Surprise Crochet Sweater for Baby: Let's See What You Can Do

To contact us Click HERE
Hey, remember that time I wrote a post about the Rainbow Crochet Pattern Afghan and I got to talk to some really nice Ravelry users about their afghans and then I showed you their cool pictures?

That was a lot of fun for me, so I decided to write another post like that.  This time I picked the Surprise Crochet Sweaters for Baby projects.  These are crocheted sweater modeled on the knitted Baby Surprise Jacket.  As someone who's tried (and failed.....twice) to knit a Baby Surprise Jacket, I was really interested in the idea of a crocheted version and I really liked the look of crochet stitches for the project rather than the garter stitches of the knitted original.

So once again, I looked through people's project pages and sent messages to some talented crocheters who got really creative with their use of color.  Everybody I talked to was very nice, and now I get to show you their handiwork! 


HelenJHarris named her project the "Joyful Baby Surprise" which seems beautifully appropriate to me.  All of the pinks and purples remind me of Care Bears, and this seems like a socially acceptable option for when you feel like dressing your little girl up like a Care Bear.  (I know I'm not the only mom who has those days.)



This is brooklyncowgirl's version of the jacket.  She wrote in her project notes that she wanted to taper the sleeves and waist a little so if you're not a big fan of the boxy frame, rest assured that it's simple enough to do if you want to try it.


 Here is GrannyMax's Ruffled Sweater.  I'm usually not a fan of super-bright pinks for babies, but something about the yellow ruffles evens it out to be cute and vibrant.

 
 I also love the blues and yellows in the yarn.  So beautiful.




 HoosierLady's jacket really reminds me of Thomas the Tank Engine.  I'm not sure if I'm conveying this very well, but I mean that in a complimentary way.

 
I love all the red stripes!
She also stuck with the basic sweater pattern for this Girly Girl version, and just added ruffles after the fact.  And now I'm thinking about Cabbage Patch dolls.  Maybe it's something about the pastels. Whatever it is, I love the little touches of pink here and there.  It's so precious!


This is Mariposalila's Little Owl Sweater, and it kills me every time I look at it.  And I don't mind telling you I've looked at a lot lately.  This is just too ridiculously cute.  I'm having a hard time handling it.
I mean, there's an owl applique to go with the tiny baby owl buttons!

 
 Maybe I'm starting to get Christmas on the brain, but meripurdy's collared version looks incredibly festive to me without being over-the-top about it.  The browns and reds make it look so warm!



 I love merryknitter's use of primary colors.  So cheerful!


 I was really excited to see how many of these sweaters could be for a little boy or a little girl (I think handmade baby gifts should be passed around to everyone), and I think this is a perfect example.



I do love the soft blue of Nobe's little jacket, though.  The light blue is just so classic (and would look precious on a boy or a girl), and the model is gorgeous!


 This is RockportMo's ruffled version of the pattern.  The book offers some different stylings of the jacket, and I really, really love this one.  Little baby girls covered in little frilly ruffles are just adorable!


This is vibeskat's take on the pattern.  I really love all these warm colors, because this looks like the perfect fall sweater for some little person.



One of the things I really liked about this version's stripes is how well they help you see the jacket's construction.  Just lovely.

 

If you have a Ravelry account, click here to view all of the projects for the Surprise Crochet Sweaters for Baby book.  I really love this adorable pattern and I had a blast seeing what other people did with it--it's #3 in my queue now!  After seeing so many interpretations that made me think of beloved childhood toys and characters, I'm strongly tempted to make something in Bert or Ernie colors. Also, if you want to be friends, I'm jenandstuff on Ravelry.

And if you want to buy the book, click here to buy the epattern.  Several people mentioned finishing this little sweater over a weekend, and it could make a sweet little gift for a sweet little person this Christmas--while taking care of some leftover yarn.  Everyone's happy!

*A very big thanks to all the lovely crocheters who talked to me about their projects and let me use their pictures.  You're super creative and super sweet to let me show off your work.  I loved talking to each of you and looking through your pictures.

Tips for a Better Holiday Knitting Experience

To contact us Click HERE
(Disclaimer: whenever I write "knitting" I mean "knitting or crocheting or Knooking."  But knitting is my main craft and so that's what I usually type out by default.  But if you want to read the word "knitting" and replace it with "weaving" or "making those giant wire mesh wreaths" or "baking and painstakingly decorating 250 Christmas cookies," that's fine.)

I've already talked about how taking some names off your holiday knitting list makes things a bit easier, but even if you halved your list of recipients you'll still have a bit of work ahead of you.  So here are some thoughts on how to make your holiday knitting a little more pleasant and efficient.  Pick and choose (or ignore!) as you see fit:

Be realistic.  Now is not the time for afghans.  You could probably whip out a shawl or two if you have magical powers but you'd still lose a lot of sleep, which is going to make your breakdown all the more painful when you realize you misread the chart in a sleep-deprived stupor--20 rows back.  Not that I'm speaking from experience.  Look at your life, look at your choices.  Try to figure out how much time per day you can spend on knitting and try to plan your projects accordingly.

Stick with what you know.  Most of us have some favorite patterns, or go-to items for making a quick and simple gift.  Mine is an old-fashioned toboggan pattern that I've made at least 10 hats from in the past 2 years, and I have plans to make 2 or 3 more before the month is over.  Haul out your favorite books or pamphlets!  Enjoy those familiar patterns and save yourself some confusion and frustration.

Check your stash.  No, really check it.  Take a good hard look at what you have before you get started on a project.  Do you think you have 3 skeins of that yarn you need, or are you just mostly sure you saw it around somewhere?  I was convinced I had two skeins of red yarn, but didn't.  I forgot to update my stash page on Ravelry, and I saw it so many times on my page that I thought I'd seen it somewhere in my home.  But it was already crocheted up into a little sweater for my baby.  Oops.  There are few things worse than interrupting your precious knitting time to run out and buy yarn.  Unless we're talking about buying yarn from a different dye lot, or that the store may not carry anymore.  During Christmas.  I went to my local Michael's last weekend.  I'm not going back (for a while).  Dig in.  Dump out.  Burrow.

Ravelry.  Ravelry is my solution to just about everything.  It's just awesome.  If you do knit something new because someone asked for something specific, use the advanced pattern search to narrow down your options.  And always click the "Has photo" box.  There's no way you can try to knit your friend that hat she saw in the ad if you can't see a picture of it online.

This is one of my favorite parts about the pattern search options on Ravelry.  You can check a box for how much or how little yarn a pattern requires, and see the little arrow?  That's where you can select patterns that use yarn you have in your stash (assuming you keep your stash more current than mine).  It takes a lot of guesswork out of things when you're searching through patterns and trying to figure out if you can wiggle around the gauge guidelines by using what you already have.

Check your other stash.  My stash is just a small collection of baby hats and a couple of scarves, but maybe you have a little more foresight than me.  You probably do.  Is there something you made for someone who is no longer on your list?  Assign it to someone who is.  What about something you've had just hanging around?  This morning I made a cowl from......a disaster.  I knitted a short scarf a couple of years ago out of some beautiful multicolored mohair yarn.  I can't unravel it and re-work it, though, because after a natural disaster damaged some of my things my parents washed some of my wool items.....and then dried them. (I might have told them it was okay to do so. I was pretty distracted at the time.) My dad even mentioned ironing some things.  So I took this very dense and very clean little scarf, sewed the ends together, and bundled it up for a friend's birthday.  It's not the best thing ever, but I'd tried and failed 4 times to make this person a cowl and it just wasn't working and was really setting me back on my knitting schedule.  Try re-working what you have into a gift or two.

WIP it.  WIP it good. I'm really sorry about that pun.  Wait, no.  I'm not sorry at all.  What do you have on your needles that you could finish up for someone?  Was there a scarf you started for yourself and then ignored because it just wasn't your style?  Would your sister like it instead?  Then pick up that work in progress!

Gift cards.  I know, I know.  This is about holiday knitting.  But if you're taking care of a baby who won't sleep, a spouse or parent who's sick, or your own injuries or illness,  then just tuck some money into a thoughtful card and start planning your birthday knitting.  You may as well enjoy the season, and I hope that you do! 

Happy crafting!

April Layher's Pride of Ohio Block

To contact us Click HERE



WOW! April Layher is the second Genea-Quilter to submit her entry for the Genea-Quilters 2011 Block Challenge to benefit the Southern California Genealogical Society's Jamboree scholarship fund. April has also graciously volunteered to piece all our blocks together and prepare the quilt for tying during Jamboree 2011 in June.
Here's what April has to say about her "Pride of Ohio" block:

"I chose this quilt block because it represents generations of my family. Although I am not the historian that my sister is, I do know that our family helped to settle Ohio and has been in Northeastern Ohio for many generations. My favorite place in the world was my Grandfather’s dairy farm in West Farmington, Ohio.  
My Aunt Polly and Uncle Elton Bland owned a grocery and dry goods store with plank flooring and hitching posts in West Farmington. They were the dearest people in the world to me. Many cousins still live there, their homes sandwiched in between Amish houses. I fondly remember waking up in the upstairs bedroom of the farmhouse to the clattering of hooves and buggies driving past.
The little cemetery in town, Hillside Cemetery, features the names and dates of my ancestors, going back over 200 years, and some of the stones are so worn now, that only a rubbing will clearly discern the names. Osmer, Hosmer, Curtis, Hatch, Christy – so many familiar names in one graveyard that make me feel a part of this little town in Ohio, even though I have never lived there."

 Here are some of April (and Tami's) Ohio ancestor photos:

 My grandfather Addison Osmer as a young man.

 My Dad at 17 in his town baseball  uniform.
My Mom, Marcelle Burge Osmer and her little brother Bruce Burge.

"For all these reasons, I chose the Pride of Ohio block because my family, though simple, working people, formed the backbone of Ohio and, indeed, of our country. I am grateful and proud to have such ancestry."

Jo Arnspiger's Confederate – Mississippi Flag pattern

To contact us Click HERE


GREAT! Another block for the  Genea-Quilters 2011 Block Challenge, this one from Jo Arnspiger. Harking back to her Confederate ancestry with this beautifully executed Mississippi Flag pattern (a blue background with white star) Jo writes:

My father’s family were almost all from Mississippi and Alabama. I choose the dark blue background and white star block pattern which represents the first flag flown by Mississippi in 1861 when they seceded from the United States. This flag was never officially adopted but was raised over the capital building and inspired the song “The Bonnie Blue Flag”.  See: Free Union and Confederate Quilt Patterns, ( by Judy Anne Breneman.

My great great grandfather Henry Stephen Archer Sr. served in the 32nd Mississippi Regiment from Mar 1861 through 1864. Sometime in 1864 he was reassigned as Chaplain for the 41st Mississippi Regiment. Copies of some of his military papers indicate President Davis was instrumental in approving his reassignment to the 41st Regiment as Chaplain. 

I have recently discovered the existence of the personal diary of Henry S. Archer for the years of his service in the Confederate Army. A microfilmed copy of the diary has been ordered through  Interlibrary Loan. Can’t wait to get my hands on that.
 
John Samuel Smith, a brother of my great great grandmother, Elizabeth Hurt Smith, also served in the 32nd Mississippi Infantry and died in battle 15 May 1864 in  Georgia. My great great grandfather, Joshua Atwood Tilton, enlisted in Co. D, 8th Regiment Alabama Infantry 10 May 1861. He was discharged 23 Oct 1862, having suffered a severe gunshot wound to the arm, leaving him with little or no use of the arm. He was a railroad engineer before the war and apparently continued that occupation after his discharge.

THANK-YOU Jo, for sharing your quilting talents, and for the stories about the service of two second great-grandfathers, and your second great-grand uncle. How very special to find the diary of one of these soldiers. Perhaps you can transcribe it for a series of blog postings? Just thinking...  ;)
So, DearGenea-Quilters, remember the  Genea-Quilters 2011 Block Challenge runs through 15 April 2011. We're going to raffle the resulting quilt at the Southern California Genealogical Society's Jamboree on Saturday, 11 June 2011 at the Marriott Burbank Conference Center. Proceeds will be donated to the Society's scholarship fund for the 2012 Jamboree.

Leah Day's free-motion quilting tutorials

To contact us Click HERE




Wiggly Woven Lines is one of many Free Motion Quilting videos offered by Leah Day on YouTube. I am SERIOUSLY considering ding the  365 Days of Free Motion Quilting Filler Designs Project. Even if I take time off to attend genealogy conferences and the week-long studies at Samford this year, I'd certainly know a lot more about free motion quilting when I got done.



Although Leah has a website, the Free Motion Quilting Project was so big, she devoted an entire blog on the topic.  http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com. There's advice about maintaining consistent lines and improving your sewing machine setup.


This girl is rockin'

Learn to Knook: Rib Stitch Left-Handed

To contact us Click HERE
It's time for another left-handed tutorial!

Here's the video for a P1K1 rib stitch.


Video can also be found here.

Like the nice lady says in the video, it really does create a marvelous fabric.  It's flexible and stable, and I really like the look of ribbing.  Most patterns call for a K2P2 (knit 2 stitches and purl 2 stitches) ribbing, but any repeat of knit and purl stitches counts as rib stitch.  And since any knitting pattern can be done with a Knook, you can Knook up any knitting pattern.

That being said, I'm enjoying learning to knit with the Knook on patterns specifically written for the Knook.  Here's the latest project I finished up:

H/8 Knook with Lily Sugarn' Cream in the Hot Green colorway.

I'm still working my way through Dishcloths Made with the Knook, and this is the Dots pattern. 

Obviously!

I try to be positive and learn from my experiences, but what I've learned from this project is that I really hate making dots.  Hate.  That's too bad, because they look so cute and cheerful.  If you like making dots, though, then this is the pattern for you!  You'll be making nearly a dozen dots every two rows!  I gave this dishcloth to my sister, along with the two others I've made, as a hostess gift for having us all over for Thanksgiving.  She really liked it--the blindingly bright colors were chosen for her--and seemed a little sad when I said I never wanted to make a dot ever again.

It really is a shame, because this is a cute pattern.


A cute dishcloth!  It doesn't happen often.  But there is a pattern in the book that uses a type of rib stitch, and I may just do that one next.  I don't know if it will be as cute as the Dot pattern, but I bet it will be marvelous.

She's a (New York) Beauty!

To contact us Click HERE
I finished up this 20" mini for the Doll Quilt Swap round 12 on Flickr. And just under the wire, since mailing deadline for international parcels is tomorrow.  I had the top finished for a couple of weeks, but just managed to figure out how to quilt it this weekend.  Nothing like time pressure to crystallize one's thinking!

Here are a couple of close views of the quilting. This is easily the most ornate FMQ I've ever done.  It was actually quite fun!



This little gem finishes at 20" square.  I'm sending it off into the ether, and hoping for the best.  My partner had practically zero presence on the discussion board and in the comment threads, so I really don't know what she'll think of it.  Never mind, I'm hoping for the best.

A new arrival at Mottl and Tzeitel's!

To contact us Click HERE
Who remembers Fiddler on the Roof, where there is a big ruckus in the square with all kinds of excited chatter about the "new arrival" at the home of young Mottl the tailor and his new bride?  Watch the first few minutes of this clip to refresh your memory:

So you won't be surprised when I show you my new arrival - a 1939 Featherweight! She's in prime condition - the gold decals around the edges are intact, hardly any scratches, beautiful scrollwork engraving on the face plate and chrome wheel.  The serial number begins with AF, which signals a 1939 date of manufacture.  She came in her original case (that doesn't smell, which I gather is a problem with some of them), with bobbins, a handful of feet that look like medieval instruments of torture, the original instruction manual, and a zipper foot attachment with cams and an "automatic zigzagger".

I had to take a trip to Toronto for a meeting, and on a whim I checked Toronto Kijiji listings to see if there were any Featherweights on offer.  I saw three listed, but this one was the only one I went to see.  It was reasonably priced, easily accessible by public transit, and was being sold by a retired lady who was "decluttering" and reported that the machine had been in her family since its purchase.  It had clearly been well taken care of.  And now she's mine!  I am beyond thrilled and very happy to be able to give this little darling a good home!

Everybody's Doing It!

To contact us Click HERE
Voting, that is!  Tomorrow is Election Day in the US, and won't we all be glad when that is over! Even the Canadian news is awash with polls and pundits weighing in on the presidential election.   Well, here's another election you can vote in, and this one is for everyone around the world!

My quilt, Summer Wedding, was nominated for best quilt photography in the recent Bloggers' Quilt Festival.  My BQF post where the quilt is featured in full can be found here. I am tickled pink! So if you care to vote for it, please go to this link and scroll down to the section dedicated to quilt photography; you'll see this photo above my blog name, Stitchliterate. Give us some clicky love! I would be grateful for your vote!

On to the next thing

To contact us Click HERE
The next thing is this: a quilt top for a new baby. One of our graduate students had a baby girl recently. The student was supposed to be a guest lecturer in my class two weeks before she was due, and - cue Murphy's Law - she came early. Anyway, my doc student and I thought it would be a nice thing to make a quilt for the new baby.

We used the Big Shot Pro, a 3 1/2" HST die, and a bunch of fat quarters to make this sweet little quilt top. It's based on the Miss Rosie quilt pattern Chip, but we made our blocks a larger size and we didn't use a border. It's 48" square. In this photo, the greys look a bit brown, but they are really grey. I'm thinking some pink minky on the back.

Also, I was fairly restrained on the fabric front during the Thanksgiving commercial frenzy, but I did indulge in some heavy lifting on the Sizzix front. Joann's was having a 50% off sale on Sizzix products. They were mostly dies for paper crafting, but I did get some flower dies and cutting pads. Then the Canadian retailer Stitch in the Ditch had a massive clearout of Sizzix dies for 35% off, including some of the strip dies, HST dies, etc. I bought a LOT of dies. And although it was not on sale, I bought this Rose Dream die, as well. Can't wait to try this beauty out! I'll take pictures!

Jo Arnspiger's Confederate – Mississippi Flag pattern

To contact us Click HERE


GREAT! Another block for the  Genea-Quilters 2011 Block Challenge, this one from Jo Arnspiger. Harking back to her Confederate ancestry with this beautifully executed Mississippi Flag pattern (a blue background with white star) Jo writes:

My father’s family were almost all from Mississippi and Alabama. I choose the dark blue background and white star block pattern which represents the first flag flown by Mississippi in 1861 when they seceded from the United States. This flag was never officially adopted but was raised over the capital building and inspired the song “The Bonnie Blue Flag”.  See: Free Union and Confederate Quilt Patterns, ( by Judy Anne Breneman.

My great great grandfather Henry Stephen Archer Sr. served in the 32nd Mississippi Regiment from Mar 1861 through 1864. Sometime in 1864 he was reassigned as Chaplain for the 41st Mississippi Regiment. Copies of some of his military papers indicate President Davis was instrumental in approving his reassignment to the 41st Regiment as Chaplain. 

I have recently discovered the existence of the personal diary of Henry S. Archer for the years of his service in the Confederate Army. A microfilmed copy of the diary has been ordered through  Interlibrary Loan. Can’t wait to get my hands on that.
 
John Samuel Smith, a brother of my great great grandmother, Elizabeth Hurt Smith, also served in the 32nd Mississippi Infantry and died in battle 15 May 1864 in  Georgia. My great great grandfather, Joshua Atwood Tilton, enlisted in Co. D, 8th Regiment Alabama Infantry 10 May 1861. He was discharged 23 Oct 1862, having suffered a severe gunshot wound to the arm, leaving him with little or no use of the arm. He was a railroad engineer before the war and apparently continued that occupation after his discharge.

THANK-YOU Jo, for sharing your quilting talents, and for the stories about the service of two second great-grandfathers, and your second great-grand uncle. How very special to find the diary of one of these soldiers. Perhaps you can transcribe it for a series of blog postings? Just thinking...  ;)
So, DearGenea-Quilters, remember the  Genea-Quilters 2011 Block Challenge runs through 15 April 2011. We're going to raffle the resulting quilt at the Southern California Genealogical Society's Jamboree on Saturday, 11 June 2011 at the Marriott Burbank Conference Center. Proceeds will be donated to the Society's scholarship fund for the 2012 Jamboree.

Leah Day's free-motion quilting tutorials

To contact us Click HERE




Wiggly Woven Lines is one of many Free Motion Quilting videos offered by Leah Day on YouTube. I am SERIOUSLY considering ding the  365 Days of Free Motion Quilting Filler Designs Project. Even if I take time off to attend genealogy conferences and the week-long studies at Samford this year, I'd certainly know a lot more about free motion quilting when I got done.



Although Leah has a website, the Free Motion Quilting Project was so big, she devoted an entire blog on the topic.  http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com. There's advice about maintaining consistent lines and improving your sewing machine setup.


This girl is rockin'

Jamboree 2011 Quilt Challenge Blocks

To contact us Click HERE
We are getting closer to Jamboree and the unveiling of the 2011 Challenge Quilt. I've had the honor of receiving these blocks and am now getting ready to send them off to be pieced together and prepared for quilting. 

I thought I would post some photos here of some of the blocks so you could see the beautiful blocks that will make up our raffle quilt.









(c) Genea-Quilters, a consortium of genealogy quilters.