The handoff!
Kristi and I finally arranged a hand-off of the Dutchican's gifts this morning. Here's proof!
Look at those tubs full of gifts -- those packages are really crammed in there (thank goodness hand knits are squishy!). You guys have been SOOO generous!
Watch for baby Dutchicans appearing in adorable handknits soon!
Arrivals, Names, and great news!
At approximately 9:30 this morning, two brand spankin' new knitters were added to the Garcia family. (I can call them knitters, right?)
Gerrit Nikolaas* and Austin Noel both weighed 4 pounds even and are breathing room air unassisted.
They will remain in the NICU for approximately 4 weeks and will be home by Christmas!!
Congratulations to Kristi and Noel on the addition of the boys to your family. Thanks for having all of the knitters along for the ride.
*Kristi please forgive me if I spelled their names wrong.
The babies are coming, the babies are coming!!
Today the babies are coming! I just wanted to post to let Kristi and her family know that she and her boys are in my thoughts and prayers. I cannot wait to see their little faces. Peace, love and brightest blessings, my friends. :)
A hat for Elija
Here's the 3rd hat I knit for the Dutchicans. By the time I got to the third hat I was in the zone. It took the least amount of time to finish. Now to make a red and white one for a little one I know. It will be just the cutest hat for Christmas time. All the best to the family on the big day!!
This will be donated to the Pine Ridge Reservation Charity a friend collects hand knit goods for. The remaining leftover yarns, yes I still have about 300+ yards left, will make a vest for some worthy child at the Reservation.
One more thing for the Dutchicans
I noticed there was only one blanket made for the two boys to share. Now every baby should have their own handmade blanket, so I whipped up one. The blanket is just a giant granny square with a single crochet edging. It won't get there before the boys are born Thursday, but it should be waiting for them when they come home from the NICU.
Still here...
As usual, I'm the last one to leave the party. Here's a little sweater that turned out pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself.
Details: "Ribbon-tied Wool Vest" from Simple Knits for Cherished Babies, by Erika Knight. I made it a little longer and changed the neckline. Knit on size 3 needles out of various stash yarns (all baby wools), although of course I ran out of the grey and had to get more. Size is 6-9 months.
Thanks to
Sarah for imparting upon me the mad finishing skillz. It helped!
Winners, Winners, Winners
Sarah and I played phone tag tonight and when we got connected, we picked winners. It was kind of hard with the whole reaching through the phone to grab a name, but we made it work. Ok, what I really did was write names down and have my mom pull them out of a basket. Without further to do, here are the winners.
Gypsy Knits Superwash Sock Yarn to
ArletaLorna's Laces to
BezzieAlpaca With a Twist Fino to
Julie (sorry for the confusion ladies, it was late, and you both won!)
Alpaca With a Twist Fino to
Rae
Knit Picks Dye Your Own Yarn to
Ren"Red Dog Knits" color yarn to
SamanthaSocks That Rock Lightweight to
SharonMohair Boucle to
KyraJaeger Super Kid to
KellyKoigu to
ConnieKnit Picks Shadow to
HeidiI'll be emailing each of you, so if you don't get an email from me, please let me know.
Want to know what all was knit? All right, I'll tell you.
38 Hats, 16 Pairs of Socks, 15 Bibs, 14 Pairs of Booties, 13 Sweaters, 11 Toys, 8 Washclothes, 4 Pairs of Mittens, 3 Vests, 2 Pairs of Slippers, 1 BlankieThat's
125 items all for the babies. You all just warm my heart and I know that there are bloggers still finishing items even though they didn't make the deadline.
Thank you for your time, generosity, love, and caring. I can't let you all know just how much I appreciate you and everything you've done for Kristi. I'm very grateful.
Another lil' sweater
I didn't quite make it in time for the deadline, but the last thing I need is to be angling for more yarn anyway! But I do have another finished sweater...
PATTERN: Seamless Yoked Baby Sweater, designed by Carole Barenys, free pattern
hereYARN: Patons Decor
NEEDLES: First Clover bamboo straights, then KnitPicks Options, U.S. #4, sleeves with Crystal Palace Bamboo DPNs
BUTTONS: Ladybugs, from
Have You Any Wool?NOTES: Ok, so I must confess that I was swept away by the cuteness of the buttons and didn't realize until later that I was sewing LADYbugs onto a BOY'S sweater. Much angst and fretting followed until an impatient JP said "Honey, it's for an infant. And they're BUGS! Boys like bugs!" So I guess they're ok for now!
I like the Patons Decor, but DANG it's hard on the hands...not sure how soon I'll use this yarn again. It does knit up to a nice warm tight fabric though...just right for keeping little babies warm in icy windy cold Michigan winters!
It ain't over 'til it's over!
It's been like Christmas at my house, with packages arriving daily for Kristi's babies. There've been so many that the mail-lady has been carrying them up to the door in plastic tubs! I'm thinking about pretending I know nothing about the Dutchicans and hiding all these gorgeous handknits away for my future grandchildren. Think anyone will notice?
Just kidding!!!
My mother-in-law was visiting me today. She knows nothing about computers, or e-mail, or the Internet, although I've shown her my blog from time to time. I showed her the pile of packages from today's mail and explained to her what they were all about. We opened them together and held the tiny knitted items in our hands. She was overcome with emotion at this tangible evidence of virtual strangers from all over the continent caring so deeply for one another.
Kelli and I want to thank all of you AGAIN for your hard work, for your kindness, and for your generosity. I won't put words into Kristi's mouth (like I just did for Kelli!), but I know you're all aware of what a wonderful thing you're doing for her and for her family.
I also want to remind you that I will continue to accept handknits for Kristi's babies for as long as you continue to send them to me.
Sarah
The last couple things in the box
These are the last couple things in the box I mailed yesterday. 2 fruit hats for when the boys are about 2.
And 8 baby washclothes.
Keepin' Kool
Well, my photo won't load... I finished a sweater last night using some warm & washable Kool Wool that I had in stash. It's mostly black, with red & purple stripes and my daughter is taking it to the P.O. for me today. You can see it on my regular blog,
here, and I will try to try uploading here again later.
Good vibes and well wishes flooding across the lake from Wisconsin! ; )
finally my contribution...
...to the warming of wee
dutchicans sparticans ;-)
these will be passed into sarah's nimble hands tonight (yeah it's after midnight...i'm a night owl lol)
continuing to send positive vibes to the new family :-)
More booties on their way!
I squeezed in a couple Angora Baby Booties from Last Minute Knitted Gifts for the boys. Both are made with the very washable Venice by Passport Yarn Co.
down to the wire!
I'm cutting it close but i've just finished 2 sweaters for the boys. Hopefully these will keep them warm during the winter months! They will be going postal in the morning!
Gratitude
I wish there was some way that I could truly express our appreciation and gratitude to each of you for your knitting, kindness, prayers, and well wishes. We have been on a very long and emotional rollercoaster and now we are just counting down the days that we get to meet these two little guys in person. Nothing could have ever prepared us for the loss of Elija and we will continue to grieve for him. His brothers will always know about their brother and Noel and I have already discussed many ways that we can symbolically pay tribute to Eli so that he will forever be remembered.
Knitting is healing. Sara's post that closed with the quote by Elizabeth Zimmerman - ""Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises"" was something that really had an impact on me. With red swollen eyes I would just stare blankly at the the corner where my knitting bag sat and never thought I would ever want to knit again. The night before yesterday's ultrasound and testing, I was so anxious I decided to pick up the sock using the yarn that Susie made for me called "Kristi's Hope" and I knit until I passed out with exhaustion. I wore the same handknit socks to the appt. as the ones when we were told we were pregnant on May 30. Hubby wants me to wear them until November 17 but I told him that could be a health hazard but did decide that I will wear them for the delivery.
Many of you have shared with me your own personal loses and tragedies and how knitting was a way for you to celebrate their lives and remain connected to that person - to grieve. I couldn't agree more. It has been healing for us to watch this site in the past week and see knitters cheering on Eli's brothers or making donations to their local charities in memory of Eli. Besides being the most stylish boys you have ever seen, I can promise you that each item will be cherished and loved. I will be reminded every time they put on a bootie, cap, sweater, bib, or play with a toy, that each stitch made was made from the heart and that you all shared with us in this rollercoaster of both sadness and celebration.
Thank you to everyone. Words just can't capture our appreciation in being the recipients of such thoughtful gifts from such special people.
I look forward to presenting my next two FO's on November 17.
Booties on the Road
I finished these little jewels over the weekend and sent them off to Sarah first thing Monday morning. Much love to Kristi and Noel and the boys and the fur fam!
Kristi and I finally arranged a hand-off of the Dutchican's gifts this morning. Here's proof!
Here's the 3rd hat I knit for the Dutchicans. By the time I got to the third hat I was in the zone. It took the least amount of time to finish. Now to make a red and white one for a little one I know. It will be just the cutest hat for Christmas time. All the best to the family on the big day!!
I didn't quite make it in time for the deadline, but the last thing I need is to be angling for more yarn anyway! But I do have another finished sweater...
These are the last couple things in the box I mailed yesterday. 2 fruit hats for when the boys are about 2.
And 8 baby washclothes.
I finished these little jewels over the weekend and sent them off to Sarah first thing Monday morning. Much love to Kristi and Noel and the boys and the fur fam!
