Needlework Monday - ‘Project NICU Warmth’ - Working Together As A Community~

Four years ago I remember when my brother and sister-in-law were told by the doctor to prepare for the worst. They received the news that their newborn baby girl had a cyst in her brain. He told them because it was covering 80% of her brain, she would have learning disabilities. Many prayers were lifted and tears shed as we awaited patiently for a miracle.

A miracle did happen. Over a matter of weeks the cyst in her brain shrunk on it’s own and no operation or surgery had to be performed. Today my niece is a strong and well capable smart little girl that has absolutely no learning disabilities. Thank you Lord for sparing her life.

One of the things that lifted my sister-in-law’s spirit was the handmade crocheted preemie hats she received while my niece was in the NICU. It was really special for her to receive those handmade with love hats for her baby who was fighting for her life. I didn’t know that people were donating these types of hats to hospitals. It really inspired me to do the same. These hats help the preemie babies to keep their bodies warm and to help keep out noise. Their skin is very vulnerable and their organs are underdeveloped and they are not quite ready for a lot of stimulation with light, sound or touch. Keeping their heads covered helps with this.

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So today for #NeedleworkMonday I want to present to you our first Community Project called ‘Project NICU Warmth’! I want to bring in this New Year providing for those babies in need. We have such a wonderful growing community here filled with talented people that make beautiful handmade items. We can use our talents and skills to really help these hospitals provide hats that will fit these precious little babies. We would have the whole month of January to reach our goals. Please choose a hospital in your area to donate your hats to. They are always in need of knitted donations. You can call the NICU of your desired location and ask about their specific guidelines for donating.

I am challenging us to make at least a minimum of 5 crocheted, knitted, sewn, or no-sew preemie hats by the end of January 2018! If you can make a hat using any other form of crafting it is welcome. I know that we all have busy lives and some have businesses to run so I want us to make realistic goals. I personally am setting a goal for myself to make 10 but I hope to make even more.

There are many people and groups that have been donating to the NICUs for a long time now. They have listed information online about donating and the guidelines we must follow when making handmade items. Here is a Link from another preemie project that has listed some helpful guidelines that we can follow when doing our community project. It suggests the types of yarn, measurements, and colors that are appropriate for the babies. It also talks about preparing our hats as far as washing them and packaging them for sending to the hospitals.

Here is a Free Crochet Preemie Hat Pattern that I am using to make my hats (my first one is the orange hat pictured above). You can change your hook size to change the sizes of the hats. I plan to make a variety of sizes since babies come in a variety of sizes.

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On the last Monday in January (January 29th) for #NeedleworkMonday please make a post showing a picture of all the hats you made. You can tell us a little about your experience, the yarn you chose, and if you enjoyed making these little gifts. I really believe that us working together for one cause will really show others just what a supportive community can do. Together we can uplift so many families as they wait for their precious babies to come home. This may even inspire you to go a little further and donate other items such as booties, sleep sacks, blankets, diaper covers etc. in the future.

So will you all join me? Please let me know below in the comment section if you plan to participate. I will make another post next week to make sure all of our crafters know about the project. Also will you Resteem this post to help get word out? Thank you so much in advance.

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I will be announcing another Community Project for the month of February for those who live in colder climates. It will be a great opportunity to keep someone warm this Winter.

Thank you for tuning in! May this New Year bring you so many warm blessing~

❤️ Cynthia~