Boo!

It's done with neon green ribbon. Now if I can only talk Hannah into letting me cut the sleeves off so that she won't burn up.

War Eagle!

Yesterday while hunting for the neon green ribbon (which I found, btw), I picked up some yarn. The colors don't show well in the above picture, but the hats are orange and blue!! War Eagle!!! My husband and I are Auburn University grads. I thought I'd make a few Auburn hats for the Alabama hospitals. I'll send these to Mom for their next shipment. It's Bernat Softee Chunky and I hope it's soft enough for preemies. It was the only yarn I could find in the right colors.

I also picked up some Red Heart in deep purple and a bright multicolor. The red is some leftovers from I have no idea when. :-) I'm going to use these for some loomed hats for the Dulaan Project. I keep hearing about this and want to send a few hats.

Bev, as in Bev's Country Cottage fame, is having an October hat challenge. I'm going to participate and needed to get ready. I have a feeling it's going to be a busy October.

Also, I keep forgetting to ask advice. I've volunteered to make a memory quilt for Hannah's preschool. I'll let the kids put their handprints on a square and make it into a quilt for the silent auction fundraiser. Only problem....I've never made a quilt? Do you have a good beginner quilting book to recommend?

What A Day!

Yesterday was quite a day in the my world of charity crafting!


The pleater that WoolWinder soooooooo generously gave to me arrived. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!! It looks brand new and is in great shape. It was her Mom's and used only a handful of times. I googled the name brand and I won't have any problems getting replacement needles. Again, your generosity is amazing and inspiring. Thanks so much!

Speaking of smocking, over the weekend I worked on this. I knew the pleater was in the mail and wanted to use up the 2 pieces that I already have pleated. I'll do this as a raglan sleeved gown, too. That leaves me one more and I think I'll picture smock it. I think I have a duck, train, plane, and maybe a couple more things appropriate for a baby.

Back to yesterday....I signed up a week or so ago to donate to Heavenly Angels in Need. A volunteer was listed in my area and I had hoped to make contacts and do some sewing with someone that has a passion for this like I do. That hasn't happened, yet, BUT another door has opened. Yesterday Mary posted on the forum asking for a volunteer to use a donated wedding gown to make bereavement gowns. Isn't that a neat idea?? So, I volunteered and one is on the way to me. Plus, Kristen, another HAIN member PM'd me saying that she wanted to donate her own personal gown. Wow!! I'd be absolute HONORED and hope that I can do it justice!

What else? Oh, Mom and Sue have another date set to speak to some ladies at a local church. They are scheduled for Oct 11th. I checked plane tickets as I had hoped to make a trip back home in October, but I can't find any deals right now. I would love be able to coordinate a trip with their meeting.

Oh, Oh, Oh.....I got the SWEETEST thank you note from the lady that I sent part of my Mom's stash of material. Remember me telling you about it? Not many people handwrite thank you notes anymore and that's a shame. Her group calls themselves Stitches of Love and makes various charity items including quilts and bags. If you have some old material that you do not want, send it to:
Helen Templin
245 Safford Mill Lane
Wildersville, TN 38338
It really touched me to receive a note from her complete with pictures.
Quilts sent to the babies at Jackson General Hospital in Jackson, TN

Zipper Bags for the VA Hospital in Nashville, TN.


Ok, I'm off to run some errands, including a trip to the PO to mail the package to The Preemie Project and JoAnn's to look for some ribbon for the Halloween Outfits.

For The Preemie Project

Hannah decided to take a nice long nap this afternoon, so I made a couple of blankets for The Preemie Project. Btw, when she naps, we're up VERY late that night so a nap isn't necessarily a good thing. :-)

They are 30"x30" and I'll pair them with the miscarriage wraps I made a few days ago. I think I'll send these to the Iowa chapter this time.

Yellow or Purple?

I've been working on this outfit, one for Hannah and one for Lizzie, my niece. It's nothing fancy, just some Halloween material attached to some of the cheap Walmart shirts and pants. Hannah really needed a short sleeved one, but I couldn't find one. I may cut the sleeves off.

Anyway, I'm having a hard time deciding. I really want some hotpink or neon green ribbon, but Hancock didn't have any. I may go to to JoAnn's Tuesday and look there. If not...

Yellow?


Purple.....or none at all?

Emmazing Grace Foundation

I haven't talked about this here, but I have so much running through my mind now that I thought I'd blog it a little big.

See, when we went home for Christmas, we got to see Emma's cemetery monument for the first time. I designed it and it was something deeply personal for me. It was like it was one last thing I could do for my Em.


Emma is buried in a cemetery across from my Grandmother's house, a cemetery where members of both side of my family are buried. I've walked that cemetery MANY times, but last Christmas it was different. One difference was that I had a daughter buried there. Another difference was that I noticed things I'd never noticed before. I saw several unmarked graves. Judging by the ceramic figurines they were of children. My heart broke. A family member apparently frequented one particular grave as it had probably 15 little figurines placed on it. After just a little bit of research, I confirmed that they were graves of children and I assumed that the reason for not marking them was financial (although I know that isn't always the case). My heart broke again.

And, so, the idea behind the Emmazing Grace Foundation began. It started with wanting to do some cemetery restoration like marking some unmarked graves and has evolved into helping to ease the financial burden of funeral expenses for bereaved parents. For now, I would like to help address the immediate needs of parents, whether it be a cemetery monument, funeral costs to the funeral home, or burial clothing.

Today I received the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws from the attorney. Those papers will now go to the accountant and he will file for 501(c)3 for us.

So much work to do! My mind runs through a gazillion things....How do I make a website? How do I fundraise? How do I determine "need"? How to I recruit help? Can I really do this? Have I lost my mind? :-)

For the little ones

I guess I've had the little tiny babies on my mind again. That and needing something that wouldn't use much brain power led me to do a few miscarriage wraps.

This pattern came from Threads of Love. I made 4, but some blonde little girl swiped one for her baby dolls. I still haven't decided where to send them, maybe a local hospital off the CareWear site.

SAGA's Wee Care Program

I've had some questions about the smocked gown and wanted to address them as a new post and not a comment. The gown pattern is copyrighted and I purchased it from Ginger Snaps Designs. See my link in the post below.

However, SAGA has some free smocking designs here in their Wee Care Program. I wish I had a pleater and I'd try these out. My Mom's friend pleated 3 raglan sleeved gowns for me a while back, so I still have 2 more to work on before a pleater is "needed." :-(

For LucyBug

I finally have my donation complete for Lucybug. It's a raglan sleeve gown that I smocked. The pattern came from Ginger Snaps Designs, Baby Daygowns, Book IV. I paired it with the bonnet from the June 2006 CareWear newsletter. I will get it in the mail Tuesday.
~Remembering Little LucyBug~

Senior Citizens

Mom just called after giving their little speech at the Senior Citizens Center. She said that 4 ladies signed up and that 2 are taking the project to their churches. Many had no idea of the need for burial and NICU items. I'm thrilled at the response. Probably for many of you reading, 4 seems like a low commitment, but I'm from a very small town so I think it's actually a good response. Sue took the list of volunteers and will distribute patterns and probably collect the donations. Mom will pay the postage to mail the items to the hospitals.

Flexilooms & Balloons

I finally got the flexilooms that I ordered from In the Attic. I paid for them via paypal on Aug 12th, so I was starting to get pretty worried. Even though it was very slow shipping, they are really nice looms, much nicer than the Knifty Knitter. I got the mitten set and will be able to to make baby booties, too. I think the hat size is about at 2-3 pounder, whereas the smallest Knifty Knitter is about a 4-5 lb size.

Sunday was the one year anniversary of Emma's death. It's been a pretty emotional last couple of weeks, to say the least. Here's a photo from the balloon release we did on Sunday.


Hannah had a high speed come-apart when we released the balloons. That's what we call a toddler meltdown. :-) This wasn't the first balloon release we've done so I wasn't expecting it. As we were getting back in the car, she finally decided to tell us that she wanted to release the pink balloon that I had held back for her to take home and play with. So, here's her solo pink one going up. There's something about seeing this one pink balloon going up that tugs at my heart.


Mom and Sue meet with the Senior Citizen's Center today at 11:15am. I can't wait to hear how that turns out. I hope several are interested in volunteering to make some baby items. It seems that so many people enjoy making baby hats and booties, but I wish I could find someone to help make bereavement items. I know it's not easy to think about, but there's a real need out there.

Lastly, my goal is to finish my smocked gown for Lucybug. It's way over due. Then, I'm working on Emma's scrapbook. Can you tell that I'm procrastinating?

To the Post Office

It's a day of mailing. Hannah's in school so I have time to wait and wait and wait at the Post Office. :-( No matter what time I go, the line is ALWAYS l-l-l-long. Anyway, in the mail are:

1 - 3 loomed hats and 2 burial wraps donated to Ochsner Clinic Foundation in Memory of Angel & Marisa Rodriquez.

2 - The box of old material that I posted about below. It's "busting" at the seams, but I got it all in a flat rate box.

I was going to send the following, but Mom, Dad, and my middle sister are getting cheap tickets to fly out this weekend. Yipee!!
3 - A box to Mom including 4 loomed hats and a burial wrap. Sue, the nice lady from back home that donated so many hats to the Remembering Emma Grace Project, called and asked Mom to come with her to speak at the Senior Citizens Center. Sue is going to coordinate a group to knit and crochet items to be sent to various hospitals in Alabama. She wanted Mom to join her at the initial meeting to talk about Emma and the struggles that a preemie faces. I packed up some photos of the gowns I've made in the past, some statistics, and some patterns. I'm so excited. My sweet girl will touch more lives than I ever dreamed. After the meeting, Mom is mailing the hats and wrap to Citizens Baptist Medical Center in Talladega, AL.

Hats and a Wrap

Right before our vacation, I bought a Knifty Knitter set of looms to take on the plain. I only got one hat done on the trip, but have since made a few more. They quick and fun. I can make one of the preemie sized ones in about an hour.


Plus, I picked up some orange and green yarn the other day at Walmart to do some pumpkin hats. So far I think I like the Caron Simply Soft yarn for the price and softness.


Today, I decided to use some satin in my stash to try a burial pouch. These are used for babies too small to dress.


It was so quick and easy. I think I'll whip out a few more of these. My husband and I decided that adding lace around all edges was a little too much, but after seeing one of Hannah's animals in it, I think that lace is needed along the upper 2 edges.

Old Fabric?

What to do with the old fabric in your stash?? Check out page 2 of the June 2006 CareWear newsletter! A lady in TN coordinates a group of women that make lap quilts for nursing homes. I just cleaned out a stash of old fabric from my Mom. When I started sewing, she decided to pawn off (and I mean that in the loveliest sense of the word) a large tote of old double knit fabric. Much to my dismay, I found myself going, "Well, this I might can use for an applique accent." What is up with that? Why can't I just donate it all? Regardless, I cut the stash in half or close to it. I'll see how much I can get into one of the flat rate boxes at the post office.