Chunky Monkey Pattern--3T version...

A finished version of my Chunky Monkey Pattern, made is size 3T, modeled by my adorable neighbor Evie!

How cute is she?! I couldn't have asked for a better model for this pattern. It's a little big on her, but she'll grow into it!

As I had mentioned in my previous post about Chunky Monkey, this pattern is sized from 3 months all the way to 4T. It's a pattern you can use throughout your child's baby years and well into their toddler years. And because it uses chunky weight yarn, it will knit up super fast no matter what size you make.

Click the "Buy now" button below to purchase a PDF of this pattern (which you can download right away upon purchasing).

Made by hand...

I love hand-made things. They have such character and uniqueness. As our world gets more & more cluttered with generic stores that all produce the same thing (and most likely produced by people who are not receiving a fair wage for their labor), how nice is it to buy something that is made by a fellow crafter that you can't find just anywhere?

If you are also a fan of all things hand-made, I highly recommend checking out etsy.com. Recently I have purchased clothing labels, buttons, screen-printed t-shirts, and a 2010 day planner. All of these unique items were made by other crafters and I wouldn't be able to find them anywhere else. Here are some of my most recent purchases from etsy.com:

Screen printed t-shirt

(find it here)

Day Planner:

(find it here)

Everything is very professional--if you think hand-made means macaroni necklaces and popsicle stick picture frames, then you are in for a big surprise. All of the items I purchased were extremely well constructed, professionally packaged, and arrived in my mailbox within days of placing the order. I find it an awesome site especially when looking for a gift for someone. It was recently my husband's birthday. He's a huge VW bus fan (we have a 1966 one in our garage). On etsy.com I found a t-shirt screen printer who did VW buses! Not only that but I got to pick the color of the t-shirt and the color of the VW bus. How cool is that? A unique gift that you can't find anywhere else.

Check it out and support hand-crafters!

It's a new year...

It's 2010-can you believe it? I'm usually not a big "New Year's Resolutions" kind of person--I feel you can choose to make life changes at any point in the year, so why put it off until January 1? But I do like the freshness that a new year brings (not to mention getting a new calendar-am I the only one who loves a clean new day planner?) and I can't help but think about my current goals and what I can do to get closer to attaining them.

What are my goals? I want to continue growing The Brown Stitch, creating more patterns & growing my skill set. I'd love to have a new pattern published at least once a month. It can be a little tricky at times, since I also have a day job that takes up 50 hours a week, but I think I can do it. I'd like to start waking up earlier, to get some good knitting/designing time in before I have to leave for work. That will be goal #1 for 2010! I'll let you know how that one goes--I'm guessing a lot of coffee will be involved in attaining this goal...

Speaking of growing The Brown Stitch, If you check in on this blog now & then, you noticed last year I put up 3 patterns for sale. All of my "for sale" patterns provide a multitude of size ranges & all have been reviewed, checked & double-checked by professional tech editors. Until now you could only buy my patterns on ravelry.com or here on my blog. But starting now you can also buy them on patternfish.com!

If you haven't been on this site yet you must check it out. It's a library of thousands of knitting & crochet patterns. New patterns and old patterns, by well-known designers and up-and-comers too. What I love most is how specific your search criteria can be, as well as how clear all of the pattern info is presented. You can check out my designs on patternfish.com here:

www.patternfish.com/pub/elizabeth_smith