Leftovers

No, I'm not talking Thanksgiving turkey...I'm talking leftover fabric pieces, i.e., scraps. What to do with them? Besides making doll clothes or quilts I make Wee Care items. Those are gowns, bonnets, hats, blankets (and other items) for hospital NICU's (neonatal intensive care units) for the little preemie babies, which is a service program of the Smocking Arts Guild of America. The local chapters make these wonderful items and donate them to their hospital(s). You can read about it here.  There are patterns for download, too. So, long story short: I had scraps left over from the Elegance Christening Gown Ensemble that were perfect for the Angel Sleeve Gown and Bonnet. I made three sets up before our trip to Dallas over Thanksgiving so I could smock them on the flights. The Angel Sleeve Gown is completely open on the sides to make room for various tubes that are connected to preemies as you can see below.

Here are the finished gowns and bonnets ready to be turned into our Wee Care Chairperson. They're smocked with #8 Perle Cotton..fast and easy!

Another fun project were little flannel blankets with simple crocheted edges, suitable for boy or girl. Your local big box fabric store has a selection of cute 'baby print' flannels for blankets and other projects.

I've got another trip over Christmas heading to Long Island, NY, so I'll make up some more Wee Care gowns and bonnets to work on in the airports and on the flights. It's s great way to make something beautiful and needed in my spare time.