See, my wife loves to crochet. And I've watched her do this work - this process of poking that little needle-like probe in and amongst a tangle of yarn and ending up with clothing. It seems like magic that a bundle of yarn turns into something nice and warm. At one point I thought that looking at the directions would help me understand the process. But then I saw this one line of instructions...
dc next 9 sts, dc dec, 9 dc, dc dec, 4 dc, 2 dc in each of next 8 sts, 4 dc, dc dec, dc remaining sts...and realized that not only was she creating magic with her little stick but she was reading a secret language that only those blessed by the gods of crochet could understand.
She has made a variety of winter hats and scarves for the family. She has made some baby blankets for friends with newborns. And all of her stuff looks great.
But that is not what this post is about.
This post is about her hats. Her premie hats. My wife crochets hats for premature babies at hospitals. It seems that the hats which hospitals sometimes have available, even in the NICU areas, are often too large. Also, they aren't adjustable and don't have openings in them for the various monitor leads that get attached to the baby's head. So there are special patterns for creating premie hats that really meet the needs of the doctors and nurses while looking cute and snuggly on the babies.
The local hospitals collect some. And there are national organizations, working through web sites, that collect them and distribute them to hospitals nationwide. The Premie Project is one such web site, but there are many others, dedicated to providing hospitals and families with hats, blankets and booties for premature babies, and burial dresses and other items through their Infant Bereavement Program.
Here is a sampling of my wife's recent creations...
Watching her make these is pretty interesting because I am not a crafter and the process mystifies me. But then holding these little hats is just a bit heartbreaking. After watching our three children being born, I hold these hats and am amazed at how small a baby would be that would need a hat this tiny. The photo above doesn't really give you a sense of the size, so I took one additional photo where I put my car keys on top of one of the smaller hats. We all know the size of a key...so now you know the size of the hat...
Pretty damn small! It makes me sad in a way. But I'm awfully proud of my wife for donating her time and her talent to make this small difference for a family struggling through the birth or their little son or daughter.I love my wife for many reasons and her generosity towards others is certainly one of them!
Happy Valentine's Day to my wife...and to all of you! Hope you have a great day!
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27 comments:
What a sweet guy you are! And what a wonderful wife you have!
The hats are precious. I spent a week in an premie unit with my grandson, and I remember the knitted blankets and hats there made by volunteers like your wife. They give more than warmth to a tiny head; they say, "Welcome, tiny one, there is goodness in the world."
And here's a wish for you...
What I really love about this post is that you can sense what is important. And in sensing that importance, you are keen enough to cherish it.
Happy Valentine's Day to you and your family. I will be having my first "alone" Valentine's for the lack of a spouse for the first time in a decade, but it amazingly doesn't seem too empty. And how could it? Someone snuck into the studio overnight and left me a big bag of chocolates!
That's a great love tribute.
Agh, no fair making me cry this early in the day. I can't even imagine a baby tiny enough to fit in one of those hats.
Your wife must be a wonderful person.
I love you and now I love your wife too! I am going to check out the site you mentioned and see if I can knit (I don't know how to crochet yet) some hats too.
I love that you know and love something about your wife that is important to her. I hope your wife knows how lucky she is to have you! And as a mom that had 3 of my kids in the NICU when they were born, I appreciate what she is doing! Such a wonderful family you all are!
I love your wife. Really I do.
My Bug wasn't a preemie. In fact, he was 3 days over do, and weighed 9lbs, 1oz. But he was in the NICU for two months and then many more months after that.
Some thoughtful lady had taken time out of her life to crochet a hat to go on my son's head. I cherished that hat when he wore it, it was the only sense of normalcy we had at the time.
And now that Bug is gone, I cherish that fuzzy cap even more. It is a sweet reminder of who he was and what he went through.
Because I don't know who crocheted Bug's hat, I will just extend a heartfelt thankyou to your wife in lieu.
Thankyou.Thankyou. Thankyou.
May God bless you always.
And happy Valentines day to you both!
Very nice. The simple things our brides do can be so amazing at times.
Aw, I love this post. What a wonderful thing your wife is doing.
Happy Valentine's Day!
What a great thing for your wife to do! My mother used to knit little hats and mittens for babies in the hospital.
That is so sweet! Both what your wife does and your post.
Wow! I'm looking at my keys in amazement.
In my book, anybody who can make those has some secret super-power.
Your wife does great work!!! I got tiny hats like that for my twins at the hospital they were born at. I have them safely tucked away in their baby boxes. Hope you and your wife have a great Vday.
awwww, what a sweet guy you are. What you wrote today goes along with my blog...you put thought and time into dedicating a blog to her.
Your love for your wife is so clear in your post. What a nice tribute.
And I crochet - my mom taught me at about 8 years old. I find it MUCH easier than knitting!
And I, too, was blessed with big, healthy babies. Your post also reminded me to be grateful for even the smallest things.
Oh my those little hats are just sooooo little. How lovely of your wife to do this. And how lovely of you to post about it! And I, for one, cannot knit or crochet - those numbers and letters in the patterns are very bizarre aren't they? Yes, a secret little language...
Amazing. Your wife is doing an amazing thing. I applaud her for that. :)
Those hats are soooooo tiny! OMG!
I hope you both had a very happy VD :)
You're so sweet.
Awwww, what a sweet post about your wife!!!! What a great woman she must be. And I'm with you.... Every time I see (or, more rarely, make) a premie hat, it makes me sad. Sad for the child and sad for the parents.
You've summed up PERFECTLY why I love crochet as well... With a piece of string, and a hook, I can make magic. I can keep my family & friends warm. I can bring a smile to somebody's face. I can let those I DON'T know, know that somebody, somewhere cares about them. All with a piece of string and a small metal hook.
I hope you & your wife had a fabulous v-day, and many, many, many more to come.
you, my friend, are a sweetheart. your wife is very lucky.
now about those hats....they're SMALL!!!! Good Lord! But bless her heart for doing that.
That's so wonderful and amazing that she does that!
That's so nice of your wife to do that! I've tried learning how to crochet a few times but it just makes me cranky! Ha!! So I stick with knitting.
My wife is looking over my shoulder right now. She saw the hats. She is now saying, repeatedly, "TINY HATS, TINY HATS, TINY HATS, TINY HATS!!!"
That's what I dig about my wife.
Great tribute and a most creative way to honor your wife on Valentine's Day.
What a very touching post and your wife is someone to be admired. Happy Valentine's Day to you and your family.
Soooooo sweet! I have a friend who does this too. I think it's wonderful. Kudos to your wife!
I applaud your wife for her kind and generous acts, and you for sharing it with us.
That is a wonderful thing that your wife is doing. Not many things make my eyes well up, but this was one of them. Very touching. :)
-velvet
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