Work in Progress: Crochet Flower Skirt

For years I have been crocheting with synthetic yarns. Whenever I walked into my local haberdashery, I wouldn't even look at the natural yarns section. My heart couldn't take it, knowing that all of those scrumdiddlyumptuous cotton, bamboo, alpaca and pure wool yarns were there, within my reach but outside of my price range.

Then one fateful day, not so long ago, something extraordinary happened. My boyfriend and I went to the habby shop, where we found ourselves standing next to a shelf of delicious-looking natural yarns. He reached out his hand, picked up a ball of Vinni's Cotton, gave it a squeeze and said, "This is nice. Would you like some?"

Well, I couldn't very well say no to such a sweet offer like that, so he bought me one ball of every color on the shelf. Hubby did good. :)

I love the Vinni's range. They cost pretty much the same per gram as synthetic yarns, but the quality of the natural yarns is exceptional. I'm busy with the Nikkim range, which is hand-dyed here in South Africa as part of a poverty relief program. Not only are these yarns a pleasure to work with, it's nice to know that buying these products helps others in need.

Above: Vinni's Nikkim range is hand-dyed with three similar colors. The resulting effect is lovely.

As you can probably tell from the pictures, the crochet skirt is designed to be worn over another skirt or a pair of little shorts. Now that I have a sewing machine, I might even make a slip to wear under it. With all these new ideas for improving the skirt, hopefully I'll finish it before summer arrives!