Mama's Bolero

For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while now, you know that (years ago!) I promised my mom that I would make her a vest.  I had grand plans to design and crochet this vest using this lovely varigated yarn that she had chosen on a trip to AC Moore because she wanted something thick and washable for the winter months.  Well, you can imagine the guilt I've been feeling in not working on that project, especially after she had the stroke.  But, I have redeemed myself!  She decided not too long ago (thankfully she is doing better and better, albeit slowly) that, instead of a vest (and we'll come back to that project because I still have the yarn...), she would like a bolero of sorts -- something short with short sleeves, in a neutral color, with a pink flower. 

So, first things first, I decided to knit the bolero because I came across this simple pattern that I figured I could adapt.  Then, I found this beautiful Rowan softknit cotton yarn that was so easy to work with.  I had gotten some during the 2013 Yarn Crawl and was able to find a 10-ball pack through Deramores, not realizing I was ordering from the U.K. (the site was in dollars and free shipping so I still did well and didn't have to wait too long)!  Plus, it was so cool to get a package from across the pond :-)

I can't remember where I found the flower pattern, but it's just a simple rose crochet pattern that's done in two rows then wrapped around from center outward.

And here's the finished results!!

I'll be posting better pix later, but just so glad that the project is done and Mom likes her bolero!  And a big shout out to my friend Holly for fixing one of the raglan increases when I somehow managed to either drop or add a stitch (I really couldn't figure out what the heck I had done, but I knew it didn't look right).

The Treadmill is Speeding Up!

Ever feel like you are running in place, not getting anywhere?!  Ha, everyday, right!  I think my angst is coming from having really hunkered down to do the taxes this weekend.  Still not done, but I've got it all organized and anticipate putting the final touches and final checks on our returns and my mom's this week and getting them out, whew!

But, on a happier note, I also took a little break this morning from tax land and created a fun flower.  I'll post pix on the next post.  I'm still trying to think of a fun spring project to make use of the April yarn club offering, but I should have that whipped up by the April 15th shipment date.  And, yes, another side of the Mom Vest is done, now to tackle the back.  She gave me some fun big gold buttons that she liked from another jacket that's long gone now to use for the vest, so that's spurring me on to make the final push to finish that project.

For a techie update, as you will recall, I've been trying to figure out how to upload files to my web hosting service (check, I think...) and then make downloads available to you all (not checked off just yet).  But, I think I found a website that might help with this -- "The Blog Doctor" seems to have a lot of stuff on his site, but ironically, it takes a long time to load and all the information is pretty overwhelming.  More to come on this topic!

Today's Thought:  101 Crochet Tips in 101 Days -- the challenge is on, visit Phyllis the Crochet Guru as she works to meet it head on!  http://www.crochet.lifetips.com/