rainbow Boucle 'Dark Blues', with a 7.0mm Boye K hook.

3. Sideways Shell Baby Afghan - I started this last night instead of returning to the Drops Top as my dh had informed me over the weekend that a co-worker had just brought home their newly adopted baby. I went stashdiving and came up with a pound of this yarn - an acrylic, baby/sport weight, pastel variegated mill end. I thought this pattern would be quick & easy and so far I think it's working up nicely. Are the colors too feminine for a baby boy?

So... tomorrow I go on a yarn hunt. Today I'll try to whip up a baby blanket and then get back to the Drops Top.... Unfortunately, over 5 loads of unfolded laundry are calling my name first...

Latest yarn acquisition

See I'm not a yarn snob... I found some gorgeous soft acrylic the other day at AC Moore. This was the day that honest I only went in for birthday party supplies. I couldn't help myself this stuff is beautiful and on sale. The yarn is James C. Brett Marble, in colorway MT5, Granite (it has grey white, pink & purple). It's a DK weight yarn with 240yds/100g. I bought 10 skeins, hopefully enough for a sweater for me. What I didn't realize when I bought it was that it was a self striping yarn. I learned that after searching for more info and finding this. Mind you, that nice wide striping is showing up on a DOLL's sweater. Well I know from sock yarns that striping works best with a simple one stitch pattern (alternate rows of sc and esc does weird things to a stripe pattern!) So instead of finishing my baby sweater I spent too much of last night pattern hunting for this yarn. Why, when I have so many other things I need to finish first? Because I felt compelled! Maybe this sweater (modeled by the designer at CGOA Fashion show) from Susan Huxley's Today's Crochet.

I made another AC Moore yarn purchase that same day. Making the baby sweater and the Jiffy Jacket in Caron Simply Soft (and wearing the latter) has reminded me how much I love the feel of this yarn. And you can't argue that when it comes to kids - washable acrylic has its benefits! Anyway, I couldn't resist the Simply Soft navy (2 lbs) and dark grey (1 lb) mill ends that I found. I want to make my ds some pullover sweater vests. He loves them. Now I need to pattern hunt again! I have the Jenny King booklet of patterns For the Boyz but it calls for sportweight yarn for every pattern. I can probably adjust it for Simply Soft. Anyone seen any boys pullover vest patterns? Or V-neck sweaters that I can just leave off the sleeves?

I posted this Classic Elite 'Pink Tweed' yarn the other day and was planning on making a tank top for me, in spite of Abby's protests that all pink yarn is for her. Well, Abby won out. In part because I decided it might be a bit too bright for me, and in part because she's just too cute. She doesn't know it yet, but I'm going to use it to make the NY Yarns Caprice SunDress. I had to go back to my LYS to get some more yarn for this, and being economical I also went to return the extra skein of Svale leftover from the Sweet Pea cardigan. We arrived to a completely re-organized store and a 2nd floor full of sale items (mostly items that were discontinued or that they were not going to carry because the colors or the yarns didn't sell well). Off season yarns were 30% off and cottons were 25% off.


Well I fell in love with this Knit One Crochet Two yarn and, at 25% off, it was a bargain! It's called 2nd Time Cotton, made from recycled cotton, and is 75% cotton, 25% acrylic. It has 180yds/100 g. I like the colors. I bought 6 skeins of 'English Heather' the pink, green, dark & light gray multi and 4 skeins of 'Nantucket, the yellow, green, blue, gray multi. This yarn is for me!

Baby sweater progress

Oops... I knew this baby was coming, but I forgot. So I've dropped all other projects for the moment and hope to finish this later today... I'm flying solo with the kids this weekend though, so no promises! I love the pattern (source shown in this post) and although it's a pretty pattern I think with the Simply Soft Light Country Blue yarn it's definitely 'all-boy'. My dd and I found some cute teddy bear buttons at Joann's. I think they'll look great. So here's where I am so far - an armless sweater! The body is finished, I 'm supposed to start the sleeves next, then edging, then sew on buttons. But I just realized, before I finished off the body, that you reattach the yarn in the SAME spot to start the edging... so I started the edging first! Then sleeves, then buttons... uh oh, can I use white thread for the buttons?

May WIPs, PIGs & WIMs

April showers bring May flowers… and my May challenge list for Yahoo crochetchallenge. I found it really helpful to create the WIP, PIG & WIM list last month and I’d like to make it a regular monthly post (yes I know I’m running late this month!)

Sad to say only one item from the WIP list is being removed as an FO (finished object), but that’s because 1 PIG went from WIP to FO as did a WIM I didn’t even know I had last month when I made this list. (see April Challenge)

WIPs
1. Seraphina Shawl - progress = 85%
2. Drops Design Top - progress = 14%
3. Absolutely Precious Baby sweater - progress = 10%
4. Navy blue cardigan - progress = 15%
5. Toddler cardigan - progress = 50%
6. "High-Stylin' Pillow" (Crochet calendar)- progress = 10%

PIGs
1. Letter pillows "Y" & "X" from Woven-n-Spun
2. "Easy Ripple" Afghan
3. 63 squares Afghan - Aran
4. Spring Crochet Cardigan
5. 'Oxford Style' socks (Crocheted Socks!)- Bob
6. Felted Hook Case
7. Caprice Sundress
8. 'Alpine Meadow' hooded sweater

WIMs
1. Summer tank for me
2. Granny Ripple Baby Afghan
3. Picot Cropped Cardigan
4. Cream Cotton Shrug
5. Bob's sweater Teal/black/gray
6. Alex's sweater - Green
7. Abby's sweater - grape chunky
8. Mittens & Hats
9. Abby's sweater - periwinkle
10. Abby's snow girl cardigan (Crochet! Jan '05)
11. Alex's sweater vest
12. Robyn’s Spider Shrug

Wow! What a list!

OK – for May… I want to complete the first 3 WIPs and the hooks case I finally figured out (but didn’t start) in April. I’d love to jump in to the Sundress for Abby, but realistically…. I think not. The Drops Top we’re doing at Yahoo crochet-a-long is a slow going pattern! Once again, Bob may get his socks started (always need a small travel project), but probably not!.

Time to start hooking!

On my hook already...

I know I haven't done my May list but I had to jump in on 2 projects.

The first is the Drops Design Top we're doing at Yahoo crochet-a-long. I'm moderating this CAL, we started on May 1st so I had get going on it in spite of birthday mayhem. I've done 5 rows of flowers so far and am almost finished the first ball of yarn. Here's a close-up of the cursed beautiful bobble flowers. Now that I get them, they're not too bad. There's just a million of them!! We'll get there. I know we can do this!!


Second, my dh left for work this morning after telling me his boss' wife had her baby - a boy. ( I knew she was expecting, but I forgot). So, I went stashdiving and pattern diving and came up with this... 'Absolutely Prescious' from "24 hour Crochet Projects" by Rita Weiss using Caron Simply Soft in Light Country Blue. I started this during dd's speech therapy today. It should work up pretty quickly.

OK seriously this time the next post will be the May list!

April challenge report... 10 days late

My dd turned 4 on Monday and I had 17 kids & 8 Moms here for lunch. So, that's my excuse for not blogging for the past 10 days or so... But, the birthday's over and I need to blog and figure out my WIP status...

So first my challenge list from April over at Yahoo crochet challenge. The list included the Jiffy Jacket, the Seraphina Shawl, the lacy shell poncho for my dd, a felted hook case, and the Spring Crochet cardigan for me which (as I posted back in April) was replaced with the Sweet Pea Cardigan for my dd.

So it's accountability time....(drum roll please!)

The Jiffy Jacket is 100% done, including buttons purchased and sewn on! This was made with Caron Simply Soft 'Dark Sage' and an Brittany 5.5mm I hook. I'll get dh to take a picture with me wearing it and add that to this post tonight. (OK, it took me 3 days to get the photo posted. I forgot to catch my dh to take the photo before he left for a business trip this morning so my 6.5yo ds is behind the camera! He stands on the staircase to get tall enough. I think he's a step too high this time, oh well!)

Abby's lacy shell birthday poncho is 100% done, including the modifications I made yesterday after she tried it on. I added 3 rows of sc to the neckline, decreasing every 12 sc in the 2nd round and every 10 sc in the 3rd round. It was falling off her shoulders and bothering her without this extra neckline (not to mention bringing to mind a style I don't want to see on my 4 year old!). I also made this longer than the pattern shows, 9 rows of shells instead of 6 for my tall girl! This was made with Lilac acrylic mill end and a 6.5mm hook.

Abby's Spring Pea Cardigan is also 100% done. I'm really proud of this one. Of course she smiles and treasures everything I make her, but even I think this one is worth treasuring! It's made with Dale of Norway Svale yarn using my Addi 4.0mm F hook.












Now for confession time, these unfinished WIPs will be bumped to May...
the Seraphina still needs a few more rows. I wouldn't know how many, I have seen it in weeks... Last I saw it, it looked about like this. This is using Joann's Sensation Rainbow Boucle 'Dark Blues' and a 7.0mm K hook.

Finally the felted hook case, well.... I did figure out how big it should be... seriously, planning out the pattern took a little more work than I anticipated. I knew the "pattern" was more of an example than a true pattern, and of course, everyone has different sized & different number of hooks... Anyway, I think I have the schematics worked out. Mine will be made in one piece from side to side, with the width decreasing to the exclude the upper and lower flaps at the fold points. It will have 4 sections, folding in on each side and then again in the middle. It will have 4 top flaps to fold down over the hooks, and 4 bottom flaps that will be sewn in place with hook slots before felting. I've also found the necessary left over wool to use for this project.

So that's April. Next post... thoughts for May.