Too Small?

I'll check with an expert next week, but I rather think that my crochet top is too small to qualify as a 'woman's top'. So much for all my careful calculations! You can see why I have to start working on this nearly a year before it's needed. The bust measures 26 inches, 66 cm.

On The Edge

I'm working on the bottom edging of my crochet top, after sewing the pieces together with as neat a seam as I could manage:

I have the kiwi tea towel on my lap when I'm working on the top, in an effort to keep it clean. I'm making rusks  today and am bound to get covered in flour. I'm not allowed to wash the top before entering it into the competition, so I had better not get flour all over it!

Another Fish

I tatted another of Carollyn's fish.  I tried out an idea from muskaan and put the eye slightly above the mouth. It complicates Carollyn's wonderfully simple pattern slightly, but I like it.

Winter Tomatoes

The tomato crop that Jack planted in late Summer was still very green when frost threatened. If they froze, they'd turn to mush and that would be that. So Jack picked them, even though we weren't sure they'd ripen. It took a while, but they are ripening splendidly on the kitchen windowsill.  I must admit that they don't taste quite as good as Summer tomatoes, but they're acceptable and I'm glad the crop was saved. ( 'Crop' is an exaggeration, it's only a few plants.)



































































































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Making Progress

I have made progress on my crochet top. I'm working on the second sleeve, having finished the bodice and the first sleeve. I'll have to put it together and then work an edging on the bottom edge, so there's still some way to go.  I added little beads to the bottom of the sleeve edging, because I have to make clear this is an 'evening top':

Fishes

I do like Carollyn's Kiss Kiss Fish! The third part of her tat-along is here. It's a good pattern for emptying shuttles, since it doesn't use a lot of thread. Though it's important to heed Carollyn's advice and leave a long enough thread for the padding. I was a bit mean the second time round, and it shows. The bottom fish is not as neat as the top one because I struggled to hold the inner threads in place. Thanks Carollyn, it's a lovely pattern.

A Fishy Tale

Or tail. Very clever use of beads to create the pointy part of the fish tail. Instructions are here on Carollyn's blog, day 2 of her tat-along.  Funnily enough, I noticed a similar structure on a Japanese blog the other day, using small rings rather than beads - here.  Both give a bigger 'triangle' than just three beads or rings.