Frou Frou

My Frou Frou is complete! I was up really early this morning (around 3am) and I finished sewing the sleeves and sides today. I worked on it quite a bit today trying to get the trim done. Finally, it's finished. This particular one took a little over a week but it seemed so much longer. This was kind of a pain to do. Right from the start, I frogged this 2 other times. I also ended up frogging the collar, which turned out to be correct! It just didn't look right to be, the collar was so thick and bunchy. I re-did it the 2nd time thinking that maybe I had followed the wrong directions. Wrong, frogged it and 2 days later ended up where I left off....oh well. With the fronts, I couldn't get it to decrease following the directions of doing 2 ch then sc so I did sc decreases in the first 2 stitches .

Overall, it's not a hard pattern but I found myself having a lot of trouble with it. Interpretation maybe? I just wasn't clear on the directions for example: am I putting the stitch marker in the right spot, where's the decrease - it's the same direction as the granite stitch pattern, and I had to re-read the directions on where to crochet the 30 sc. Okay, it says right front but reading the directions confused me. It really helped looking at other people's frou frou on Ravelry and Craftster. The people were helpful too and help clear up some questions I had.

I really do love the look of this cardigan. It's so pretty but it fits me terribly! I'm so envious of the people who's frou frou look so great on! All along, I was a bit nervous on it being too small. Switching to a size N hook definately did the trick. The gauge and measurements were right on! If your making this be sure both are correct. The 2nd one I frogged, the gauge was correct but not the measurements!

I used Red Heart Super Saver and a total of 4 skeins in brown. Brown is not the color I wanted to make this in but it's the color I ended up using. I actually bought some Wool Ease to make another one but with the fit, I'll end up making something else with it.

I'm disappointed in the fit but size is perfect. It's bunchy in the front and the arm area. It may be the yarn I used which does not gave it a great drape. Still, I feel a great sense of accomplishment with having sticking it out and finishing this project. It really is pretty.

My current project

I was looking for a sweater or coat to make and I decided on this. This is from the SnB, Happy Hooker called frou frou. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for but I decided it would work.

I started out with black yarn, then re-start with beige (gauge looked correct but too small) so I tried it again in brown. 3rd times the charm! I also switched from a K hook to N hook. The gauge and schematics are finally correct. Yah. It really helped looking at other people's frou frou in Ravelry and Craftster. I realized that the previous one I was working on was too small. I actually ended up really wanting tomake this. It might of been the color in the book that I didn't really care for. I fell in love with this in gray. (I started this on Nov. 7th). Anyways, here is what I have so far.

I'm really looking forward to finishing this and see how it will look! I have a long way to go but I'll keep on crocheting!

Luxurious Lace Sweater

I finished this last night. This is from the book Total Crochet Fashions by Gayle Bunn. I've been eyeing this book for a while and when it went on clearance, I bought it. It has some nice things in there. The pattern I made is called Luxurious Lace Cowl Sweater.


















I started this project almost 2 weeks a go. I used yarn in my stash left over from the Empress Baby Doll Top. The yarn is Bernat Softee Baby in Lilac. I used a total of 3 skeins but if it was the same dye lot, I would probably only need 2! After finishing the back and 1/4 of the front, the next skein of yarn was a different color! Too late, I thought I'd make the best of it. I left it a lone for a day and then continued with this sweater. I was able to find another skein of yarn w/ the same bright, shiny purple. I thought I'd mix it in to another part of the sweater.





This is all done in a very easy shell pattern. Double Crochet and Single Crochet. The back piece was a breeze. I had trouble on the sleeve cap (and cowl). The sleeve cap took me about 3 days to do. The directions were a bit confusing to me. I didn't know if I was following the directions right because I couldn't get it to work out. Then I would frog it and try it the other way and still it wouldn't work out. I must of frogged the sleeves cap 4 to 5 times. Finally on the 3rd day, I just made some changes to the pattern and made it work. I followed the direction same for rows 1 -3 then instead of repeating last 4 rows again, I repeated rows 2 and 3 only once then follow directions for: All sizes next row (WS) and Next Row (according to directions) but did those 2 rows twice. And finished w/ size 2 and L only, work 1 row even of pattern. In case anyone is making this pattern!






I was excited to start the motifs for the cowl but started having some trouble again, so I decided to scratch it all together. I'm not sure if I was already too frustrated with it.






I really ended up liking the sweater, even w/ the different color yarn. I think it look a LOT better than the photos. The flash really brings out the 2 color tones but in person, it's more subtle. It fits well and I would wear it. In fact, I'm looking forward to wearing it. I think the cowl part of the sweater would only get in my way! I can see my daughter tugging at it. I was even considering making another one but all in yarn of the same dye lot! I probably won't because I have purchased a new pattern book and I'm slowly, very slowly working on the sweater, frou frou from the book Happy Hooker.


And of course, another picture of my beautiful daughter playing in her sand box. In the back ground is our neighbor's cat who adopted us.

Tie Front Sweater

I finished this sweater today. I started it last Tuesday. I took my time and still finished it in less than a week! I was looking for another project and I thought this would be both an easy project and it would work up fast! This is again from the book, Positively Crochet! by Mary Jane Hall.

The first one I attempted, I used the H hook using Red Heart Super Saver in a purple/blue varigated yarn but it turned out to be way too small. I'm glad I didn't give up, I decided to try again. This time I used the same type of yarn but in a red/burgandy/pink color. I also used a larger size hook, size "K". A total of 4 skeins.

I didn't make any real modifications to this sweater. The sweater fit perfect on top. I left out the flared sleeve ends and it was still too long (probably because my gage was a little off). Overall, the instructions were easy to follow.

I have to say that I am surprised by how much I like this sweater! I like it a lot better than I thought I would. It actually turned into one of my favorites! My other favorite is the Pale Shade of White Car Coat.

Here are photos of my new sweater:

I love this top so here's my blissful top revisted....

Whiter Shade of Pale Car Coat

This is my latest finished project. I finished it tonight. I probably could of finished it a few days ago but ended up re-sewing the collar a few times.

I started this project on Sunday, Oct. 7th. I finished the back on Sunday and crocheted the front on Monday and on Tuesday finished the sleeves. On Wednesday, I sewed all the pieces together then on Thursday, I crocheted the collar. I spent yesturday and today on sewing the collar on so the "edges" wouldn't show too much! I think that was the hardest part for me! I ended up using needle & thread in the end. I also had to adjust the length of the collar twice, it just wasn't long enough to go around the whole coat!

I knew I wanted my next project done using Bernat Softee Chunkee Yarn (weight 5). I had a bunch of this yarn in my stash from when I had frogged a previous project. I searched the net and books but couldn't find anything that used this yarn weight. I had seen the "whiter shade of pale car coat" from the Lion Brand catalog and I liked this coat. Pattern here: http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/70004A.html. They used Wool Ease Thick and Quick Yarn in a size 6 weight. I figure I would try it anyways using the yarn I had. I had the schematics so I figure I could crochet it to the size indicated and if I didn't like it or if it wasn't working out, I would just frog the project.








I used a size "K" hook and I wanted to make a size small. I had to make some changes to make up for the difference in yarn size. I followed the size for medium and added 4 more rows for the back to equal 18" total for the length. For the top half of the back, I added 2 more rows to get it to equal 8 1/2". For the front, I made the same adjustment. The sleeve was a little more work because I wanted it to look right when I added the extra rows. Rows 1-5, per directions then I repeated row 5 again. Next, the directions said for rows 6-13, repeat the last 4 rows, for 3 sets. At the end of each set, I repeated row 5 again. That gave me the extra length I needed. Total of 18 inches. I thought I needed to make the sleeves longer but it ended up being too long so I frogged the extra rows. Finally, I crocheted the edging and collar and sewed the collar on!






This was an "easy" pattern. I thought it worked up really fast! I used 5 -6 balls of The Bernat yarn in Medium Sea Green. I didn't like the collar as much, maybe because I had to sew it in. To me, I can see the seams :( Next time, I may leave the collar out and do a different edging around it.






I really do like this coat. It's not too heavy which means I'll be able to wear it during our mild winters! I'm really happy that I could make this coat work with the yarn I wanted to use!









Thanks for reading the details of my project! Now here's a few photos: :D :D :D

Easy Shrug

I finished this today. I started this project while I was doing the Not so Tangerine Top and after that the pineapple and shell skirt. I used Caron's Simply Soft in Autumn Red again. This shrug was as done in all single crochet in the back loop. It was "easy" as the name suggested. It went pretty fast considering it was all single crochet. I used a size "K" hook and only 2 skeins of the simply soft. This shrug is from the Positively Crochet book by Mary Jane Hall.

This was crocheted into a "T" shape and then sides are sewned together. The sides I sewned together are not according to directions! I'm happy with the results, it just makes it different! My shrug is more squared off at the bottom, where Mary Jane's rounded. I'll just have to make another one and this time, I'll try using a varigated yarn!

Here are some photos:

Pineapple and Shell Skirt

I started a little over a week ago. I finished it "early" this morning. I couldn't sleep so I decided to go ahead and finish it! Finishing a crochet project always makes me feel good. After I sewed the seams and the waist band, I was a lot happier with it. (It seems to always be the case with me!)


I showed my husband (he knew I was up) this morning and he said he liked it. I always have doubts about my crochet projects (will it fit, is it too thick or too heavy, did I use the right color, am I doing this right, I don't like it, etc...) but once I put the finishing touches to it, I end up liking it! I'm REALLY my own worse critic. I need to take my own advice and give myself more praise! Anyways, here are the details to the skirt:

I used Caron's Simply Soft Yarn in Autumn Red. This was the yarn in my stash. I used 2 skeins of the red and 1 skein of the black. This pattern is from the booklet "Skirts" from the American School of Needlework (2 to knit, 3 to crochet). The skirt did work up relatively fast for a shell pattern. I used a size H hook for the waist and for the first 17 rows. After that, it was smaller than I like so I changed it to a size I hook for the rest of the skirt. It gave it a nice shape to it.

I probably could of changed back to the H hook for the lower pineapple and shell (in black). The lower part of the skirt took the longest, I had to re-read the directions a few times to figure out what I was doing. My last skirt pattern was with a diagram which I thought was easier. There were a few mistakes in the pattern but I was able to figure it out.

Here are 2 pictures of the skirt, I'm not sure if you can see the pineapple in it!