Finished Smoochie's Skirt

Much to my surprise, the multiples for the skirts worked out much the same. Cathie wound up needing 60 sts to start with, and 18 rounds of length before the start of the lace rounds, just the same as did Linda's skirt.

One of these days I will remember that, even though they are two years apart, they wear the same size! I suppose this is why folks always think they are twins. Of course, I look at Cathie, who is a head taller and much skinnier than her sister (not to mention obviously more advanced!), and wonder how people can make that mistake.

Anyway, I wanted to give this skirt a different look in spite of the necessary similarities. So instead of increasing from 60 to 90 in one jot, I increased to 90, then 80, then 90. So this skirt has a much more gradual increase, almost an A-line silhouette.

I know the bottom of it looks goofy in the photo, but I assure you it's much nicer in real life. The lacework isn't really smaller than the skirt body. This pattern is "soft fans", taken from Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Crochet, though it is also in the 300 Crochet Stitches book.

As you can see, Cathie changed her mind at the last minute in regard to the color of yarn she wanted. This is most assuredly not the rose colorway she'd originally picked! It's nice, though. It goes better with her sister's bright skirt than I think the other color would have, which is one reason I encouraged her to change her mind.

Thursday being payday (it is technically Friday, but 12 minight on the East Coast is 6pm here in Hawaii, so we get paid early), we went to Wal-Mart and bought a package of toddler camisoles and a tie dye kit, plan being to tie dye them shirts to go with their skirts.

Unbeknownst to me, my darling mother-in-law (who has been mentioned here before as the woman who is not only a skilled crocheter and talented painter but also a master seamstress) was also hard at work on Easter dresses. And I mean Easter Dresses. As in, cannot possibly worn for any other occasion. As in, featuring 3-D bunnies, button-on "basket" pouches (bedecked, of course, with 3-D flowers), and Easter bunnies around the hems. And she so dearly wants my kids to wear these that she spent $22 overnighting the package containing them to us.

Oy.

I really wish she had asked beforehand, so I could have let her know I was making something. Or maybe she told Rob & not me and he thought it would be a great idea for me to be surprised. The girls love their dresses, though, even if they kind of scare me. And, well, they can wear the outfits I made them whenever. So Grandma's stuff it will most likely be, although I will allow them to choose between the two. I have no illusions as to the allure of my little crocheted skirts as opposed to Gramma Jan's bunny dresses...