Blue and More Blue

My Doris Chan tunic project is sloooooowly coming along...

I love the way the pattern makes a slight change for the fitted waist. It's so subtle that it doesn't look like it changes at all. The sign of a great design. :)

Here's a color inspiration from a recent trip to the zoo. Love the turquoise and royal blue and brown together! (Hey, that's almost the same royal blue as the tunic!!)

"Are you lookin' at me?"

Spring Break

Spring Break! Yay! Sleeping in, hanging out with the boys, and not being on anyone else's schedule --- heaven!

Haven't done quite as much crocheting as I had hoped, what with cleaning out closets and rooms. But I did manage to start a new project that's just for me:

It's a Doris Chan design (you know, one of my faves) from the City Crochet book by Tahki Stacy Charles.

I've already pulled out rows and had to make an adjustment due to fit, but I sure do like how it's turning out. Can't wait to wear it (and show you the finished project)!

The Accidental Gardener Strikes Again....

Saw this happy little sign of spring the other day:

The significance? Well, I thought we lost the passionflower that we enjoyed all of last year. It bloomed and bloomed and bloomed some more. It also attracted a mess of butterflies, so we literally had continuing cycles of caterpillars turning into chrysalises (or chrysalides, according to dictionary.com -- who knew?) turning into butterflies. We even took some of the chrysalises to school for our favorite teacher, Mrs. K. (She teaches the children in the gifted program and kept a butterfly house in her room.)

Anyway, we ended up with a pretty harsh winter for South Texas and the passionflower appeared to have suffered the worst for it. But now, it has three little sprouts coming up from the ground! Can't wait to see the blooms and the butterflies again!

No news on the afghan front for now. I did take a break from the three (yes, three!) different blankets that I have in various stages of completion to make something for me -- a top designed by my fave designer (and crochet genius!) Doris Chan in one of my favorite yarns ever -- Spa, an acrylic/bamboo blend.

DS2 took this photo of some stranger posing in my top. Ok, I confess, it's really me, but I think he must have had a dozen cameras pointed in my direction. You know, because one camera adds 10 pounds. Anyway, I love, love, love this top and thank you, Doris, for such a terrific pattern. (The pattern is available free on NaturallyCaron.com)

I'm planning on making a second top in yellow. The only change I'll be making is fewer rows on the body. Because the yarn is so drapey, it turned out longer than I thought it would. I may even get up the courage to make this gorgeous top, another Doris Chan design: