Hats 3, 4, & 5

I have finished these, since my last post. It is amazing how the pattern came out a little different on each one, yet I used the same ball of yarn for all of them. I think the way it comes out really depends on what point in the yarn I start the hat off in.

My sister had complimented the acorn top of number 2, just as I was finishing number 5. It was in my head, so I went for the acorn top again. That top is very hard to do! At that point, I am juggling three double pointed needles, with only two stitches on each one. The needles keep shifting around on me, and have almost slipped off several times.

I meant to swap yarn each time I start a new hat. However, I seem to finish hats when I am out of the house, so I just start casting on with the yarn I have with me. I did swap the yarn in my box, for the next hat. It will be nice to get away from yellow and white for a bit.

Hat number 2

Another bad pic!

I finished this one yesterday. This hat was made with the same pattern as Hat 1. I change the pattern slightly. Instead of closing off the top of the hat, when I had six stitches left on my needles, I made a few more rows. This made the cute little “acorn top” effect. This is a fun yarn. The yellow slowly blends into the white. I am very interested to see how other hats come out with this yarn, when I start at a different color point.

Hat number 1

This pic may not come out so great...my digital camera isn’t very good.

I finished this hat last week. I got the pattern here, but kept the whole project on one yarn. The pattern says it is size preemie, but it really sizes out to be more micro preemie. I figure the hospitals may not get a lot of this size, so I am going to stick with this pattern for a while. I really like this yarn I found. If you look closely, the pink makes a spiral all the way up the hat.

Why I knit

I knit for Mildred Grace. No, that is not her legal name...but it should have been. She was one of my foster children. She lived with me for six months. Social Services bought the song and dance her family put on, and she was reunited with her birth family. She should have never been returned. Mildred Grace was the name I was going to give her, had I had the chance to adopt her. I still wait every day, for her to come back home to me.

She was estimated to have been born at 33 weeks gestation, and was 3 pounds, 10 ounces. She spent the first 4 weeks of her life in the NICU. I was given her case 5 days before her discharge, and spent those last nights in the NICU with her. She was 4 1/2 pounds the day she came home.

Bringing home a baby that small is quite a challenge. It is hard to find clothing that small. Even the preemie size diapers are too big. I bought a dress to bring her home in, that was sized for under 5 pounds, that was still big on her.

The Nurses in the NICU were fabulous! They sent us home with lots of things that people had knitted, and donated to the hospital. I was so moved by these acts of kindness. I vowed I would learn to knit, and donate too, as a way to repay the people who knit for her.

It took a while to get the hang of knitting, and to get to the skill level to make such small hats. But I finally did it! I plan on making my first donation to the hospital that she was born in.

I am making this blog to show my progress, and to raise awareness.