Skip to main content

Book Review: Modern Baby Crochet by Stacey Trock

March 6, 2014
Modern Baby Crochet by Stacey Trock


I like to always have at least one baby gift on hand because nine months flies by really quickly and it is too much pressure to wait until the last minute to make a baby gift. Modern Baby Crochet is my new go-to pattern source for choosing the next gift on my to-do list! As Stacey Trock’s website indicates, she puts a fresh spin on the look of baby projects.

Bold & Bright: Mondrian-Inspired Afghan
Stacey encourages her readers to step it up a notch when it comes to choosing colors. She says modern babies don’t need to be stuck with just pastels anymore! Focused on the hub of baby’s life, the nursery, the twenty-one designs are divided into 3 color groups: Bold & Bright, Pretty in Pastel and Naturally Neutral.

Pretty in Pastel: Crinkly Toy
Before even getting to the projects, crocheters receive a wealth of crochet knowledge about gauge, choosing hook size and finishing techniques. Presented in a comfortable and nurturing tone, I felt like I was in the classroom actually learning from Stacey! Her anatomy of a stitch section is excellent; and I have found that learning to recognize the parts of the crochet stitches is half the battle for new crocheters who struggle with pattern reading. Be sure to read all of the instructional pages before getting started. Taking a little time with this will surely lead you to success! Obviously experienced with baby’s and their most snugly needs, Stacey is also careful to stress the safety aspect, and she includes instructions on making baby-safe embroidered eyes.

Naturally Neutral: Buzzy Bee Mobile
Modern Baby Crochet is published by Martingale and they have also published two other baby-oriented books by Stacey Trock: Cuddly Crochet (2010) and Crocheted Softies (2011). it retails  for $22.99, and is also available in a Kindle version.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Craft vs. Fine Art: How is Crochet Blurring the Lines

I was awakening to the world of crochet in 1972,a time of immense artistic expression through fiber arts; and crochet was not the “ugly stepchild” at the time. In fact, Ferne Cone Gellar who I admire as a successful fiber artist said in “Knitting: The Stepchild of the Fiber Arts?” ( Fibercraft Newsletter 1978), “Has knitting been slighted among the areas of the fiber arts? The very word ‘knitting’ evokes images of the little old lady in tennis shoes. Over the years, I’ve learned to ignore all those jokes.” Cone Gellar went on to publish Crazy Crocheting in 1981 and encouraged her readers to create more than bedspreads, providing ideas such as “things to play with or to display on a shelf or hang on a wall.” A photo of single crochet from bread wrappers served as inspiration.  In 1972 in her book, Creating Art from Fibers & Fabrics , Dona Meilach wrote: “Why are fibers and fabrics becoming increasingly appealing to artists? Most artists agree

Wartime Crochet With Attitude, Part I

Wednesday, October 30, 2013 Karen Ballard and I have a mutual love of free form crochet. We met for the first time in a class taught by Prudence Mapstone of Australia at the Chain Link Crochet Conference 2011. I admire Karen's vast knowledge of needle work history and am grateful for her willingness to share with us as my guest blogger this week. Karen wearing a World War II-era knitting hat with stubby needles on top Karen's Heritage Heart,  with flowers symbolic of her heritage, is currently on tour with Prudence Mapstone's traveling "Hearts & Flowers Exhibition" in Australia and New Zealand   World War 1 Attitudes About Crochet by Karen Ballard In 2008, I coined that term, "Workbasket Campaigns" to describe the organized efforts during World War I (WWI) and World War II (WWII) coordinated through the American Red Cross {ARC} and the Navy League to create needle crafted items.  These items were mostly knitted but also sewn, qu

What is Free Form Crochet?

Monday, January 6, 2014 This topic came about from the title of my article recently in Fiber Art Now magazine.  "Crochet As Art: A Conversation with 5 Free-Form Crochet Artists." Yes, the 5 artists I wrote about, all of which are in  my book  The Fine Art of Crochet , are free-thinking when it comes to their creativity. They are free-wheeling with the hook and use unique fibers in many cases. Once you read the article, tell me what  you think? Are these artists doing free-form crochet? In order to define free-form crochet, we must look way, way back to it's origins: Irish crochet. A brief history of crochet, including the Irish method, written by Ruthie Marks is available through The Crochet Guild of America . Unfortunately, there are no images on the site. On her blog, Nancy Nehring has a beautiful montage of Irish Crochet in reference to a class she taught in 2013 at Lacis . I wrote an article in Old Time Crochet Magazine (Spring 1998), "History of Irish Croc