Savannah's Song

6/6/08 Update - Sadly, Savannah passed away about 2 weeks ago. Prayers of comfort and healing to her family.

My friend's daughter's friend, Savannah, is 14 years old and has a brain tumor. The doctors are saying she will not live long.

When I crochet, I touch every inch of every fiber that goes into the project. I pray over the items when I crochet them.

When I heard about Savannah, I immediately wondered what I could make for her.

I was thinking a hat, because I thought she would be losing her hair during the treatments. But the doctors say that with the type of treatments they are using, she will not be losing her hair.

And, we live in Florida, so hats aren't too helpful.

I went to the craft store to pick out some yarn. I picked up some Bernat Bamboo in Water and used an L hook. It's one of my favorite yarns to work with, it's so soft. It's 89% Bamboo and 11% Acrylic. One of the free patterns on the label was for a shrug (basically a rectangle sewed about 8-10 inches from each end to make sleeves). I thought this would be a nice accessory to give her.

It's about 42" x 14". I used my 14-year-old daughter as a model for sizing and for photos.

I just kept hearing, in my head, "Savannah's Song" as I was making this. I also like to search the scriptures to add a Bible verse to the items I make. I really felt that these verses are for Savannah.

Psalm 42:7-8 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.

By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.

Unconventional Baby Blanket

I have been asked to make a baby blanket for a friend whose friend is having a baby. The baby is due in April. I asked if they knew if the baby was a boy or girl. She told me a boy. She told me his name and why he was going to be named that. I am creating a blanket in afghan stitch and will be adding his name to the blanket in cross stitch (I hope since I've never cross stitched before). The blanket will then be edged appropriately.

I'm keeping this a secret until the project has been finished, but let's just say that the musicians reading this may appreciate it. I have also consulted my husband with textures and colors.

k-jacket in green

A friend of mine had seen a jacket/bolero worn by Joyce Meyers and asked if I could make her something similar. I was confident I could find a pattern in my millions of patterns around, but nothing jumped out at me. I then became nervous as I knew this would me I would have to try my hand at designing. And since I'm a perfectionist, this was not something I looked forward to.

I started by choosing the yarn. She told me the color she desired and I had in mind a certain yarn. I went to Michael's to check it out and the yarn was perfect. I chose Bernat Satin Sport in Jade. My friend wanted the jacket to have small openings so one would see the color of the shirt under it. I chose a pattern in Jean Leinhauser's book 101 stitches for afghans, stitch #40. I crocheted it in 8 pieces. Front left and right, back, sleeves, edging left, right and bottom. There were a few times I needed to frog it, however that was due to me not taking measurements properly. I was so concerned with making sure it wouldn't be too big that it was too small. It would have fit like a shirt, but she wanted to wear a shirt under it.

I must say that the Lord really showed me what to do with this jacket. I had crocheted vests before and took my knowledge of that to make the pieces, but a jacket is a bit different. I prayed and asked for guidance and He really met me and showed me what to do. I have not been to design school or anything like that. I learned to crochet reading patterns and sometimes panic if I don't have a pattern to follow - I just draw a blank. So this jacket was an awesome work of God. He used my hands to make it. :)

Well, I had finally finished it and she wore it Sunday. I got a picture of it on my iPhone, and once my camera comes, I'll get some more photos.

Guitar Stand Cozy

A while ago, I had crocheted a cozy/cover for my husband's guitar stand. It was an older stand and he just wanted something soft around it so his guitar could be protected.

He has the guitar stand on the stage at our church where he leads worship. One of the team members saw it and asked if I could make one for him. His brother makes guitars and uses a finishing on the guitars that the stuff on new guitar stands eats through or something. So he wanted something that would also protect his guitar.

I explained to him that the cover was crocheted directly onto the stand. I would need the stand in order to do the project. He went out and purchased a new stand and I used a skein of yarn that had been given to me by an online friend. I have no idea what kind of yarn it is. It appears to be wool(ish) and worsted weight. But it's a bit silkier than wool.

So I crocheted 2 rectangles for the legs and sewed them on, leaving a hole towards the bottom where the body of the guitar rests on the stand. That is covered by a foam that we do not believe eats through the finishing. If it seems to do so, I will cover that part as well. I also crocheted a cap for the stand. I crocheted it in 3 pieces, front, back and top; sewed them together and then sewed the cap to the legs.

He was very pleased with the outcome, as was I.

A new picture will be added when I get my new camera.