Baby Blueprint Crochet Hits the Road

All of December, Baby Blueprint Crochet (BBC) and I will be popping up all over the web till the holidays. I hope you can visit a few of my friends along the way with me. Don't worry I will remind you where BBC will be each day.

Here's the schedule:
Dec 1: Go Crochet

Dec 2: Yarnthing Podcast

Dec 3: Spud Says

Dec 6: Loop-De-Doo

Dec 7: YarnCraft Podcast

Dec 8: Crocheting with Dee

Dec 9: Manhattan Craft Room

Dec 10: Lindamade

Dec 13: Getting Loopy Podcast

Dec 14: Modeknit

Dec 15: Petite Purls

Dec 16: Crochet Doctor

Dec 17: The Crochet Dude

Dec 20: Styled by Kristin

Dec 21: The Hook and I

Dec 22: Vickie Howell

Countdown to Baby Blueprint: Final Project Andy Cap

Last on my round up is the Andy Cap.

Made from Caron Simply Soft Eco it is a quick crochet project. The cap is a basic cap, then the brim is sewn in at the end.

I am all about this style, even for CJ, since her one big peeve about caps is that they always fall over her eyes. Here the brim stays up to keep the hat and sun out of her eyes.

Hope you have enjoyed my walk through the projects in Baby Blueprint! Which will be your favorite?

Countdown to Baby Blueprint: Upcycled Washcloths

A good friend of ours was telling another about parenthood. He said that the one thing you have to get ready for (besides the lack of sleep) is the housework.

That is so true. The amount of dishes and laundry just go through the roof.

These washcloths can be used to clean anything from the dishes to the baby (of course choose soft yarn for the baby.) I used Lion Brand's Recycled Cotton so you can feel good about re-using cotton that was just going to be thrown out. The bumpy texture makes them extra good for scrubbing.

You may see me on Knitting Daily TV talking more about these washcloths and the book in a coming season.

Countdown to Baby Blueprint: Greenie Diaper

Back to necessity with our project today.

When CJ was still not with us, we decided we would give cloth diapering a try. We figured if we hated it we would just switch to disposable. We really did not like the thought of so much waste going to the landfills, but also new that we would be new parents and it might be too much for us. Well, since we were going to be a bit non committal, we decided to make a bunch to test out before we invested in actual cloth diapers. Hence, where this pattern comes into play.

I wanted something that I could whip up fairly quickly and cheaply for a cover. Plus, I wanted it cute enough in case I just used them to look cute and not for function.

Again, I designed it while I thought CJ was a boy, and was all into the retro feel of the denim and red. The textured stitch pattern is to be soft on the bum while creating a very solid fabric.

In the end, we love cloth diapers and invested in some professionally made ones as well. It is nice for us that we have lots of variety. Keeps a very boring task a bit more interesting when you get to pick out a fun new pattern each time.

Countdown to Baby Blueprint: Charlie Vest

Charlie is a throwback kind of sweater. A bit formal and yet easy going enough to wear to play outside. The stitch pattern really is what inspired this vest for me. It is a dc2tog chain pattern that gives the tweed look.

The yarn is Sweater by Spud and Chloe. Really a perfect yarn for kids apparel. It washes really great for heavy duty wearing.

Countdown to Baby Blueprint: Rosa Car Coat

My grandmother on my dad's side was the crocheter of the family. She made every baby a granny square blanket with very thin yarn and tiny hooks. She had the most beautiful stitches. Granted sometime the colors were neon, but still I loved them.

Naturally, I wanted a granny project that was a bit of a homage to her. This coat has a granny collar and cuffs The rest is crocheted in one piece from back around the arms to the front for simple construction. My cousin, Rebecca, crocheted this for me mere days before she gave birth to her little girl. And it was the last thing she crocheted for me (or so I thought) for a year. Our girls are only a few weeks apart in age, and now that we live in the same city are good playmates. While I still really didn't have my crocheting act together for months and months and I thought it was the same for her. Little did I know she was working on these for CJ. Incredible right?

Anyway, I mention Rebecca and our grandmother; because besides naming this after her we (along with my sister and other cousin) named our girls Rose for their middle name. I love that all the girl cousins have this connection to our crafty grandmother.

Yarn is Naturally Caron Spa, one of my new favorites to crochet.

Super Cyber Sale!

Who doesn't love a good sale?

Starting today through end of the day on Monday, Nov 29th (at midnight)

Use TURKEYDAY while purchasing as many patterns from the Crochet By Faye line, and you will get 40% off.

Here's a direct link with the code already in.

Hope you all enjoy your Turkey Day!

Renaissance Mom

Petite Purls asked me to be apart of their series Renaissance Mom and I couldn't be more flattered! Especially, since I fell like I am the one in need of advice, versus the one giving it.

If you haven't checked out the series, it is fantastic!

Countdown to Baby Blueprint: Peapod Slippers

These slippers were another design that came in my brainstorm of boys fashion when I was sketching out the book. I have no idea why I was instant that we have slippers, but I just were.

Turns out they are one of CJ's favorite things to play with in my studio. She loves slipping them on her feet and then Faye's feet. It is very cute to watch. I think there is a picture in the book of the cute model wearing them too.

They are started at the top and worked in one piece to the bottom sole. There are options for a stiffened base or a soft one. If your cutie is a new walker, I would add stickies to the bottom so they don't slip on hardwood.

The yarn is the lovely Lion Brand Cotton bamboo.

Countdown to Baby Blueprint: Kyla Mod Stroller Blanket

What would a baby crochet book be without a granny square afghan? Only problem is that I really don't like the look of the traditional ones with blocks all of the same size- big surprise, right?

Instead, I designed one with rectangles and squares together. All the blocks are tactile in some way, either lacy for easy thumb sucking or bumpy for rubbing, or both. The yarn is super soft in Blue Sky Alpaca's dyed worsted weight cotton. The BS yarn comes in fantastic colors too, as you see. The blocks are joined by a simple sc join, where you use the back side of the stitch for the front of the work. That's how you get the little dots between the blocks.

The blanket comes with ties so you can strap it onto a stroller or car seat so it doesn't get kicked off.

I named the blanket after one of the names we were considering for CJ. We had about 10 when we left for the hospital. We decided on her name right before she came out. I still liked all of our names, so I used a few in the book. Especially for this blanket, since the color combo was her theme colors in the baby room in our Cincinnati house.

I have to thank Diane for the great work on this blanket. She crocheted it while CJ was just a few days old. It was so great to open the box to find how lovely it turned out while I was still so sleep deprived.

Countdown to Baby Blueprint: Snuggly Socks

Ok, I admit it. These socks are the exact socks I use in my cozy from the toe up sock class. We make these in class. So I can tell you you can easily, make a pair in 2 nights.

These fall into the necessity part of the book. I can not tell you how many socks CJ has, and still I am always searching for more. I really love handmade socks for her too since they can really keep her cozy in the cold weather. These socks are made from extended sc, which makes a really thin fabric- so you can wear them in shoes.

I have two options in the book. One is the basic sock and the other has a lacy panel. I used Classic Elite Summer Sox for the yarn, so they can be used all year round.

Countdown to Baby Blueprint: Robot Burt

While sketching and swatching for the book, I was in my first trimester of my pregnancy. And from the crazy amount of ideas and concepts I came up with for boy clothes and toys and accessories, I was convinced (and I mean loony pregnant lady convinced) that CJ was going to be a boy. Well, I was totally wrong. But at least I got a bunch of really fun projects out of the deal.

This is one of those projects. I knew from the beginning sketch that Robot Burt had to be apart of the book. He is quite simple in construction, just a bunch of cubes and a few applicas that sew together. You can keep him snuggly or robot him up with wire (depending on how old your little one is of course). I kept him snuggly since I know that when he comes to live in our studio both CJ and Faye will take equal amounts of time loving on him.

Countdown to Baby Blueprint: Callum Pullover

Looking for your basic baby sweater? When this is it.

Callum was designed to be a shell that you decorate to make your own. I wanted a easy sweater with a simple stitch pattern and simple construction. Callum certainly has both of those, plus easy to wear since the seam opens all the way on the shoulder for even more head room. I decorated mine in the book with a dino applica, but you could easily swap in the flower applica from Joni or the frog applica from Froggie.

Basically you have lots of options with this one.

The yarn is Classic Elite pebbles which works well for an early fall or spring sweater.


The funny story is that Callum was never supposed to be photo'd on this cute little girl. Callum was supposed to be photo'd on one of the little boys. Not because I think girls can't wear dinos; since I don't. CJ wears dino's, robots, monkeys, you name it. But because I named this one after one of our dear friends' little boy. They were the test couple in our group from college that went first and then became the parenting gurus to the rest of us. They live in CA, so I only really know him from online pictures and videos; but let me tell you he is so funny and hilarious that it would have been impossible not to be inspired by him. What they did capture is how fun I wanted this sweater to be, just like our little buddy is.

Countdown to Baby Blueprint: Leah Pullover

Then along comes Leah...

This pullover started the whole book for me. While sketching for the book, I started with a top that I would want to wear and the rest literally came tumbling out. I went from girls clothes to toys to things baby needs all very naturally. I think it only took me a day or two to come up with all the projects, and maybe another day to make it into a proposal with all the yarn and colors and ideas all laid out. Just that fast.

This top felt that way when I designed and crocheted it as well. It is a top down pullover, which are great to crochet but still a bit hard for me to have one of my crocheters make. I seem to still need to design, crochet, rip, design, crochet, rip until it is just the way I want it. Not sure why these still evade me, but they do so I do all the top down work myself. Which was quite nice, since this yarn is Naturally Caron Country, which is lovely to crochet.

The closure is on the raglan seam. The buttons are actually snaps so you can button it up on the run, if your babe is anything like mine. I can't wait to get this one back; I am thinking that late this winter or early spring CJ will be able to wear it and I am so excited!

Countdown to Baby Blueprint: Burp Cloth Bib

And then we have projects that are born from necessity...

There are quite a few projects in the book that are purely for function and for good reason. Babies are wonderful, but they need a ton of stuff. And the thing that you don't know until you become a parent, is that you don't know what stuff that is until they are here. That said I wanted a couple of projects that could double uses.

Like this project, it is one part bib one part rag. It makes a great bib, since the stitches are spikes so the fabric is dense and nothing will get through. It also makes a great rag for any mess that needs cleaned. The yarn is Tahki Classic Cotton, so you can toss it easily into the wash for easy cleaning. I have ours strapped around doorknobs and the diaper bag for quick access.

I made two different straps, one lacy and one striped- just for some options.

3 New Events

When you get a chance, check out my Teaching Schedule Page.

I just added 3 new places I will be teaching this winter. Watch out Long Beach, CA; Pittsburgh, PA; and Dallas, TX I'm coming to spread some crochet love!

More details soon.

Countdown to Baby Blueprint: Ellie on Parade

This project is very sentimental to us. I always wanted a mobile in the book. Originally I was going to make birds and have them dancing around the ring. Then our little Chachula Junior (CJ) came along.

For whatever reason, the toys that most caught her attention were the elephants. Not monkeys, lions, giraffe, or bears- but elephants. So naturally, how could I not make the mobile an elephant mobile? Thus Ellie the Elephant was born.

I made the mobile, (which took forever, since I must have re-crocheted that first elephant 10 times and then I had to make 3 more, of course) while CJ was till a newborn. I then strapped it to the chandler in my "studio" (aka dining rm) for CJ to look at while I was working. Back then she would sleep for an hour at a time every other feeding, so I would rotate where nap was. Sometimes in her crib, sometimes in the bouncy seat, sometimes on me. While in the studio, I would put on an audiobook and the rythm of the voices lulled her to sleep while staring at me or the mobile. Thank goodness for it too, since I would never have been able to finish the book. I was a month late as it was, but that's another story for another day.

The elephant is broken down by body part then stuffed and sewn together. The eyes and the toes are embroidered on with a contrasting ball of yarn. I used Filatura Di Crosa Zara since I love merino wool and it was a project for me to love to make too. The ring is simply a floral foam ring with yarn wrapped around it, nothing fancy there. The elephants are attached to the ring simply by a yarn chain sewn on.

It is so wild to look at pictures of CJ staring at this mobile. In a lot of ways, I still feel like she is that little newborn; even though she is now a toddler. Hope your little peanut enjoys!

Countdown to Baby Blueprint: Hunter Pullover

This project was totally one of those "just because" projects. During the winter I think those intarsia knit sweaters are really cute; and didn't see why there was none in crochet that I liked. Well, that is the only motivation I ever need to design.

The snowflake band also made a good excuse to have some colorwork crochet charts in the book. We experimented with lots of methods before deciding on making the snowflake color bold and highlighted to make sure everyone can see where to change colors. It was fun coming up with ideas on how to best show them. Unfortunately, Ginny did not get to use that chart when she was crocheting the sweater. It was quite a challenge, and I know love her for the great job she did!

The sweater is really easy to put on too. The neckline opens all the way up on that one raglan seam with the buttons. The buttons are fake too; they have snaps behind them so you only have to snap to close. The yarn is Filatura Di Crosa Zarina, which is just a heavenly light DK weight superwash merino yarn. If you do this project, be sure to use a really really lightweight yarn. It will make a huge difference in feel!

Countdown to Baby Blueprint: Joni Jumper

The Joni Jumper had 2 inspirations. One was my favorite jumper CJ had when she was 3mths old. And two is our niece, Joni, who besides being just the cutest girl we know is adorable too. When I think dresses, my brain always goes to something that you can run and play in. I just never think of clothes that you only wear on special occasions. So for CJ, she probably wears a dress every other day; but paired with leggings and sneakers so she can toggled and play.

The Joni Jumper is that kind of dress. One that in the summer you can run around in with sandals on and in the winter with long sleeves and leggings. Besides the style, I also designed it so that it is super easy to put on with the two large buttons at the shoulders. It's a pop over the head and away she can run.

The yarn is Provence by Classic Elite; a classic cotton that can take tons of wear and still look great.

The dress was crocheted by Brett as a baby present to us, which again was super appreciated since my hands were so limited. I crocheted the collar and motif.

Summery Sneak Peek

A few weeks ago, Ginny and I finished this summery project. It made me laugh, since it was so cool in PA when I sent it out I was breaking out the gloves and hat.

Thank goodness for Ginny and my other crocheters! I would have never been able to crochet it and the other projects I have going on without their help. Contract crocheters really are my unsung heroes, since I would be sunk without them.

Right now I have 4 projects that are being crocheted as I type. I am crocheting another 4 as well. So they are doubling, literally, what I can publish. They are just amazing to me!

More on the project in a couple of months when it comes out.

Countdown to Baby Blueprint: Froggie Blanket

Tunisian is a crochet love of mine from the beginning, really of crafting. The book originally had a few Tunisian projects, but due to space we had to cut them all but this one. Which is a bummer for sure, but we didn't cut out the info on Tunisian Symbols so that is a plus.

I really think the stitch pattern of the blanket really makes the background pop. Since it is Tunisian, the fabric is really drapeable; not like it would be if we were making it out of spike stitches. The froggie himself is a quick little crochet that you sew on when you are finished. The border is just rounds of dc and sc with a little embroidery in there too.

I had help with this one. Megan crocheted the blanket for me and I only crocheted the froggie. It was such a huge help too since when I turned this in, I couldn't feel my fingertips anymore (from being pregnant not crocheting too much).

Yarn is Red Heart Eco-ways with a K Tunisian hook. Eco-ways is a really great yarn to crochet with if you haven't tried it before.

Countdown to Baby Blueprint: Popsicle Boots

Next up on my countdown are these adorable boots. The inspiration was taken from my niece's (now Cj's) pink cowboy boots. I mean, there is just nothing cuter, then watching a new walker take their big steps in cute shoes.

These boots took me 2 nights to crochet. They are just rounds of single crochet with a spike sc here and there.

The yarn is Spud and Chloe fine. It is a really nice yarn to crochet with if you like a fine weight (as I do).

Now that the weather has turned cold here in PA, I am seriously thinking it is time for CJ to get a pair of these for the holidays.

Countdown to Baby Blueprint: Hank Vest

Yesterday, Crochet Me posted my crazy Baby Project Mantra from Baby Blueprint Crochet.

The Hank Vest is a perfect example of my mantra. I designed it for my nephew Henry. He is like many boys, on the go, and when running out to play hardly remembers shoes let alone a coat. This vest can be tossed out the door and yanked on quickly while still in full stride. The extended stitches make for a lightweight fabric so not to have any extra bulk. The worsted weight yarn (Spud and Chloe Sweater - a new favorite of mine) makes this project go super fast to crochet. When fellow designer, Kristin Omdahl, saw it she said her son would call it the dragon wing vest. And I love that. Make your racing stripes in any color to match your little ones favorite dragon!

Countdown to Baby Blueprint: Stella Jacket and cover

Did you know that we are only 1 month until shipping of Baby Blueprint Crochet?

You know what that means? Countdown!

I'm going to be showing you one project at a time from the book and promos all this month.

So to kick it off, let's talk about the cover. Did you notice that the cover has changed in the last month? The old one has "baby" in aqua, the new one has "baby" in white. They are equally as cute to me, so I don't mind in the slightest. I just thought it was funny.

The project they picked for the cover is my idea of a "fancy jacket". I wanted a jacket that a little girl could wear on special occasions that was still stylish and washable. The idea all came from the frog closures. I loved them on the Szechuan Sweater so much, I wanted to do one for the book too. The stitch pattern is actually quite a simple 3 stitch repeat, which makes crocheting the jacket very fast.

The yarn is Designer Sport by Coats and Clark, so you will have tons of great colors to choose from for your own jacket.