Recently in Baby Projects-Crochet Category

This week, Leisure Arts launched a new website: Leisure Arts Library (http://www.leisureartslibrary.com):

Great designs never go out of style, but they do sometimes go out of print. After more than 35 years of publishing needlework and craft patterns, Leisure Arts has an archive full of great designs that have become unavailable to the public. But now LeisureArtsLibrary.com is here to change all that. We're opening our vault of treasures by converting our best designs from the past into digital files that you can download to your home computer.

One popular but difficult-to-find pattern is the Rainbow Afghan baby blanket by Helen Passey from Baby's Best to Knit and Crochet, leaflet #191. Leisure Arts has made the Baby's Best Rainbow Afghan pattern with the coordinating baby jacket and booties patterns available on Leisure Arts Library. The price for the Rainbow Set (baby blanket, jacket, booties) is $2.99 - which is reasonable considering the leaflet was selling for more in eBay auctions!

Take the Leisure Arts "Library Survey" to let them know what out-of-print patterns you'd like them to make available!

As I mentioned in earlier posts, two babies were due in Bill's family (one for each of his second cousins). So, I made a lovely lavender layette set thinking it was a neutral gender color (but it apparently isn't).

Then, I made a neutral-colors layette set using melon, purple, yellow, green and white - which also turned out more "girl" than "boy". These creations would have been perfect if the babies turned out to be girls...

So, I was back to square one. I knew one baby (due in April) was a boy, but I was tired of making baby blankets so I worked on other projects.

After the unknown-gender baby was born in early January, I knew two "boy" baby blankets were needed.

The first completed was the Teddy Bear Baby Blanket in blues and white.

The second was the Two-color Reversible Shells Baby Blanket in blue and white.

I couldn't decide who to give which blanket to...Jackie and Jason's Lucas (born in January) or Jimmy and Sarah's boy (due next month). So, I waited...

...until last weekend when I talked with Bill about the 3 baby blankets I had to give (including the Granny Square Baby Blanket in white and baby blue). He suggested I give the Granny Square Baby Blanket to Jackie and Jason's Lucas (since they already had a lot of baby things from their first son Jack, including 2 blankets ("Jack" Baby Blanket, Race Track and Games Blanket) I made for him) and the other 2 baby blankets to Jimmy and Sarah's unborn baby (their first child). So, that's what we did! [UPDATE March 18, 2006: Baby born yesterday! As yet unnamed.]

Now I have the two baby girl layette sets to find homes for. I'm considering donating them to the local family service center.

(The baby blanket was given away before I realized I hadn't taken a photo. This is the yarn that was used.)

Size: (unknown - about 35 inches x 45 inches)
Colors: Newborn Print (variegated white with baby blue), White (solid) (Jamie Baby Yarn)
Pattern: 35 different granny square patterns (some modified in size or style from the pattern book)
Book: 99 Granny Squares to Crochet - Leaflet 3078 - Copyright 1998 - Leisure Arts
Hook: F
Date: February 2006

In mid-February, I got on a kick to get rid of as much baby yarn in my stash as I could. From a not-remembered source, I had 8 or 9 1.5-ounce skeins of Jamie Baby Yarn in Newborn Print. Without anything in particular in mind one evening, I made a granny square, then another, and soon I had a pile of 8 - all unique. I decided to continuing making unique granny squares from the 99 Granny Squares to Crochet book to make a baby blanket or lap blanket to be given away to some as-yet unknown place or person.

After 35 granny squares (7 x 5), I didn't have enough of the Newborn Print yarn to connect the squares and add a border, so I bought some Jamie Baby Yarn in solid White for that purpose - it worked perfectly!

The blanket was quite lovely to look at when completed! Too bad I wasn't quick enough with the camera to get a picture of it before it was given away!

Size: 38 inches x 47 inches
Colors: Spring Breeze (light blue), Soft White (Bernat Baby Boucle)
Pattern: Two-color Reversible Shells Baby Blanket
Hook: J
Date: February 2006

After 4 days of false starts on 4 patterns, I finally settled on this one. Boucle yarn makes it difficult to see stitches and so intricate stitching is not something I would recommend with this type of yarn. I do, however, like the feel of the bumps in the yarn so I was determined to start and finish this project with an appropriate pattern.

It is done! The second of two "baby boy" baby blankets! The Boucle yarn kept me from getting really tired of working with the colors until the last few rows. I finished it Saturday evening - including yarn ends! In plenty of time for the expected April birth!

Size: 32 inches x 40 inches
Colors: Denim (medium blue), Pastel Blue, White (Lion Brand Pound of Love)
Pattern: Teddy Bear Baby Blanket - Design by Cheryl Lambert
Hook: G
Date: January 2006

Back to the 2 babies being born in hubby's family... The unknown gender baby was born earlier this month - a boy. The second baby is a boy, due in April. The 2 layette sets I made few months ago (the lavender gender-confusing one and the supposedly gender-neutral-but-really-looks-like-it's-for-a-girl one) aren't cutting it now. So, I decided to make baby-boy-color baby blankets, which (for these parents) means blues and white. (I was so relieved when I finished this blanket! Blue is not one of my favorite colors.)

This Teddy Bear Baby Blanket is a custom design. The teddy bear graph with 4 rows of colored squares came from a pattern in my collection (Lacy Crib Cover, Hooked on Crochet, Sept.-Oct. 1989), but the rest I made up as I crocheted the blanket.

Colors: Melon, Lavender, Pastel Yellow, Spring Green, White (Lion Brand Baby Soft)
Date: November 2005

Afghan Size: 34 inches x 44 inches
Pattern: Squares
Book: Snuggle-Up Baby Afghan - Leaflet 3205 - Designs by Carole Rutter Tippett - Copyright 2000 - Leisure Arts
Hook: F

Jacket and Booties Patterns: Rainbow Set
Book: Baby's Best to Knit and Crochet - Leaflet 191 - Designs by Helen Passey - Copyright 1981 - Leisure Arts
Hook: F

The second of two layettes sets for two new babies on their way in Bill's family - both of his second cousins - one baby is due in late December/early January and the other in April. Since the first layette set seems to lean toward a girl, this set is for a boy or a girl.

Recently, Jimmy/Sarah learned they were having a boy - and I'm thinking that I may make a boy-specific layette set...or maybe not...

Color: Soft Mauve (lavender) (Bernat Baby Coordinates)
Date: October 2005

Afghan Size: 33 inches diameter
Pattern: Ripple Baby Afghan by Mary Jane Protus
Book: New Crochet Basics - Leaflet 777 - Copyright 1989 - Leisure Arts
Hook: E

Sacque and Bonnet Patterns: Diamond Cascade Layette
Book: Crochet for Today - Leaflet 102678 - Copyright 1996 - Leisure Arts
Hook: E

Booties Pattern: based on Roller Skates
Book: Baby Bootie Boutique - Leaflet 871020 - Copyright 2002 - Annie's Attic
Hook: F

Two new babies are on their way in Bill's family - both of his second cousins - one baby is due in late December/early January and the other in April.

I made this layette set thinking purple was one of those gender neutral colors for babies - like yellow and green. So, I dressed my Cabbage Patch doll (whose name is Jason Eric) in the layette set and brought him to work last week to show it off. At least five people asked if Jason was a girl.

I guess the lavender is more "girl" than "boy" in most people's thinking.

So, if one of the two coming babies is a girl, then she'll get this layette set.

I'll make a second layette set in other colors. If both babies are boys, then I have one more baby afghan or layette set to make (specific for a boy since I'll already know the gender).

Whew. These gender things are complicated for some people.

Size: 34.5 inches x 39 inches
Colors: White, Aqua
Pattern: (Unknown) Reversible Shell Baby Afghan to Crochet
Book: (Unknown) Kit: LeeWards Afghan Kit No. 1945 Green and White (Kit No. 1975 used Yellow and White), 06-34089
Date: Pre-March 1979

This double-sided blanket was made before my son was born, so sometime prior to March 1979. It was put away with all of his baby clothes and was rediscovered around 1997 or so when my husband and I went through boxes of stuff stored at the top of our garage. The baby clothes were donated, but I kept the blanket and began to use it as a lap warmer during the winters when I'm in my home office. I remember the rush of warm feelings I had when I held the blanket again so I just couldn't let it be donated.

I still use the blanket (sometimes it and another blanket!) to keep my legs warm in the winter. When Cleo (my favorite kitty) was sick from August-September 2002, she spent a good deal of time laying on this blanket which I had folded and placed on the carpet for her. It was fitting since Cleo is my "baby" now.

[August 23, 2003]

Hmmm, Mom thinks she may have made this blanket for Greg...but we're not sure who did it. Since I don't have the pattern and she thinks she does, she may have been the one to make it...but I lived with her then so I still could have made it. Ah, well, we'll probably never know for sure...

[November 16, 2004]

Guess what we finally looked for and found tonight! Yup, the pattern for this blanket! It is:

LeeWards Afghan Kit No. 1945 Green and White (Kit No. 1975 used Yellow and White), 06-34089, Reversible Shell Baby Afghan to Crochet of Orlon Sayelle, Size 5 hook included in kit (date is not included). LeeWards went out of business a while ago.

Size: 37 inches x 52.5 inches (crib size)
Colors: Light Blue, White, Cream, Medium Yellow, Medium Blue
Pattern: #47 Ripple Stitch
Book: 63 Easy-To-Crochet Pattern Stitches Combine To Make An Heirloom Afghan - Leaflet 555 - Designs by Darla Sims - Copyright 1987 - Leisure Arts
Date: June 2003

My husband's cousin's daughter (Jackie) and husband (Jason) had a baby boy (Jack) on May 29. I don't know her well, but I thought it would be nice for us to give her and baby Jack a hand-made crocheted baby blanket. So, I pulled out a few plastic tubs of yarn, selected sport-weight yarn in baby colors, and spent quite a bit of time looking through pattern books for something I wanted make. I selected a square pattern that has bumps (I like texture). I made 4 squares in medium blue and then cross-stitched the letters of Jack's name on them. The border uses the same medium blue. The other squares are arranged randomly so that no two squares of the same color are next to each other. After I started the blanket, I learned that the colors selected for the baby's room are blue and yellow, so this blanket will fit right in!

I finished weaving the yarn ends into the blanket last night, took the photos this morning, so the blanket is ready to be shipped to Oregon on Monday. It's a surprise!

Size: (Unknown) (donated in December 2002 to the convalescent home where my grandfather stayed; estimate 35 inches x 45 inches)
Colors: White, Baby Yellow, Baby Light Yellow, Baby Pink, Baby Light Pink, Baby Blue, Baby Light Blue
Pattern: Diagonal Rainbow - Design by Pat Gibbons
Book: Over the Rainbow Baby Afghans - Leaflet number not indicated - Copyright 2001 - Leisure Arts
Date: November 2002

I will probably never do something like this again! Each color change requires 2 yarn ends, one at the start and one at the end. There were so many yarn ends to hide (tuck back into the stitches) that it was daunting. But I did it! I like the pattern - except for the triangles of white in the lower left and upper right corners.

This pattern came from a baby blanket crochet pattern book, which is where a lot of the patterns I use for lap blankets come from. I had so much pink and blue and yellow and white yarn left that it made sense to do something with those colors, even though the target audience for the lap blankets are not babies. I thought a woman might like the color combination.