One-Skein Baby Projects by Sharon Silverman

When I was growing up, I remember my mother used to sit on the couch in the living room after she came home from work, and crochet or knit. What did she crochet or knit? Gifts for her children, her nieces and nephews, her grandchildren, her children's friends, her children's friends' children. In other words, nothing for herself. That was the way she was. There was always someone who needed a present. She even crocheted and knit baby gifts in advance - when there were no new babies. But she stored the gifts away, for those times when she would need them. She had a "baby gift storage" closet. Between her crocheting, and my grandmother's knitting and crocheting baby gifts, I never had to worry when I started needing to give baby gifts! I learned a lot from my mother and grandmother about gifting. Years later, I started crocheting baby gifts when my niece had her first child. I remember my mother had passed away and I was the only one in our family who could crochet the official baby afghan (it was a granny square one), so I put hook to yarn and I did it! I designed my own version of the afghan, but it was still the "official" family baby gift. Since then, I have made many, many more of them - for relatives, friends, family, etc. There seems to always be someone who needs a baby gift. It doesn't necessarily have to be an afghan. It can be a bib, booties, a hat, a rattle, a toy, washcloths, and yes, a little afghan (I like to call them "shlep-along" afghans, because they're perfect size for the baby to drag with him/her.) I keep trying to fill my baby gift storage closet, and this new book - One-Skein Baby Projects - Quick and Thrifty Gifts to Welcome New Arrivals - by Sharon Silverman - (published by Leisure Arts) will help with this. 

What's in this book? There are 9 projects. Each one uses one skein or a few "mini-skeins". These are the 9 projects:

Note what is written in the red rectangle - "LOOK FOR THE CAMERA in our instructions and watch our technique videos made just for you!"

In other words, not only can you add projects to your Baby Gift Storage Closet (you do have one, don't you?), you can learn some new techniques while you're at it. What techniques? How to work front and back post stitches, how to whipstitch motifs together, how to work a Foundation Double Crochet, how to make a pom-pom, how to crochet evenly spaced stitches across ends of rows, how to crochet in the back loop only, how to sew a backstitch, how to work split single crochet stitches, how to work a Foundation Half Double Crochet, how to join yarn with a single crochet, how to work a cluster stitch, and more. And the projects don't use much yarn. I like the baby bibs, and the rattle, and the hat, and the bouncy block, and the booties for cuties.... I guess I like all the patterns in the book!

Oh, another thing that's a positive for this book - they print the instructions for different sizes in different colors - so the patterns are easy for you to use. And they have pictures of how to make the stitches, when necessary. And stitch pattern templates when needed. 

The book is available as a digital download, or a paperback. And here is the website where you can order it from:
Leisure Arts

I would love to see your crocheted baby projects from this book. Be sure to post a picture! And I hope you're Baby Gift Storage Closet gets full to overflowing!!!