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An innovative, practical baby sweater design has garnered the first win in the monthly Jimmy Beans Wool pattern contest.
Valerie Wallis, of Logan, UT, will receive over $400 in knitting-related prizes for her Presto Chango baby sweater pattern, which uses a unique detachable front panel "to accommodate holidays, whims, or disastrous stains," Wallis said. "Late one night when I was up feeding my baby (and she had just spit up) the idea of a baby garment with an interchangeable front panel seemed to be the answer to all life's problems."
Asked about her design process, she said, "I'm full of ideas, but with my house full of little kids, they don't often get past my sketchbook. The Jimmy Beans Wool contest was just the incentive I needed to get going." Like many knitters, Wallis, a stay-at-home mother of five, blogs about her knitting at shoelessval.blogspot.com. She is also working on a website featuring her designs for children, www.sproutknit.com.
The Presto Chango baby sweater pattern is available free from the Jimmy Beans Wool website. "We hope the pattern contest will inspire both beginning and advanced designers, and their designs will in turn encourage other knitters," says Laura Zander, owner of Jimmy Beans Wool.
The contest is ongoing; submissions will be accepted for this month's contest through May 31. Each month's prizes include a $50 gift certificate to Jimmy Beans Wool as well as yarn, patterns and accessories valued at more than $400.
If you'd like more information on this topic, or to schedule an interview with Laura Zander, please call (775)827-9276.
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