what i have been up to in my "free time"

Read "free time" as while I'm sitting on my butt pumping.

Hi everyone!

I have been so busy the past few months with Squirt and Roo, lots of family visiting from out of state, BBQs, parties and 2 weeks ago our beautiful little miracles were baptized.

Prepping for their baptism was what was taking up all my "free time" because I took on the crazy task of crocheting their baptism outfits.

I wrote many times how I always wanted to make a blanket that I would finally keep for my own babies, but I also dreamed of crocheting beautiful baptism outfits for their special day. Something special they could keep, look back on when they grow up and maybe if they have their own children they could wear it too. (I'm still working on the blankets. They probably won't be done till the fall)

So, today I wanted to share the finished products with you.

Squirt's outfit had shorts with suspenders and a short sleeve jacket. Those little suspenders and buttons kill me they are so cute! I love how the back loop stitch makes the outfit look ribbed. We found some cute plain white soft shoes for him.

The slip is shorter than the dress, but Roo kept pulling the dress up.

Roo's dress was a shell stitch so it made a pretty scalloped edge. The cap like sleeves were so big they made her look like she had wings. We found some cute lacy shoes for her. My Guardian Angel friend made her slip to go underneath. It was so special for her to be a part of it all.

They were both given hankie bonnet at my shower.

If you haven't heard of it a hankie bonnet is a handkerchief folded and with a little stitch and some ribbon is turned into a bonnet for them to wear.

Here is the poem that came with them.

I am just a little hankie, as square as can be;
But with a stitch or two, they've made a bonnet out of me.
I'll be worn home from the hospital, and on special days,
And then I'll be carefully pressed and neatly packed away.
Then on the wedding, I have been told,
Every well dressed Bride must have something old.
So what would be more fitting than to find Little Old Me,
A few stitches snipped and a wedding handkerchief I will be.
And if per chance, it is a boy, someday he still will wed.
So to his Bride he can present the handkerchief once worn upon his head.

That poem makes me cry every time I read it.

It was such a special day with family and friends. We invited everyone in our little church to celebrate with us. While they were in the NICU everyone was asking about them and praying for them. My Mom kept them updated every week with pictures, weights and milestones. I was told how they celebrated every little oz they gained and every little milestone they hit. After my Mom would give the update they would all clap.

I am crying so hard right now. Tears of joy. I know blessed I am and feel how much we love them, but knowing how much they are loved by everyone else is overwhelming.

I wanted to thank everyone again for all the thoughts, prayers and well wishes for them. All the support you gave me even though I have been MIA for so long.

Now that things have calmed down and we are on a really good schedule, I will be around more often. I miss everyone and can't wait to catch up on all your lives.

crochet show & tell: baby blanket #5

In all the craziness of the past few months I forgot to post about the blanket I made for my cousin K. I wrote about being at her baby shower and how I followed the cool pattern of being pregnant at a shower.

Without further ado, here is the blanket.

K didn't find out the sex of her baby so this was the first "neutral" blanket I have made. Thank goodness she had a plan for the baby's room. She went with primary colors. They painted the walls yellow, red curtains with white polka dots and touches of blue in the rocking chair and bedding.

I first chose red, yellow and blue with the white, but then I felt it needed something else so I added green. I did a classic crochet ripple then added a thin raised strip of color in between every 3 rows to create the thin ripples. I did a thin edging with white. Truthfully, while I was making it I wasn't really excited about the colors, but when I finally added the thin ripples it came together. K and her Hubby loved it so that is all that matters.

K had a beautiful little girl. I will be calling her Little S on the blog. This is the first girl. Great grandchildren 1-6 have all been boys! K finally broke the streak with #7. Everyone was so excited. Especially our Momma and Poppa. They have been not so patiently waiting for a girl.

Now that everyone's itch has finally been scratched with Little S, everyone's need for girls has gone through the roof! Everyone in my family is convinced that I will be having 2 girls to bring up the numbers LOL!

So, now I have to get down to it and figure out the next 2 blankets I will be making for my own babies and then one for my cousin D who is due a month after me.

crochet show & tell: turtle pillow for little L

Like most of you already know, Little L is my Godson and I like to spoil him rotten. His was the first baby blanket I ever made.

Little L's blanket. Made a year ago.

For Little L's 1st Birthday I decided to make him something special like I did when he was born. Turtles have been in his nursery decor from the beginning since his Dad had 3 as pets. So, I decided to include a turtle and make him something he can use as he gets older.

I made him a pillow and he loved it! He was cuddling up on it as soon as he unwrapped it. So cute!

A cute turtle on the front and on the back I did his name. If anyone is interested, this is called tunisian crochet or afghan crochet. I made 2 big squares, whip stitched them together and then stuffed it with polyfill.

Classy and Fabulous

Congratulations E & H @ Many Many Moons on the arrival of your Beautiful Little Girl!

Welcome to your Blogishower!

A big thank you to Natalie @ I was told there would be pajamas for hosting!

This is my first time being a part of a Blogishower and I am so excited!

I can't remember exactly how I stumbled on your blog, but I am so glad I did. I know it wasn't too long after starting my blog in October and I probably clicked over from one of your long time readers. I remember being hooked from the first post I read.

From the beginning I talked about you often with my Hubby. Any time you were waiting on news from an birth mother he would ask about updates. When you experienced heartbreak we were upset with you and when we read the wonderful news of your little girl finally in your arms we were both so excited and happy for you! We are both eagerly waiting to read the next chapter.

And now for the present!

On it's way to you is a Cuddle Bunny. It's one of those little blanket buddies for babies to cuddle with and also doubles as a toy. I hope you all enjoy cuddling together. And yes, I made it. The yarn is a little stiff when it's first made so I recommend washing it before you use it. The more you play with it the softer it will get. I sent wash instructions with it.

crochet show & tell: baby blanket #4

On Saturday I went to my friend B's baby shower. She is having a little girl. This is the first baby girl in our friends and family and I was very excited to make my first girl blanket. I think I went a little overboard because it took a lot longer and ended up being a lot larger than I thought. Oops!

Anyway, it came out great and she loved it! I did squares in pink and white. On the pink ones I did letters of the baby's name and butterflies in a popcorn stitch and the white ones I did plain. I edged all the squares and put them to together in a darker pink and then did a scalloped pink edge.

Sorry, some of the pics are a little blurry. They didn't look that way on the camera.

Next I will be making a baby blanket for my Cousin K. Her baby is due in October. She isn't finding out the gender so I will have to make something neutral.

crochet show & tell: baby blankets

When I was born my Nana crocheted me a beautiful yellow blanket (they didn't know if I was a boy or girl) I grew up with that blanket. It wrapped me in the love of my family. Comforted me when I was sad. Protected me in the middle of the night when I was scared. It was a cape, a tent, even a Christmas tree skirt a few years and so many other things. I kept it on my bed most of the time and it never really left the house. That blanket survived 25 years and many repairs till it was just too far gone. I got rid of it only a few months before I got married.

I loved my blanket. It was very special to me and even though I don't have it anymore I have wonderful memories of it. That is what I want to give when I make a baby blanket for someone I love. Something special they can hold onto for years and make memories like I did. I can just picture Little L running around the house with his blanket cape flapping in the wind. Or Little Z building a tent and crawling under with his books and a flashlight. I make all the blankets about 3' by 4' a good toddler size so they can grow with it.

Making a baby blanket for someone I love makes me so extremely happy. It is also extremely emotionally draining for me. I put my heart and soul and usually some tears into them. It is difficult because I can't wait to make a blanket for my own child. Have them experience the comfort and all the fun things I remember.


The first baby blanket I made was back in May for my Best Cousin T's baby shower. She is like me. We really appreciate hand made things and even more if they were made by someone we cared about. She had said to me once that she wished Momma could still crochet so I knew she would love a blanket for her baby. I chose a pastel blue because she was going with blue and green for Little L's nursery. She was so surprised! I think what made it even more special is that I made my first blanket for my Godson. He uses it all the time.

Piggies in a blanket! I just love when they stretch their toes out all funny!

The second blanket I made was in July for my Bestie N. Her and her Hubby lovingly call it the "Blanket of Epic Deceit". I didn't tell N that I was crocheting again and she had no idea I already made a blanket for T. While N and I were out shopping I asked her to stop by the craft store with me. I told her I decided to surprise T with a blanket for newborn Little L and I needed help picking out yarn. N was having a blast putting together colors she loved and thought T would like too. Little did she know she picked out the yarn for her own blanket LOL! Over the next month I crocheted the blanket right in front of N. She kept telling me how beautiful it was and how T was going to love it! Boy was she surprised when she opened it at her shower! She couldn't stop crying. They have wrapped Little Z in the blanket since the day he came home from the hospital. It is so great getting text pics of him and his blanket every once in a while.

Do you see the pink and other specks in the white? N loved it even for a boy. I think it is cool too!

The most recent blanket I made for my Cousin V. I love her and wanted to make her a blanket, but I was in a pretty bad place and was still kinda upset from our August visit. To make it easier on me I kinda separated myself from the blanket. I didn't pick the colors and it wasn't a surprise. In October when we visited again I told V how I wanted to make her one and it would be a great help if she could pick out the colors. I don't know why, but doing that helped me a ton. I was able to make the blanket and not get as upset. I didn't actually make it till December. Her shower was 2 weeks ago. She loved it and was still surprised even thought she knew she was getting it. I can't wait to get a pic of her baby boy and the blanket.

V likes a more modern look and she actually painted the nursery gray. For the blanket she chose Gray, Navy blue (looks black in the pic), Green and Orange. Sorry for the bad camera phone pic. I forgot to take a pic before I left so she texted me this pic.

After I take a little break I will be starting another blanket to give away to my friend B. This will be #4. I'm still a little upset, but I am excited at the same time. I don't think B has any idea I still crochet so she will be very surprised to get a blanket. I just have to wait and see if they find out the sex and see what colors they are picking for the nursery before I start.

crochet show & tell: my prayer/comfort shawl

When I was younger my church had a prayer/comfort shawl ministry. The ladies would get together a few times a month to knit, crochet and quilt shawls for people going through medical procedures, grieving after a loss, in a time of stress, during an illness or recovery, for prayer or meditation or for a celebration. I always loved the idea. A prayer is said for the person receiving it before you start and you think about that person while making it. The shawl was meant to wrap someone in love. Comfort them and know they are not alone. Someone is thinking of and praying for them.


A couple of months ago my psyc and I were talking about how I have a need to take care of others. I put everyone else before myself in just about everything I do, even in my hobby, crocheting. Everything I make I give away. Blankets, teddy bears, purses, hats, scarves and so on. Everything I have made has been for someone else. I realized I have not kept one thing! She gave me a challenge. Before I started the next baby blanket (it would be my 3rd in 5 months) I was to pick out yarn and make something small, quick and easy for myself and actually KEEP it. I told her I don't need anything. She wasn't taking no for an answer. I was told to think about it and tell her what it would be by the next week.

I was stumped. I didn't need anything. I have winter hats and scarves. Making a teddy bear would just upset me at this point. It took me all week and out of nowhere I thought of the shawls. How I loved the whole idea of them. My mind went straight to who I would give it to. Then I yelled at myself, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE MAKING SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF!" So I tried to think of something else to make.

The shawl kept popping back into my mind.
"I kinda want one, maybe someone in the church still makes them.
I will ask later I gotta figure out something to make for myself.
hmmmm...I could make one for myself.
NO! That's stupid and kinda selfish.
Is it?
Yes it is!
Maybe not...
yea too selfish."

I went back to my psyc and she asked me what I was making. I had settled on a hat. She could tell I wasn't too happy about it. I told her I don't need anything. She told me to stop saying I didn't need anything and and asked if there was something I wanted. The shawl popped back into my mind so I told her about it but quickly ended with how it was stupid and extremely selfish to make something for myself that was meant to give away. She asked me how it was selfish to make something for myself that could help comfort me. I didn't have an answer. Maybe it wasn't as selfish as I thought. I talked it over with her some more and decided to make one.

My thoughts were that I was going to have it with me at my Dr appts. Something to make me a little warmer when I am half naked on those cold tables. Something to hold onto and squeeze when something the Dr does gets uncomfortable. Something to catch my tears if I get upset. Instead of a big shawl I made a wide scarf.

I went to the craft store to pick out yarn. I decided I would start with the pomegranate color and just go crazy from there. I wanted it to be fun yet comforting. I said a little prayer before I started and got to work. While I crocheted I thought about my journey and my future. It was relaxing and kinda healing.

I haven't had any appts since I made it, but I wear it often as a scarf. When I think too much or get ahead of myself it is something I can hold on to and make myself calm down. Tomorrow is my big appt with the RE to figure out our IUI plan. My shawl with be with me every step of the way.