A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

Knitting for the NICU: Teaching Jordan and Sydney to Knit Preemie Hats

The nieces spent a couple of days with us this week, which was a blast!  One of the projects we tackled, besides school supply and school clothes shopping was knitting. I had bought the knitting looms and supplies at least six months ago, if not longer, and I always have a dresser drawer (or two) in the spare bedroom full of yarn for them to choose from.  To be honest I thought it would be a lot harder to do and teach than what it is.  I'd never used a knitting loom before either so while Sydney was lounging in the jacuzzi with a soda, a book, dimmed lights and scented candles...Jordan and I tackled the project. We wanted to get the gist of it down before trying to teach Sydney and confusing her with false starts.  It's really fun and quick to pick up.  Jordan and I found that within a few rows we'd caught on to some little tricks that made the process easier and later, while I helped Sydney, we would call out "okay when this happens then you do this to fix it..." hints as we found ways that even simple projects can be screwed up and then fixed again.

Jordan took to this like a duck on water. She was so quick.  We started about 7pm and we were all so excited and having fun that even though Uncle Gene went to bed at 10pm we stayed up knitting until 3am!  In that time Sydney completed one cute hat that she left for "hat baby" and Jordan made THREE things:  a washcloth for her Mom, a soap inside a closed knitted pouch for the whole family (her idea--it was very cool!), and her first official hat for the NICU! 

We're so excited!  It's adorable! I love the colors she picked. She ran two strands, one of a variegated blue/periwinkle and another strand of a denim color. Really cute together, don't you think?

I took this pic of Sydney holding hat baby with the first hat she made (great job, Sydney!!!) and when I showed the pic to Jordan she said "How cool.  That looks like a Colleen picture!"  See, Colleen? EVERYONE thinks you take great pics and any of them that are a little more fun we call them "Colleen" shots. 

 

Jordan chose purple for the dishcloth because that's her mom, Suzanne's, favorite color.

 

She chose bright pink for the bathtub soap pouch.  We sewed up one end, put a bar of Lever 2000 soap in it, and then sewed up the other end.  Not only will it lather great, we all think that soap brand smells really fresh and clean without being perfumey.

I'm thinking I'd be thrilled if she made me and Gene one for Christmas.  Hint hint!!!

 

I started to say that by 3am Jordan could hardly keep her eyes open, but I don't think there's any hardly there.  We were all walking zombies and slept in until almost noon.

 

The girls hard at work...

 

And what have I been up to?  I'm finishing the hat designs for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas that our knitting group has graciously pleged to help me make:  "costume" hats for Halloween, pumpkin and turkey hats for Thanksgiving, and Santa hats for Christmas.

In the meantime, though, we've also start a new project as a group to not only work on hats but to knit small preemie-sized swaddling blankets.  These are my first two blankets, along with a new hat I've designed for spring that has a knitted -in rose in the crown.

 

And that, my friends, is what's been happening in the Knitting for the NICU world.

The nieces spent a couple of days with us this week, which was a blast!  One of the projects we tackled, besides school supply and school clothes shopping was knitting. I had bought the knitting looms and supplies at least six months ago, if not longer, and I always have a dresser drawer (or two) in the spare bedroom full of yarn for them to choose from.  To be honest I thought it would be a lot harder to do and teach than what it is.  I'd never used a knitting loom before either so while Sydney was lounging in the jacuzzi with a soda, a book, dimmed lights and scented candles...Jordan and I tackled the project. We wanted to get the gist of it down before trying to teach Sydney and confusing her with false starts.  It's really fun and quick to pick up.  Jordan and I found that within a few rows we'd caught on to some little tricks that made the process easier and later, while I helped Sydney, we would call out "okay when this happens then you do this to fix it..." hints as we found ways that even simple projects can be screwed up and then fixed again.

Jordan took to this like a duck on water. She was so quick.  We started about 7pm and we were all so excited and having fun that even though Uncle Gene went to bed at 10pm we stayed up knitting until 3am!  In that time Sydney completed one cute hat that she left for "hat baby" and Jordan made THREE things:  a washcloth for her Mom, a soap inside a closed knitted pouch for the whole family (her idea--it was very cool!), and her first official hat for the NICU! 

We're so excited!  It's adorable! I love the colors she picked. She ran two strands, one of a variegated blue/periwinkle and another strand of a denim color. Really cute together, don't you think?

I took this pic of Sydney holding hat baby with the first hat she made (great job, Sydney!!!) and when I showed the pic to Jordan she said "How cool.  That looks like a Colleen picture!"  See, Colleen? EVERYONE thinks you take great pics and any of them that are a little more fun we call them "Colleen" shots. 

 

Jordan chose purple for the dishcloth because that's her mom, Suzanne's, favorite color.

 

She chose bright pink for the bathtub soap pouch.  We sewed up one end, put a bar of Lever 2000 soap in it, and then sewed up the other end.  Not only will it lather great, we all think that soap brand smells really fresh and clean without being perfumey.

I'm thinking I'd be thrilled if she made me and Gene one for Christmas.  Hint hint!!!

 

I started to say that by 3am Jordan could hardly keep her eyes open, but I don't think there's any hardly there.  We were all walking zombies and slept in until almost noon.

 

The girls hard at work...

 

And what have I been up to?  I'm finishing the hat designs for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas that our knitting group has graciously pleged to help me make:  "costume" hats for Halloween, pumpkin and turkey hats for Thanksgiving, and Santa hats for Christmas.

In the meantime, though, we've also start a new project as a group to not only work on hats but to knit small preemie-sized swaddling blankets.  These are my first two blankets, along with a new hat I've designed for spring that has a knitted -in rose in the crown.

 

And that, my friends, is what's been happening in the Knitting for the NICU world.

Creamy Cucumber Dip

 

So simple and yet so rewarding, this is a summer constant in my work lunchbox and snack around the house. Only three ingredients that pack an all-out taste power punch:  creamy for the tongue, crunch for the teeth, and salty herby for the psyche pleasure zone.

It's also one of my favorite orders at Parlor 88, a local pub with two locations in Springfield, where they also serve nummies like curried chicken salad lettuce wraps, jalapeno popper dip, and pulled pork nachos.

Parlor 88 serves the cucumber dip with lavosh (cracker bread) but at home we eat this primarily on good fibrous tough stuff crackers or I love it as a sandwich on wheat or rye bread. Middle-of-the-night Afternoon Tea, anyone?

An added pleasure is anytime the cukes come from your own garden. Sigh.  The best part of summer is the garden!

The Jordan, Jordan, and Sydney Birthday Show

  

Last weekend we had a summer family birthday extravaganza of sorts. Since (boy) Jordan, Sydney, and (girl) Jordan's birthdays are all at the beginning, middle, and end of summer, and they all wanted to go to Incredible Pizza even though they're teenagers...we made it a mini blow out. 

The funniest thing to me was that when I said to the gal attending our party room "You don't seem fazed by the fact that they're all teenagers" she replied "Oh we get teens all the time. Adults too. Right before you in this room was a 40 year old's birthday party."  Now I feel ripped off. I told Gene last January I wanted to go to Incredible Pizza for my 44th birthday and he thought I was nuts.  Pizza, cake, ice crea, video games, putt-putt....come on! Who wouldn't have fun with that as their party?  So for my 45th, Gene....