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!