Wonderful waste of time

 I tried to warn you that I had so much to tell you...

So We have been spending so much time at the hospital with my dad.  I mean we were all there for several days (now we are taking turns-he's doing well and we had to go back to work).  And you know how it is everyone brings something to keep them busy so that they can ward off boredom.  Well Val had been using one of those round loom things that you can knit hats and such.  She had made herself one and while there her knitting caught the attention of one of my nieces (Katie) and she wanted to know how to make one for herself.  So Val being excited to show someone sat down with her and gave her the loom and some yarn and helped her along.  That girl made her whole hat.  She loves it and wears it everywhere already.  Before we knew it Haleigh was in on learning to make hats.  They were having such a good time knitting away while visiting with their papa and all his company.  I mentioned to Val that maybe they could make some little baby hats and see if the nurses on the maternity floor could take them for all the little babies born at that hospital.  The girls (& papa) thought this was a great idea and took a little hat that Val had made for our baby cousin (Matthew) down to show the nurses and see if they would take them.  They came back so excited and said that the babies could use all the hats we could make.  Grandpa thought this was a great idea and gave the girls some money so they could get more yarn.  That day everyone wanted to make baby hats to give away. 

After taking their first batch of little hats down, a nurse gave them a tiny little hat and told them if they could make them this little that they could really use this size (little green one on the left in the picture at left) 15 weeks gestation is when some of the babies there are born. They are so tiny it was hard (still is) for us to imagine how tiny the baby that needs this size hat.  After some google searches we learned that some are smaller than a soda can at 15 weeks.  Too small and sadly some do not make it out of the hospital.    

 The girls have been knitting and knitting and each day taking little hats down to the nurses to share with new babies.  It has been such a blessing to see all these girls working together for such an amazing cause.  I hope that their desire to do this also leaves the hospital with them so that maybe once a month we can make a trip to the hospital and deliver more hats.  The nurses also asked for tiny little blankets, but they take a little longer to knit so I think I am going to make up several small quilts for them as well. 

I've been told that there is a program called newborns in need that take little hats and blankets to share with those who need them and that is pretty much what these girls are doing.  But I believe it means more and makes them want to work harder for them to get to see how their efforts are making a difference. 
                            
Knitting really is a lost art I think and you would be surprised how much stress relief you get form it. 

I think that this has helped us all far more than we all realize when it comes to how we are dealing with my dad being in the hospital with such a life threatening situation.  

         And just the amount of hours we are there can get mind numbing but thanks to Valorie Michelle we can all relax and just keep knitting, just keep knitting...(sing to the tune of just keep swimming from finding nemo, it gets stuck in your head be careful) just keep knitting, knitting, knitting.  And before you know it grandpa will be home and we will be missing all the time we were getting to spend doing nothing but knitting.
 
It is pretty cool what we can do when we work together.

I challenge you to find something that you enjoy doing and do it for someone else without expecting something in return.  Give without wanting to receive.  It is the best feeling in the world and I am so glad that all these girls have had the chance to feel that feeling.

Go to your local hospital and see if they need hats or blankets.  Not just for babies but the elderly as well.  Our girls are doing the small hats for the babies because they are done quickly and they can deliver them each day.  But everyone in the hospital could use a blanket or hat or maybe even little booties.  I would be surprised if your hospital didn't love the help.

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Valorie plans to keep knitting and she is still in school so she and her cousins have a very limited yarn supply if you would like to help but don't have the time to sit down and knit please feel free to send her some yarn.  My e-mail address is  tlc33195@gmail.com  email me and I will make sure she gets your donation.

It really is a wonderful waste of time
Thank you for reading.

Have a great day everyone!

tammy c