NICU Blankets

In lieu of buying a gift for Valerie's birthday this year (which she doesn't really need, because she is very blessed with plenty), I decided to use my sewing skills and all the fleece and flannel fabric I've accumulated to sew some blankets for the NICU.

Since both my children spent their first week of life in the wonderful care of the NICU doctors and nurses, it is a very special place to us.  When Almanzo was in the NICU, I gave the nurses several blankets I had made him to cuddle up with and so he would have a piece of me there when I wasn't.  The nurses commented on how soft and cute his blankets were and how they wished they had more blankets like that instead of the boring receiving blankets that were beginning to show their wear.

The blankets I made are approximately 15" x 15" squares with a little ribbon tag that were turned-and-topstitched. I added another little tag to each blanket with these words written on it:

We delivered these as a family on Valerie's birthday.  We are so thankful for all they have done...and, even more so, we are so thankful for God's protection and healing.  What a precious blessing these little ones are!

Summer Pajamas

My Sweet Pea has been slowly outgrowing all of her pajamas, which is actually a good thing since they were all long sleeve and too hot for the summer.  I decided to try making some pajamas, since I already know how to make pants/shorts by using another pair of pants/shorts as the pattern.  For the top, I just traced the outline of another top for the sizing and made it my own pattern.  I used a cotton knit fabric that happened to be on sale a few weeks ago.  I like how it turned out, but I'm going to try to tweak my patterns a little to make a better fit the next time. (Also, please excuse the crazy-bed-head-hair and uncooperative-toddler-frown in that last picture. LOL!)

Wordless Wednesday - Birthday Dress