Fall Toppers

I made these sweaters a couple of years ago, long before I created a blog, and thought this would be a good time and way to showcase them. The red one above was made from Lion Brand's Glitterspun and the pattern, Crochet Bronze Beauty Top, is also from Lion Brand. I love the look and weight of this yarn, which was easy to find at the time, but I haven't seen it in stores around here since I purchased it those few years ago. The pattern was simple, but also a little tricky at times. I've never written a pattern in my life, but I still venture to say that this one could have been written more clearly. In any case, once I figured it out, I was pretty pleased with the results. I'd actually like to make more of these ... one day. ;-)

This is my Flirty Top made from Aunt Lydia's Shimmer Fashion thread. Despite the fact that the skill level for this pattern was rated "Easy", I was a little intimidated when I first started this because the lace pattern looked as though it might be complicated. However, after just a few rows, I was amazed at how simple the stitches were to create and the pattern was very easy to follow. It was even easy for me adjust the sleeves to be a bit smaller than written for my size. Like the Glitterspun sweater above, I wouldn't mind making at least one more of this sweater, but I'm not sure where I would fit it in with so many more projects waiting to be started. ;-)

Recently Completed Sweaters

I made this sweater (from the Crocheted Sweaters book by Susan Huxley) for my mom, at her request. When she saw the one I'd made for myself a couple of years back, she really wanted this to go with a skirt that she was having trouble matching to a top. So I recently completed this, only for us to discover that the colors didn't quite match with the colors in the skirt anymore (they certainly seemed to when we held the balls of yarn next to it - go figure!); I think it had a lot to do with the unusual pattern scheme in the skirt. In any case, she has since purchased two skirts that match her new sweater perfectly (yes, that's the answer -- buy more clothes - LOL!). I really didn't want to make this sweater again because I found when making mine that Microspun was somewhat frustrating to work with, it splits a lot. But as I mentioned in an earlier post, changing to a different type of hook really helped with that problem.


I made this sweater from the Blue Heaven pattern in the May 2006 issue of Crochet! magazine. Since I was using a double-knit weight yarn (Patons Grace), a D hook and a single crochet stitch for the majority of the sweater, I wouldn't exactly say that I was in "heaven" while making this! It seemed to take forever and the only fun part for me was when I got to make the lace. It's probably a good thing that the pattern was designed to work the lace as the last thing on the front/back and sleeves, or else I might have given up on this one. I'm glad that I didn't though. :-)

My Latest Baby FOs

It's been a very long time since I've made anything "baby", and I found I was very glad for the opportunity when my oldest nephew had his first child, a darling daughter. Here's what her grandaunt has cranked out for her thus far.

This is a baby robe pattern for the Feb/March '07 issue of Crochet Today. It called for Red Heart Ltd. Cupid yarn and Red Heart Baby Clouds for the border. I couldn't find Cupid anywhere in my area, so I used Lion Brand's Homespun instead. I am usually very "black & white" when following a pattern, so probably for the first time ever, I really went out on a limb" and changed some things. E.g., the sash was supposed to be a sewn on ribbon, but as cute as it was, a flimsy ribbon just didn't seem practical to me so I picked up stitches and crocheted the sash onto the robe out of the Clouds yarn. Also, the Clouds border was only supposed to be worked on the neckline, but I felt like it needed more to give it that real cushy robe look and feel. I hope she'll feel all warm and cozy in it down to her toes.

I made this Woven Ribbons Blanket from a pattern on the Coats & Clark website. It uses Red Heart TLC Baby Amore. This was a lot of fun to make, particularly because of the special Long Double Crochet stitch which gives the pattern a supposed "woven ribbons" look. To me this stitch was like a double crochet spike as it had to be made using spaces created in the 3 or so rows prior to the current row. The border was a lot of fun to make as well. This yarn is nice and cushy and gives the blanket a very secure feeling. I hope this blanket will be a keepsake for years to come.