Crochet bolero (not Canyonero)

For some reason, when I see the word 'bolero' it makes me think of that episode of The Simpsons with the Canyonero song... but I digress. This project is from Doris Chan's Everyday Crochet, and it's one I have wanted to make for quite a while - but when I first tried to make it when I went away for a crafting weekend, I just couldn't get the hang of how Doris wrote her patterns.

My fellow crafters who were there with me had to listen to me swearing at Doris for ages, eventually giving up and trying something else. I picked up the book again before Christmas this year, and I was determined to figure it out. The funny thing was that once I did, the project was really easy and crocheted up in no time. The main problem with the book is that Doris makes reference to other patterns in the book, and you have to refer back and forth to multiple pages in order to make the project.

The other issue is that there is no clear indication of which bit you follow to make a gauge swatch, and on any clothing gauge is super-important. But once I eventually pinpointed the bits with which to make the gauge swatch, I was able to figure out the rest, and I am really pleased with this, my first crocheted garment with sleeves and such. I am now actually quite a fan of Doris's patterns, so I reckon I will definitely make something else from the book soon.