even in the nicu

needless to say, i've been gone a while. the reason is this teeny tiny, humongously engrossing project i've been absorbed with for four months now:

a long story with many details, all I really need to say is that she is here and despite coming over four weeks early and staying in the nicu 12 days, she is healthy and the light of our lives. life really does revolve around her in our home right now. God has blessed us tremendously with the challenges and growth she has brought us and with numerous happy, joyful moments, too. there were oh so many reasons not to do this thing, not bring her in to our family, but in the balance of it we got our "bonus package" and she was surely worth it. i post the above photo taken on her second day of life because i actually look decent despite the hospital gown (oh, the vanity of me) and because of that wonderfully crazy hat made by a kind-hearted volunteer. i thought it was appropriate for a sewing/crafty type blog. i don't know who does the hats, but someone makes and donates tiny knitted hats to the nicu and the nurses put a new one on her almost every day. we got each of them for keeps. the older siblings loved to pick out which hat to put on her when they came in for a visit. i called this one the "sponge bob" hat because of the colors and that big hot pink flower reminds me of that starfish character (patrick?). someone was trying hard to do some good for people in a stressful situation and i thank them for that even if it's something i never would have made or selected on my own. most definitely the thought counts and i am grateful.

you might think sewing and quilting were the furthest things from my mind with a baby in the nicu for over a week, but i actually got a daily dose of them whenever i passed this collection of mini quilts in the hallway:

several times i stopped to look at the colors, the fabric choices, the pattern design and think about something other than my little girl and her struggles. it was a mini break amidst all that was going on. forgive the terrible photos but i snapped them quickly in passing on one of the last days simply so i could remember them. these were placed at a corner and i often navigated the confusing maze of corridors by them.

a closer look at the ones i could reach with my camera:

a little heather bailey in there as well as a few other patterns i recognized.

so there you have it, quilting on my brain even in the nicu. not that i've been able to touch needle or thread in the past several months, at least until last week. so many things i once dreamed of sewing for a baby if i ever dared have another and now not a moment to do it in. i've made all those 4 squares for other peoples babies, but not my own. i did finally pick up #10 (the fabric for which i purchased this time last year and the sewing for which i did in october) and work on the blanket stitching this last week. that was all it was waiting for - the blanket stitching. but i couldn't even get to that. the baby it was intended for is 6 months old, for heaven's sake! so maybe i'm emerging now and will re-enter the sewing world. but probably not the blog world. in the time i've posted this, i probably could have completed that last bit of blanket stitching! there just isn't time to do both. i have 4 squares to do for two new nieces and a nephew. we'll see if i get them done.

"star cookie" has been hanging out in the family room for over a week and i've been putting baby on it. the sister to which it belongs shares it rather begrudingly. i said, "i really just need to make one of her own for her." (the fabric for that's been sitting, pressed, on my table for four months). sister #2 overheard and replied, "what! you need to finish my quilt first!" you know, "taite", which i started last may. sigh. that's going to take many more an hour whereas a small baby quilt made from a few fat quarters cut in half would be relatively quick. but even that seems a dream the way my days run now.  honestly, isn't there just some way to make the time? i've actually tried on a few saturdays when everyoene seems involved elsewhere and something always comes up. so be it. this just isn't my season for sewing. it's baby's turn for now.