OK, you caught me. I was SUPPOSED to be cleaning and vacuuming in preparation for the weekend houseguests, but what was I doing instead? Fooling around with my first love (crocheting), making all these little square motifs. I couldn’t resist the pretty colors, and trying them out in all the different sizes!

I brought them along to Knitting Club Thursday, where they were generally admired, but I was asked repeatedly, “but what are you going to DO with them all?” I replied, “Well, you see, I’m designing a vest, but it’s a vest to fit a wide variety of sizes, from a tiny baby to someone… WIDE!” (My size, unfortunately). So I have to test the motifs for the different size vests.

The vest has a strip of six motifs sewn together in the midriff area, and the motif size determines the vest width. I made the vest in my skinny teenage daughter’s size, and the pattern is currently being test-crocheted by the inestimable EffinEffie. But in the meanwhile, I couldn’t resist making test swatches of each of the possible size Motifs! It is SO MUCH MORE FUN than cleaning my house!!!

Well, the guests have arrived, my house is still a mess, and I never got to the vacuuming. Fortunately, my guests are neither an inspection team from OSHA, nor a film crew from “House Beautiful;” instead, it is my BFF, LDearie, also a Ravelry designer! She would rather “oooh and aaah” over my Motifs than run a white glove over my undusted furniture, and her husband will be spending most of the weekend fishing at Democrat Point anyway, so all is well…

In the meantime, I thought maybe you would like to fool around too! So here are the patterns for all 12 of the Motifs, ranging in size from 2 ½” to 8”. If you like, make a bunch all in the same size and sew them together into a blanket, or a shawl, or whatever you like! (I SUPPOSE you could even make a dust rag to help with the house cleaning, if that’s your thing…) Or measure around your widest part, divide by 6, and make 6 Motifs that size. Then make the vest!

(THANKS to EffinEffie, wonderful editor, test-crocheter, and friend! Patient, witty, and wise - you are a treasure!)