What’s this you ask? Is it possible that I’ve actually been crocheting something not-work-related-in-absolutely-any-way? Why yes, and I finished it last night during the Oscars while Paul drew my swift. [Secret shame: When I'm feeling really chained to my project, I just work with the yarn right off of my swift instead of winding it in a ball first, which would require leaving the room]. I haven’t even blocked it yet, but I wanted to share. I made the Cote de Azur (main ravelry page) which I turned into as a short sleeved cardigan (my ravelry page). I used Mirasol’s T’ika yarn which I got at Yarnivore–it’s a really soft cotton and I would like to use it again on something, perhaps with larger hook, to take betteradvantage of the softness.

I tried a few different things with the sleeves but ended up settling on something close to what the pattern recommended (I think, via symbols anyway) with a few more decreases as the armholes were quite large. Here I’m wearing it with a crochet hook as pin because I don’t have a shawl pin (and I don’t think buttons would really work). I still have to figure something out as a closure although I kind of like the crochet hook as pin idea.  I can wear it around proudly, it is National Crochet Month, after all!

Overall, I’m not sure the huge motifs suit me and I wish it was a little longer (I could fix this, but probably won’t), but it was fun to make. It seems so rare that I have a chance to hook for myself these days, so I just need to figure out a way to incorporate it back into my schedule. Generally I feel guilty working on my own things when I have work things to be doing, my boss is a real hard-ass. Haha.

And speaking of National Crochet Month, Robyn Chachula has a great post on her blog about how you can Adopt A Designer for the month. I treated myself to Kathy Merrick’s new book, Crochet In Color. She’s the designer of the famous Babette Blanket (here’s the one I made) and does some lovely things with color and lighter weight yarns in this book.

If you crochet, how are you celebrating National Crochet Month? This month is a great time to learn–either to crochet (if you don’t already) or pick up a new skill! San Antonio locals can check out my classes at Yarnivore–I’m offering 2 classes for beginners this month and one is still open, along with classes on creating texture, combining cables and lace, and flowers. If you’re not local,  find your own LYS! If they don’t have crochet classes, let the owner know that you’d like to see them offered there.