Billie and little Lily.

Last weekend, we threw a shower for Billie Anne, whose little girl, Lily, is due in a little over a month. For those of you who don't know, Billie Anne is truly one of a kind. She is an expert crocheter (when you add the "er" to crochet, somehow it just looks wrong, and maybe a little obscene?) and it is common to hear crochet customers with Oops moments pleading, "Is Billie Anne in today?" Not only that, but she manages all the bookkeeping for both Loops and Branders, Inc. (the ad business) - and I tell you, this is no small task.

So, in a nutshell, this girl deserved a rockin' baby shower. And we think she got one. There were the huge Babies R Us equipment boxes (is it me, or do the manufacturers double the size of this stuff every year? The "travel system" aka stroller looks like a little aircraft carrier). But we know what you really want to see - the hand-stitched stuff. You guessed it - Lily is gonna be the best dressed little gal in Tulsa.

I'm just going to be quiet and let the pictures do the talking, along with some notes on the patterns and yarn. First, the establishing crowd shot:

Next, a darling dress made by Becky, in Filatura BonBon from a Filatura Baby book. Oh my!

Next, a little pair of "jeans" out of Rowan Denim from the book "Last Minute Knitted Gifts," made by Gina Y.:

And to go with the jeans, Emily made a tiny sweater out of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, from the book Baby Cashmerino 2 (just got some coveted cream and pink of this yarn back in stock - and by the way just bought a giant load of Debbie Bliss for fall with our rep, Darry yesterday, but I digress):

Gina Y. naturally had to make a pair of socks for Lily! They were so a-DOR-able! But I didn't get a good picture of them. Not to worry...Loretta also made an amazing little pair of baby-toe-warmers, in Lorna's Laces Shepherd sock. Here is a link to the free pattern she used. And here's the photo:

Of course, socks are not the ONLY thing you can make with sock yarn! Gina H. made this from some sock yarn in her stash. We have a pattern like this, only with horizontal stripes, by Black Purl in the baby pattern binder. It's just stockinette stitch, but it looks like you spent ages on some complicated colorwork. Check it out!

Gene, a terrific customer and all-around good guy, started on an afghan for Billie Anne months ago. He even let her choose the pattern and colors! It's from the book "Candy Blankies." We all oohed and aahed over the results:

All of you who have trouble getting projects done on a deadline (I think we pretty much all qualify here) will relate to this one. Here is Sherry, presenting her ALMOST-finished little Blue Sky Baby Dress. Sherry used Catania, a yarn we clearanced awhile back (Sherry circles the clearance area like a shark, looking for good stash fodder), but you can use Blue Sky Sport or Rowan Cotton Glace.

I made Billie Anne a Baby Bobbi Bear using Blue Sky Cotton in Shell. (I made one for my daughter a couple of years ago, and she is always hugging it while she sleeps, so that its neck is so long it is starting to resemble a member of that African tribe that wear multiple rings around their necks to stretch them out. Oops, digressing again...) Oh yeah, and the little scarf is my own addition, to help hide future "stretch-neck."

Now we have arrived at Miss Ingrid's gift. Never to be outdone, we have the special packaging, with fresh roses from her master garden:

And then we have the flawless sweater, again made from Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, from the Spring/Summer issue of Vogue Knitting:

And then, because she had leftover yarn (oh horrors!), she was compelled to make not one, but two adorable little hats:

Billie Anne held up the little hats with their little pointy tops, and several of us dirty-minded Loops Troops, in unison, noted the similarity to little Lily's future feeding sources:

...prompting Gene to feel like this:

!!!!!

- Shelley
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