Levi's Lovies - 2nd Annual Collection!

Levi's Lovies~
2nd Annual Collection of Preemie Blankets for the Suburban NICU
"Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies." -Psalm 34:6


What is it?
Each year our family collects handmade preemie blankets and hats to donate to the Suburban NICU. Our goal is to collect at least 35 blanket sets as there are generally 25-35 families with a baby in the NICU at any given time. The blanket sets are given to each family in the NICU at the time of donation. Additional sets are distributed throughout the year.



Our Story...
Our seventh child, Levi was born in August 2009 with seemingly no complications. However, the day after we brought him home from the hospital he was readmitted after a routine checkup showed some concerns. We originally thought he had an infection, but later found that he had some neurological issues. God has been so gracious to us, and our little one has made a miraculous recovery from the brain injury with very minimal delays. But in the first couple weeks of Levi's life, we had no idea what his future would hold.

You can read about our NICU journey here:
Please Pray
Update
Continuing to Improve
Hard Day
Short Update
He's Home!!!

The eleven days we spent in the NICU were absolutely the darkest days of my life. Watching the heart rate and oxygen levels of our infant drop, praying that he would somehow maintain his body temperature, tubes and wires stuck through him everywhere,...not knowing when or how or if he would recover. And our story was nothing compared to most of the other families in there. This was our life for only 11 days...others were there for literally months. My heart still aches for them in a way that only a mother who has been there can understand.

One day while in the NICU we received a wrapped gift from a mom who's little one had been in the NICU a year prior. It was so sweet to receive this gift. Also, while I was there I kept myself busy crocheting hats for Levi since staying warm was something that was hard for him to do. From the moment I came home I knew I wanted to somehow minister to the families who were going through what we went through.

A few months later I began collecting handmade preemie baby blankets through our church and homeschool group. We were blessed to receive over 46 blankets and hats! Our family wrapped the sets in ribbon and included a letter from us. All of the kids went with me as we dropped the items off at the hospital and the blanket sets were given to the NICU families on Levi's first birthday!


How You Can Participate
Please help by making and donating handmade blankets and/or hats! These items can be knitted, crocheted, or sewn. Not all of the babies in the NICU are preemies, (our Levi wasn't), but preemie sized blankets make wonderful carseat blankets! They are actually my favorite size baby blankets to have around the house. You can make the blankets any size you like, but most of mine wind up about 2' by 2'.

When choosing a yarn, PLEASE CHOOSE ONLY ACRYLIC YARN. This is requested by the NICU staff as some of the babies could have an allergy to wool or other natural fibers.

Most importantly, please PRAY as you make the blankets! Pray for healing for the babies, for wisdom for the medical staff, and for the peace and comfort that only God can give for the families.

When you are ready to donate your items, please contact me via email to arrange a time for us to get them from you. My email is csclark626@yahoo.com . I'll need to collect the blanket sets no later than the second week of August.

Below are two of my favorite links for free preemie blanket and hat pattens...
http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/preemies.html
http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/directory/preemies.php


Levi in the NICU


Levi this year! Praise God!

Newsboy Hats and Beanies

A friend of mine asked me to make some hats for her little one and how could I refuse when she was asking me to make a hat as cute as these little newsboy hats...
I was surprised at how fast they worked up.


Oh my, I know I'm partial...but he is adorable handsome! I didn't actually make this hat for my L1, (he just happened to be the model), so it's a little snug on him.





Another newsboy hat in blue.


And three beanies to complete the order.

First Two Knitted Projects!

So at the beginning of January, I took a little time to jot down a few goals for the new year. One of those goals: LEARN TO KNIT. I have tried and failed at least three times before to teach myself to knit and I knew I needed help. Luckily, Chad had gotten me a gift certificate to my favorite yarn shop for Christmas and it just so happened that they were starting a new Beginning Knitting Class.

I completed the class this week as well as my first two knitted projects:

Potato Chip Scarf...

This scarf is full of mistakes just as a first project should be. The biggest issue was that it turned out way too short and thin for the intended wearer (me), but works just fine as a kids scarf.



Slouch Hat...

I spotted this hat at the yarn shop a year ago and fell in love with it. But alas, I didn't know how to knit and therefore could not make it myself. Ha! That is no longer an issue.


I so wish I had better lighting in these pictures so you could see just how pretty this yarn is.


Ah...a rare self-photo.

Showcase of Fingerless Gloves

Tailored Gloves

Preppy Striped Gloves

Playfully Pink Gloves

Snowflake Gloves

Sweetheart Gloves

Arrow Hat

Hubby wears a hat I made him to work in the winter and his boss mentioned that he would like a hat made of alpaca. Never wanting to miss a chance to work with a fine yarn, I went searching on my favorite website for free crochet patterns and found this new link to the Arrow Hat created at LiLu Studio.

I wish you can see the beautiful ribbed pattern that works up, but I had horrible lighting when I took my pics last night AS SOON as I finished it. I couldn't wait until the morning since Chad was taking it to the boss today.


Don't I have a handsome and sweet husband? He sweetly agrees to my every whim...even modeling my latest crochet creation at 11pm at night.

Snowflake Fingerless Gloves and Hat Set

Last winter I made A8 a pair of fingerless gloves, so this year H5 has been asking for her own pair. Personally, I love fingerless gloves for their cuteness and functionality. I think every girl should own at least one pair. The basic pattern for these gloves are pretty much the same as A8's gloves, but I tweaked it just a bit.




Snowflake Fingerless Gloves

Hook Size-I (5.5)

Yarn- 1 skein Lt. Purple (Color A)
1 skein White (Color B)

Abbreviations:
ch = chain
sl st = slip stitch
sc = single crochet
dc = double crochet
fpdc = front post double crochet
bpdc = back post double crochet
sc2tog = single crochet two together
Rev. sc = Reverse single crochet

With Color A, ch 18. Join with sl st into 1st ch.

(Please note: I made these for my 5 year old daughter. You will need to stop here and measure accordingly. Everyone's hands are going to be slightly different. Basically, what you have chained should wrap around the width of your child's 4 fingers. This glove will be worked from the top down to the wrist, leaving a hole open for the thumb.)

Round 1 - Sc in each ch around. Do not join at end of round, continue working around marking 1st stitch of each round with marker.

Rounds 2-7 - Sc in each sc around. Do not join at end of round, continue working around marking 1st stitch of each round with marker.

(Please note: Stop here and measure your child's hands again. You have just made the part of the gloves that covers the fingers, minus the top edging which you will add later. Next you will be working the rows that include the thumb opening. If you feel that the glove should be longer add one or two rounds accordingly before moving on.)

Row 8 - Continuing around sc in each sc around, but TURN at the end of the round. (Thumb hole begun.)

Rows 9-14. - Ch 1. Sc in each sc. Turn.

Round 15 - Sc in each sc around. Sl st in 1st sc of row. (Thumb hole complete.) DO NOT TURN.

Round 16 - dc in each sc around. Join with sl st in the top of the 1st dc.

Rounds 17-20 - (Change to Color B for Round 17 and alternate between Color A and B for each round.) *fpds, bpdc" around. Join with sl st into 1st stitch of round at the end.

Round 21 - Sc in each dc around. Join with sl st. Tie off.

Thumb:
Round 1 - Using Color A, attach yarn with sl st at the base of thumb hole. Sc in each space around. Do not join, continue around.

Round 2 - sc2tog all the way around. Do not join, continue around.

Round 3 - Sc in each sc around. Sl st to join. Tie off.

Edging:
Rev. sc around top of thumb opening and finger opening in Color B. Optional: Add simple snowflake embroidery on glove using Color B as shown in picture.




I would love to give you the pattern for the snowflake hat, but to be honest with you, I didn't write it down as I was working it. It's just a simple dc beanie with a shell border. I added an edging of white and embroidered snowflakes around the hat.

Stay warm and Merry Christmas!

Better late than never.

I promised my stepmom an afghan for her birthday...on October 31st. I seriously worked furiously on it...once I finally got it started about 3 weeks before her birthday. Yes, I am a professional procrastinator.

I presented her with a half-done afghan in October and a promise to get it done before Christmas.

Wait a minute...it's 2 weeks before Christmas now. I guess that means I actually finished early! ;-)