State Fair Baby Sweater

This is a baby sweater I made for the NC State Fair. It is a pattern I created using #3 crochet thread called DMC Senso Microfiber. I really enjoy this thread, although it can be hard to find. I order it off the internet. I like the Microfiber because it is not quite 100% cotton, and is smoother to crochet with. Also, it doesn't shrink so bad when it is washed. I was very pleased to have won something with this sweater. The yellow butterflies were crocheted from yellow ribbon.

State Fair Boy's Romper

The NC State Fair was, I am happy to say, a big success. I will eventually post all the photos, but here's one for starters. This is a boy's romper, that won first place! I was very excited! I made it in a weekend, just a make-up as you go kinda pattern. Sometimes these things work out, and sometimes not. This I am happy to say did work out. It was one of the few baby boy things I saw out there too.

Booties

Here are some new booties I made from weaving thread. They turned out nice and soft--not what I would have expected from weaving thread. I was looking for a cheaper alternative to standard crochet thread. I don't think I would use this again for crocheting because the thread did want to separate, rather than stay wound . It was nice, however, to have a variety of colors to choose from! The thread came from http://www.camillavalleyfarm.com/knit/mcotton.htm I would recommend this company for it's quality & service.

Daisy Yellow Baby Dress

This baby dress is made with yellow & green red heart lustersheen yarn. The yoke is pretty much a circle, folded in half. The pattern stitches are shells made by 3 dc with one chain between. A really quick project once you get started.

Baby Booties

Well, I was stuck at home for a couple of weeks after my tonsillectomy. (Not a fun thing at 43!) I didn't want a big project to do, but I found out a my son grew up with is having a baby boy! Now you would think having 4 boys of my own I would groan at the thought of making something blue. No sir, it brought back a whirlwind of pleasant memories that I hope she will have too! I didn't want something big, just a little something to get my mind off myself while I recovered. A few weeks earlier I found a copy of the only crochet book I owned when I first learned to crochet. I remember trying the patterns, but most of them wouldn't come out right. It was nice to see I have learned something in all these years. I have to be honest and say that I was reminded why I gave up making booties so many years ago ~~I have a devil of a time getting two the same size! Here they are, with the booklet the pattern came from. Gee, I don't remember it costing 35 cents! I guess that was before the inflation of the Nixon years??

(yarn: Red Heart ersheen)

Christening Dress

I finally found the thread, & finished my first Christening dress! It was easier than I thought it would be. I used Aunt Lydia's #3 thread. My goal was to make something worthy of entering the NC State Fair in October. I would love some feedback on whether this is good enough or any tips from someone who has entered a fair before. The bonnet has flowers on each side like the ruffle on the bottom of the dress. I will take some better pictures of the dress off the doll so you can see the dress better. I am wondering about the off white thread. Do Christening dresses come in off white? Or should I make another one in white thread? Thanks to all who respond!

Johnny Cash Blanket

Well, my oldest son left for Marine Boot Camp on Mother's Day (sigh). He plans on being in the reserves until he graduates college. A while back he drew this picture of Johnny Cash. We all liked it so much that I had it framed. Recently, I saw some crochet portrait afghans that other people had made so I thought I'd give it a try with this picture. I uploaded the drawing on knitpro:
http://www.microrevolt.org/knitPro/
This site will make any picture into a graph then you can cross stitch, needle point, crochet---whatever! The blanket is not perfect--but it was my first attempt, and more importantly, kept me busy the first 2 weeks he was gone.

Vintage Baby Sweater

Lately I have been hard at work on a Christening Dress which I hope to enter in the State Fair if it is good enough. It is taking much more thread than I anticipated & all the stores around here are sold OUT! So...I had to take a break. I bought several vintage crochet books off ebay & figured I would try one of the easier patterns to take up some scrap yarn. Here is the book and original pattern photo, along with my version:

Vintage Pattern Dress & Bonnet

Mom just celebrated her 82nd birthday! For part of her present, I crocheted a vintage-looking dress & bonnet for one of her old dolls. I was hoping to bring back memories. My mom was raised in a large family during the depression & didn't get her first doll until she was 16! This is what lead her to be such a doll collector in her later years. She said it did remind her of the old days, which is what I was going for. The stitch pattern I borrowed from a 1940's pattern for a baby sweater (free on the internet). I have searched & searched to find the link, but it is now gone. The thread came from Camilla Valley Farm in Canada. It is mercerized cotton, probably meant for weaving, but was much more cost effective than what I was using. Here is the link: http://www.camillavalleyfarm.com/knit/mcotton.htm I used the 4/8 thickness. BTW: Yes, she desperately needs a slip--Do babies not wear them anymore?? I raised boys, but I do know my modest mother made us wear slips! I couldn't find one for this dress in time for Mama's birthday.
ADD NOTE: Here is the link for the bonnet, booties & sweater for the dress:
http://www.freevintagecrochet.com/baby/no101-baby-set-pattern.html
This is a FREE pattern from 1950. I altered it to make the dress & bonnet you see here. The pattern is very easy to follow (not all vintage patterns are) & fairly quick to make. 4/29/08

Crochet in the Movies

Did you know that Bette Davis crocheted in many of her movies? Rent a copy of "The Letter "(a good classic flick) and watch a nervous Bette crochet away. Joan Crawford also crocheted, but was more known for her knitting. In her movie "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane", with Bette, she can be seen knitting for much of the movie.

• Joan Crawford and Davis had feuded for years and during the making of “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” Bette had a Coca-Cola machine installed on the set due to Joan Crawford’s affiliation with Pepsi. (Joan was the widow of Pepsi’s CEO.) Joan got her revenge by putting weights in her pockets when Davis had to drag Crawford across the floor during certain scenes.
• On her tombstone is written “She did it the hard way.”

•From a Christmas card Joan sent Betty in 1976:
“I am so at peace with the world, that I’m even having good thoughts about Bette Davis.”

Website Link: http://www.bettedavis.com/about/facts.htm

Doll Dress w/ Homemade Ribbon Flowers

My mom rescued this naked collectible doll from my niece's toy box and asked me to make a dress for her. I wanted it to be nice, since I was making it for mama :). I purchased some yarn called Peter Pan by Wendy that I'm told is a popular baby yarn in England. I couldn't get it in the US, so I won some on ebay. It is very nice, soft yarn, but reasonably priced. I was nervous about using it at first because it has a lot of nylon in it, & I usually use all cotton. It might have been better used for a sweater than a dress, but I wanted to use something special for this particular project. For the yellow ribbon flowers, I followed a technique for ribbon embroidery I saw on show on DIY. You can find the directions on this link:
http://www.stitching.com/CDA/stitch/stitches/petal.html
I'd love to hear your comments.

My First Button-holes

I have no idea if what I have in my head will come out through the hook. This dress was soooo easy. I decided to put button holes in this one. I can't believe I have been so intimidated by putting in button holes before! I added twice as many DC to make the skirt fuller than the bodice, but somehow those extra stitches got "absorbed". The skirt wasn't as full as I would have liked, but oh well. The bodice is a sc, but the shell pattern for the skirt goes like this: Row 1 of skirt (after putting 2 sc in each sc of bodice): 1 sc in next 3 sc, ch 3, skip 2 sc repeat to end of row. Row 2: 5 dc in the ch-3 space (shell), sc in middle of the 3 sc set, repeat Row 3: 1 sc into each the middle 3 dc in the shell, ch 3, skip next 3 stitches, 1 sc into ea of next 3 dc in middle of shell repeat.
Hopefully you get the general idea :) I suppose I should have made booties, 'cause her feet look awfully cold, don't they?

Doily Dress

This is a dress that I crocheted using a doily pattern as a guide. I used patons grace yarn. It turned out a little full, but looks pretty good in the photo (which I hope you can see--as it is a mystery as to when blog photos will decide to appear!)
The doll is an Adora "name your own baby" that my mom got me from a trip to the NC Mountains.

My First Post

This is my first post, so bear with me. Here is a photo of one of many doll outfits I made over Christmas. I wanted to learn how to make something other than blankets & doilies. Since dolls in a home of 4 boys are few, my mom gave me this baby born for my (imagine!) 43rd birthday. This was test project, but I thought it turned out pretty cute. I couldn't decide what I was doing, and it was getting too tight to be a dress...so I fashioned a cover for her bottom and made it into a romper. The ruffle is there mainly to cover where it was seamed together (which ended up in the front) and to make the outfit prettier. This very much an original design~~I am pretty sure even I couldn't recreate this one!
(I am having trouble getting photos to load into a post. We'll see if it shows up!)