Marathon 26.2



AUTISM AWARENESS















Saturday, June 13, 2009

Crochet ~ Swingy Summer Skirt



After a long hiatus from crocheting (a whole project), I did a CAL with Krystal, crochetferretlvr. I pretty much been knitting, except for adding crochet for the finishing. I received my Crochet Today! magazine in the mail earlier in the week. While I waited to pick up my daughter, I browsed through the magazine. The Swingy Summer Skirt caught my eye because it looked like it would be a quick project and I could easily buy the yarn at the local discount store. I wouldn't have to travel over a hour to buy the yarn!




I must admit though, I've always been intimidated by Doris Chan's pattern. Maybe it is her foundation chain, (which I had no problem this time) or those intimidating intricate lace patterns. I remember starting a few of her projects from her book but never quite getting that far before I gave up!




I picked up 4 skeins/balls of the Peaches and Cream yarn. The last skein was of a different dye lot, a darker red. I was not really worried, I figure I'd make it work! I used a size "I" hook to get gauge and I started crocheting. I found the pattern to be really confusing. After a couple of false start and getting almost 1/2 through the skirt, I started over. Honestly, I was getting frustrated and realized this is why I don't crochet. I wanted to just scratch the pattern but I couldn't because I'm doing a CAL with Krystal. She was helpful in giving me some insight into the pattern and keeping me motivated! This time, starting from row 2, I followed mainly the chart and ditched the directions, for the most part. I spent a good 4? hours crocheting and realize I was making good progress and it looked right! I was trying to finish this as quick as possible and the following day, it seemed to be coming together. That afternoon, I was able to finish up the skirt! Hurray!




The 3 skeins of yarn was just enough for me to crochet most of the skirt. I used the last skein (darker red) for the final shell row and the waist band. I didn't make any modification to the chart.




When I started out making this skirt, I didn't think I would ever wear it. I figure it would just hang in my closet. The more I look at the skirt, the more pleased I am with it. It's really growing on me! Hubby said it was really nice too. I'm thrilled to have finished this skirt. It's got me wanting to crochet again! I actually started the Avalon Top, another Doris Chan design! But...I'm not giving up on knitting, I have the Layout Tank (from berroco website) to finish. Now I just have more options and an excuse to have more than 1 project going at the time...one crochet and one knit!






3 comments:

Krystal said...

It looks fabulous and I'm so glad you finished it. Red really is your color.

Krystal

Trina said...

This looks amazing, and it sounds like you got through it quickly in the end! I'm glad the crochet bug has found you again :)

Rachel said...

WOW that is so pretty!! I am a new knitter (for 4 months now) and I have also crocheted on and off. I actually like knitting better, but I am determined to keep crocheting in between.