Crocheted with a Mother's Love

Doily # 5 for my wedding dress

2012-02-10T21:00:00.004-05:00

I have completed the 5th doily for my wedding dress. This one took much longer than the others but it was worth it. This is by far my favorite doily so far. It is a vintage pattern called Alice Brooks Design 7121 and it is the larger doily of the set. The pattern can be found here. The first page is a disclaimer. Scroll to the second page to see the pattern.

Fourth doily for my wedding dress

2012-01-29T12:04:00.003-05:00

I have finished the fourth doily for my wedding dress. I absolutely love this pattern. It is called the Pink Pineapple Doily. The pattern can be found here. It works up very quickly and the pattern is very easy to follow.

2012-01-22T18:02:00.002-05:00

I have completed the third doily for my wedding dress. This is the smallest doily so far and it is called the Glorious Gray Pineapple Doily. The pattern can be found here. I altered the pattern a little in order to get it to lay flat. I added extra chains throughout the pattern and I did the last round completely different.

Second Doily Complete For My Wedding Dress

2012-01-19T20:37:00.004-05:00

I finished the second doily for my wedding dress. This one took much longer than the first one and it is twice as big as any doily I have ever seen. It is a vintage pattern called Double Pineapple Doily. It was a little confusing to follow because it says to do cluster stitches but doesn't say how many stitches are in the cluster. Also, there are a lot of "repeat from * and then from ** around" so unless you are used to making doilies I wouldn't recommend this pattern. It would definitely be for a more advanced doily enthusiast. The pattern can be found here. Below is a picture of the first two doilies for my dress next to each other. The smaller one is normal size for a doily. This way you can see just how large the Double Pineapple Doily is.

Making My Wedding Dress

2012-01-14T14:03:00.005-05:00

While looking online for things to crochet I came across a beautiful dress. It was made by crocheting doilies and attaching them to an under dress.

Ever since I saw this dress I knew that if I ever got married again, this is what I wanted for my wedding dress. Well, I am getting married in about 6 months so I have begun the tedious task of crocheting doilies to make my own wedding dress inspired by the one pictured above (which was made by the bride herself). The dress in the photo is a tea length dress. I prefer a full length dress so that is what I am making. The color of the under dress that I chose is royal blue.

Here is my first completed doily. It is the Blue Pineapples doily found here

It took me a few days to make this doily and I am very happy with how it turned out. However, it made me realize that I have a long road ahead of me to make enough doilies for my dress. I plan on making all sizes and designs and will continue to post updates along the way. Stay tuned!

Tatum's Turtle

2010-09-11T16:49:00.017-04:00

My son's 2nd birthday is tomorrow. He is an angel in Heaven looking down on me. I wanted to make him a present that I could put on his headstone so that it wouldn't get run over when the caretakers mow. So, I decided to make a tiny little turtle. I did not use a pattern, just made it as I went along. In memory of my son I am posting the pattern for free for everyone to enjoy!

Materials:

I Hook (5.5mm)
Any two worsted weight yarns. One in light green, one in dark green.
Stuffing
Yarn Needle.

Special stitch - Decrease: Insert hook into next stitch, yarn over and pull through, insert hook into next stitch, yarn over and pull through, yarn over and pull through all loops on hook.

Important Note: Do not join rounds

Body: Dark Green Yarn
Create magic circle
(tutorial here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLuSVyKvoUg)

Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic circle - pull string to close the circle and create a knot to keep it closed.
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each stitch of the previous round (12 sc)
Rnd 3: [1 sc in next stitch, 2 sc in next stitch] 6 times (18 sc)
Rnd 4: [1 sc in next 2 stitches, 2 sc in next stitch] 6 times (24 sc)
Rnd 5: [1 sc in next 3 stitches, 2 sc in next stitch] 6 times (30 sc)
Rnd 6: [1 sc in next 4 stitches, 2 sc in next stitch] 6 times (36 sc)
Rnd 7: [1 sc in next 5 stitches, 2 sc in next stitch] 6 times (42 sc)
Rnd 8: 1 sc in each stitch around (42 sc)
Rnd 9: 1 sc in each stitch around (42 sc)
Rnd 10: [1 sc in next 5 stitches, 1 decrease stitch *see above for special stitch*] 6 times (36 sc)
Rnd 11: [1 sc in next 4 stitches, 1 decrease stitch] 6 times (30 sc)
Rnd 12: [1 sc in next 3 stitches, 1 decrease stitch] 6 times (24 sc)
Rnd 13: [1 sc in next 2 stitches, 1 decrease stitch] 6 times (18 sc) - start stuffing body
Rnd 14: [1 sc in next 1 stitches, 1 decrease stitch] 6 times (12 sc)
Rnd 15: [1 decrease stitch all the way around] (6 sc)
Rnd 16: 1 sc in each stitch around (6 sc)
Cut yarn and use yarn needle to sew hole closed. Make a knot to keep yarn secure and weave in the end of the yarn.

Head: Light Green Yarn
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic circle - pull string to close the circle and create a knot to keep it closed.
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each stitch of the previous round (12 sc)
Rnd 3: [1 sc in next stitch, 2 sc in next stitch] 6 times (18 sc)
Rnd 4: [1 sc in next 2 stitches, 2 sc in next stitch] 6 times (24 sc)
Rnd 5: [1 sc in next 3 stitches, 2 sc in next stitch] 6 times (30 sc)
Rnd 6: [1 sc in next 4 stitches, 2 sc in next stitch] 6 times (36 sc)
Rnd 7: [1 sc in next 4 stitches, 1 decrease stitch] 6 times (30 sc)
Rnd 8: [1 sc in next 3 stitches, 1 decrease stitch] 6 times (24 sc)
Rnd 9: [1 sc in next 2 stitches, 1 decrease stitch] 6 times (18 sc) - start stuffing head
Rnd 10: [1 sc in next 1 stitches, 1 decrease stitch] 6 times (12 sc)
Rnd 11: [1 decrease stitch all the way around] (6 sc)
Rnd 12: 1 sc in each stitch around (6 sc)
Cut yarn, leaving about 5 inches, and sew head to body. Make a knot to keep yarn secure and weave in the end of the yarn.

Feet (4): Light Green Yarn
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic circle - pull string to close the circle and create a knot to keep it closed.
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each stitch of the previous round (12 sc)
Rnd 3: 1 sc in BACK LOOP ONLY in each stitch around (12 sc)
Rnd 4: 1 sc in BOTH LOOPS in each stitch around (12 sc)
Rnd 5: 1 sc in each stitch around (12 sc)
Stuff Foot
Cut yarn, leaving about 3 inches, and sew feet to body. Make a knot to keep yarn secure and weave in the end of the yarn.

Tail: Light Green Yarn
Rnd. 1: Chain 4
Rnd 2: Skip first stitch, 1 sc in each of next 2 stitches. Chain one and turn.
Rnd 3: Skip first stitch and sc in next stitch.
Cut yarn, leaving extra yarn for sewing. Make a knot to keep yarn secure.
Repeat Rnds 1-3 to create a second triangle.
Sew two sides of triangle together.
Stuff tail.
Sew tail to the body.

Crocheted Bloomers

2010-05-27T17:15:00.003-04:00

Just finished making these bloomers for a friend's little girl. They were super easy to make and can be completed in about a day if you have time to sit and really work on them. Here is a link to the free pattern:

http://www.lullabiesandlace.com/pdfpatterns/baby_bottom_bloomers_for_babies_v3.pdf

Enjoy!

2010-04-03T14:52:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since I have posted anything so I wanted to take the birth of my nephew as an opportunity to update my blog!

First, a little background. My brother-on-law, Josh, was killed in a car wreck August 30, 2009 and he had just found out that he was going to be a father. Our entire family was devastated to lose Josh and we were both so worried about his girlfriend, Amy and how she would cope with her pregnancy. It was rough-going at first as she struggled with her grief but over time she learned to be strong considering the situation she had been put in.

April 2, 2010 my nephew, Josh Jr., was born. It was a very bittersweet day for the family. We are all so happy that baby Josh is healthy but we are all so saddened that his daddy couldn't be at the hospital in person to see and hold his son. We all know that he is looking down on his son from Heaven above.

I decided to make a blanket for my nephew and gave it as a gift at Amy's baby shower about a month ago. It is a very simple blanket to make for those that know how to make a traditional granny square. The colors I used are navy blue, light grey, baby blue and white. Each granny square is done in the traditional pattern. I then arranged the squares so that they created a diamond shape. The finished blanket is large enough that Josh Jr. will be able to use it for many years to come.

Turtle Pillow

2009-11-15T10:37:00.004-05:00

I made this turtle for the 1st birthday of my best friend's son. I didn't have a pattern to follow. I just looked at photos of different crocheted turtles and tried to figure out how to do it. I would post the pattern, but I don't know if it is copyright infringement if I got the idea from a photo of someone else even though I didn't have an actual pattern to go by.

I made the turtle big enough so that it can be used as a pillow. I didn't put eyes on it because I didn't want the boy who received it to accidentally swallow the eyes.

Granny Ripple Blanket

2009-09-11T22:29:00.004-04:00

I just finished this granny ripple blanket and I love how it turned out so I just had to share the link for where I found the pattern! The blanket itself was very quick to make. This was my first attempt at making any kind of ripple blanket! I have a feeling I will be making more of these in different colors in the near future!

Here is the link for the pattern. Please note that the pattern is meant for a baby blanket but can easily be made larger if you calculate multiples.

http://www.angelfire.com/tx5/angelcrafts/patterns/grannyripple.html

ENJOY!!!

Amirugumi Teddy Bear

2009-07-18T16:15:00.002-04:00

I have made my first Etsy sale!!! I made a teddy bear for a friend of mine who is having a baby. I wanted to use it in my logo for my Etsy store but I was having issues with it. So, I asked another friend of mine to help me out with it. She loved the bear so much that she asked me to make a blue one for her son. The photo above is the completed bear.

I plan on making more bears in different colors to list in my Etsy shop. I also plan on making other items such as blankets, purses and baby gift sets. You can visit my Etsy shop to see what I have available. I also do custom orders!

http://www.merberee.etsy.com

Completed Citrus Punch Baby Blanket

2009-07-08T15:16:00.003-04:00

I have completed my Citrus Punch baby blanket. This is a gift for a friend of mine. I made the blanket with these colors because she doesn't know what she is having (boy/girl) so I made a few items that are gender neutral and several of the items have duck faces, so I used the duck colors in my blanket.

Citrus Punch Granny Square

2009-06-30T19:31:00.004-04:00

I haven't posted anything in a while so I figured I would post about my current project. I'm working on a blanket using a granny square that I just made off the top of my head. I call it Citrus Punch because it is yellow like a lemon and orange like an orange!

The blanket is going to be a baby blanket. I am making it 6 squares by 6 squares. I will be joining the squares using the yellow yarn and the flat braid join. Once I get it done I will post a photo of it!

Amirugumi Octopus and Whales for an angel

2009-06-16T11:35:00.003-04:00

So one of the angel moms that received one of my Forever Warm blankets was having a small ceremony to bury her angel's urn. She was looking for something special to put in the vault with her angel's ashes but couldn't find anything locally and didn't have time to order online and have it shipped before the ceremony. I was planning on attending the ceremony so I looked up amirugumi patterns. The angel's name is Calypso (from maritime lore) and everything in her memory has to do with pirate ships and the ocean. So, I found a pattern for the octopus and then found the whale pattern. I made the second whale for the mom to keep. This was my first attempt at making anything beyond a blanket or purse and I love how they turned out.

If you would like the patterns, please click the links below:

Amirugumi Octopus
http://gnathalie2.wordpress.com/2007/07/10/im-a-busy-little-bee/

Amirugumi Whale
http://wiremysoul.deviantart.com/journal/22998865/

Box Stitch (Double Rib Stitch) on knitting loom

2009-06-13T11:36:00.003-04:00

My best friend bought a set of Knifty Knitter knitting looms so I created a video for her showing how to do the Box Stitch (also called the Double Rib Stitch). I thought I would post it here for anyone that wants to learn to knit on a loom.

This video demonstrates how to use the box stitch to create a honeycomb effect.

Circle-in-Square Baby Blanket

2009-06-10T12:33:00.008-04:00

For this pattern I used a J hook (6 mm)

Abbreviations:
CH - Chain
SL ST - Slip Stitch
DC - Double Crochet
CH SP - Chain Space
TR - Triple Crochet (Treble Crochet)

Circle-in-Square Granny Squares
You will need 13 squares of your main color (yellow)
You will need 6 squares of each of the two minor colors (6 blue and 6 green)

How to make the square:
Round 1
CH 6 then join in the beginning CH to make a circle
CH 4 (this will count as your first DC CH 1)
DC into the center of the circle
CH 1
repeat 10 more times
This should give you a total of 12 DC CH 1 if you count the first CH 4
Join with SL ST into top of CH 4

Round 2
SL ST into first CH SP
CH 4 (This counts as your first TR)
TR in same CH SP
CH 1
TR twice in next CH SP
Repeat around
Join with SL ST in beginning CH 4

Round 3
SL ST in next CH
SC in next CH SP
CH 6 then SC in next CH SP (this creates a loop)
CH 3 then SC in next CH SP (this creates a smaller loop)
CH 3 then SC in next CH SP
CH 6 then SC in next CH SP
CH 3 then SC in next CH SP
CH 3 then SC in next CH SP
CH 6 then SC in next CH SP
CH 3 then SC in next CH SP
CH 3 then SC in next CH SP
CH 6 then SC in next CH SP
CH 3 then SC in next CH SP
CH 3 then join to beginning SC of the first big loop

Round 4
SL ST into loop
DC 10 times in loop
SL ST into SC at the end of the loop (where the loop joins the rest of the circle)
SL ST into loop
DC 5 times in loop
SL ST into SC at the end of the loop
Repeat around with 10 DC into large loops and 5 DC into small loops
Join in beginning SC at the end of the first loop, cut yarn and weave in ends.

Round 5
With white yarn SC into the middle CH of one of the big loops
CH3 (counts as DC)
*DC in next CH
SC in next 2 CHs
CH 2 then SC in middle CH of small loop
CH 2 then SC in middle CH of small loop
CH 2 then SC into 3rd CH of big loop
SC into next CH
DC into next CH
DC into next CH
CH 2** and DC into same CH
Repeat from * to ** all the way around
Join to beginning CH 3
Cut yarn and weave in ends.

Joining Squares
I join my squares with white yarn using the flat braid method. Here is a link by Priscilla Hewitt that is a PDF file and explains step by step how to do it.
http://priscillascrochet.net/free%20patterns/Afghan%20Edgings%20and%20Joinings.pdf

Or you can check out these videos on youtube:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=AU&hl=en-GB&v=2qfBKZwqBgE&feature=related
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvwVqUVVtVY&feature=related
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jpANA71KFk&feature=related
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2AyjOzWKYQ&feature=related

Edging
SL ST into corner
CH 3 then DC into same stitch and CH 1
***2 DC in next CH SP and CH 1
Repeat to corner
In corner 2 DC then CH 2 then 2 DC***
Repeat from *** to **** around
Join in beginning CH 3
Cut yarn and weave in ends

Father's Day Surprise

2009-06-08T23:56:00.003-04:00

So I spent several weeks trying to come up with something to get my husband for Father's Day. It is very difficult to find something for a father who lost a child. I know that ebay has a lot of personalized items available so I did a search and found the perfect gift. Laser engraved dogtags.

As I read the item description I was concerned that the wording that I wanted to use on the back of the dogtag had more characters than the allowed amount. I took a risk and emailed the seller to explain how difficult it is to find a father's day present for an angel father and ask if there was any way possible to fit the wording that I wanted on the back of the dogtag. To my surprise, the seller emailed me back almost immediately and said that he would work with it and make the font smaller to fit it all in. I sent an email of the photo that I wanted to use and the seller was concerned that my son's face might be too small and not have a lot of detail on the finished product. So, I decided to order two dogtags with the same wording on the back but two different photos. That way, if the photo of my husband kissing our son didn't look good, I would have another one that I could use. I placed my order on Friday. My order shipped Saturday and I received it Monday.

When I received the package I was confused as to why the package was so large and so heavy. I opened the package to find, not only the dogtags that I ordered (which were beautiful!) but also a marble plaque that the seller had made for me with one of the photos that I had sent in. He sent it to me for free. When I saw it I was brought to tears. Not only was this seller quick to answer all of my questions (and I had a ton!) and work with me to get the wording to fit, but he also thought enough about my situation that he took the time to make something special to include with my husband's father's day present.

So, now I want to repay my thanks to this seller by helping to promote his business. If you want something special for yourself or as a gift, I highly recommend buying from this man. He engraves many things including marble, tile, wood, and leather. I am posting below a link to his ebay store as well as a link to his website where you can see the different things that he can engrave. Please take the time to look at his work. If you decide to order, please tell him that you were referred by Summer. I want him to know that I am helping to spread the word about his wonderful work after the very special thing that he did for me.

ebay store: http://stores.shop.ebay.com/LazrArt__W0QQ_armrsZ1

website: http://www.lazrart.com

Thanks everyone!

Inspired by Angels

2009-06-02T00:57:00.005-04:00

I finally completed the blankets that I was making for an Angel Mom that lost twin daughters, Chloe and Zoe. I have to say that I was inspired by the angel twins while making these blankets. Normally when I am contacted by angel parents that request a blanket I ask them if there are any particular colors that they prefer or a pattern that they prefer. When I was contacted by this Angel Mom I didn't ask any of those questions. All she told me was that she had lost twin daughters and I emailed her back and told her that I had the perfect plan for her blankets.

My immediate thought was to make her blankets the same pattern and colors for both blankets, but make the blankets the opposite of each other. I had just learned how to do a six-sided motif and wanted to use it to try to make flowers. One of my childhood friends had just donated money to Forever Warm (my angel blanket organization) and when I asked her what color yarn she wanted me to buy with the money she said that one of her daughters loves purple and the other one loves pink so she wanted pink and purple yarn. As soon as that was decided, I immediately knew I wanted to use the yarn from her donation for the Twin Angels blankets because it would be like my friend's daughters were helping the Angel Mom that lost her daughters (even though my friend's daughters aren't twins...)

So, I started work on the Twin Angel Blankets and, even though I have been talking to the Angel Mom, I was careful not to spill the beans about what the blankets looked like because I wanted it to be a surprise. For some reason, these blankets were special. It took two weeks to make the blankets and when I got them done I took a photo of each blanket and made the collage you see above. I posted the photo to the Angel Mom so that I could finally surprise her with the blankets that, for some reason I couldn't figure out, were very special while I was making them. I pour my heart into all the blankets that I make, but this was just different.

Upon seeing the photo collage of the two blankets the Angel Mom wrote me and what she said explained to me why these blankets were so special to me. Remember, she had no idea what colors I was using. It turns out that the colors that I picked out are the colors that her two living daughters had picked out for the dresses that the twins were buried in. I really feel now that the reason these blankets were so close to my heart is because my friend's daughters are the reason I had that color yarn in my stash and I feel that the twin angels spoke to my heart and told me to pick those colors for their blankets so that their mommy would know when she finally got to see the blankets that they had inspired the blankets and that they are still with her. When I heard about the color of the dresses I was literally in tears.

Making something that turns out to be so special to this Angel Mom and hearing the reason why it is so special makes me realize even more that the angels have inspired me to make blankets for their heartbroken parents and this story just makes it all worth while...

Checkered Polka Dot Baby Blanket

2009-05-29T16:33:00.008-04:00

I used a J hook with sport weight baby yarn

Abbreviations:
CH - Chain
SS - Slip Stitch
HDC - Half Double Crochet
DC - Double Crochet
SC - Single Crochet
ST - Stitch
BEG - Beginning

Begin by chaining 4 and SS into the beg loop to create a circle.

Round 1:
CH 2, 19 HDC in loop. SS in beg CH 2.
This will make a total of 20 HDC since your beg CH 2 counts as 1 HDC.

Round 2:
CH 3, DC in ea ST around. SS in beg CH 3.
This will make a total of 20 DC since your beg CH 3 counts as 1 DC.

Round 3:
CH 3, DC in same ST, 2 DC in EA ST around. SS in beg CH 3
This will make a total of 40 DC since your beg CH 2 counts as 1 DC.

Cut yarn and sew in tail.

Change Colors

Round 4:
SC in the top ST of any of the DC in the circle to secure your yarn to the circle.
CH 3, DC in same ST, DC in next ST, HDC in the next 2 STS, SC in the next 2 STS, HDC in the next 2 STS, 1 DC in next ST, 2 DC in next ST, CH 2

2 DC in next ST, DC in next ST, HDC in the next 2 STS, SC in the next 2 STS, HDC in the next 2 STS, 1 DC in next ST, 2 DC in next ST, CH 2

2 DC in next ST ,DC in next ST, HDC in the next 2 STS, SC in the next 2 STS, HDC in the next 2 STS, 1 DC in next ST, 2 DC in next ST, CH 2

2 DC in next ST, DC in next ST, HDC in the next 2 STS, SC in the next 2 STS, HDC in the next 2 STS, 1 DC in next ST, 2 DC in next ST, CH 2, SS in BEG CH 3.

Round 5:
CH 3, DC in same ST, DC in ea ST across. In the corner work 2 DC, CH 2, 2 DC

DC in ea ST across. In the corner work 2 DC, CH 2, 2 DC

DC in ea ST across. In the corner work 2 DC, CH 2, 2 DC

DC in ea ST across. In the corner work 2 DC, CH 2, SS in Beg CH 3

Round 6:
CH 1 SC in Same ST, SC in ea ST across. In the corner work 2 SC, CH 2, 2 SC

SC in ea ST across. In the corner work 2 SC, CH 2, 2 SC

SC in ea ST across. In the corner work 2 SC, CH 2, 2 SC

SC in ea ST across. In the corner work 2 SC, CH 2, SS in Beg CH 1

Cut yarn and sew in tails.

Your first polka dot square is done. You will need 8 squares of white polka dots with yellow squares and 8 with yellow polka dots and white squares. There are a total of 18 squares

Joining your squares:

For each square I used the color of the polka dot as the color of the edging to join the square so that it makes the joining braid more interesting once the blanket is done because it intertwines the two colors throughout the blanket.

FOR THE FIRST SQUARE ONLY

SC in corner of square to secure your yarn to the square
CH 3, Skip two ST and SC in the third ST, Continue to corner

In corner CH 3 and SC in next stitch. This will make a smaller loop on the corner.
CH 3, Skip two ST and SC in the third ST, Continue to corner

In corner CH 3 and SC in next stitch. This will make a smaller loop on the corner.
CH 3, Skip two ST and SC in the third ST, Continue to corner

In corner CH 3 and SC in next stitch. This will make a smaller loop on the corner.
CH 3, Skip two ST and SC in the third ST, Continue to corner

In corner CH 3 and SS in same ST

For each square after the first one is done you will need to do the following:

SC in corner, CH 2, remove CH from hook, place hook over and through first loop (not the small loop in corner) of previous square, place CH back on hook, CH 1, SC in 3rd ST from where you began your chain on the square you are joining (the one that doesn't have the edging on it).

CH 2, remove CH from hook, place hook over and through the next loop of the previous square, place CH back on hook, CH 1, SC in 3rd ST from where you began your chain on the square you are joining (the one that doesn't have the edging on it). Continue to corner.

In the corner you want to CH 2, remove CH from hook, place hook over and through the small corner loop of the previous square, place CH back on hook, CH 1, SC in next ST from where you began your chain on the square you are joining (the one that doesn't have the edging on it). DO NOT SKIP A STITCH.

CH 3, Skip two ST and SC in the third ST, Continue to corner
In corner CH 3 and SC in next stitch. This will make a smaller loop on the corner.
CH 3, Skip two ST and SC in the third ST, Continue to corner
In corner CH 3 and SC in next stitch. This will make a smaller loop on the corner.
CH 3, Skip two ST and SC in the third ST, Continue to corner
In the corner you want to CH 2, remove CH from hook, place hook over and through the small corner loop of the previous square, place CH back on hook, SC and SS in the corner where you began the chain.

When you start on the second row of joined squares you will have two sides where you will be removed the chain 2 from your hook and pulling it through the loop of another square. As you go along you will know if you are joining loops or creating loops.

I really hope these instructions are understandable! If you have any questions, please leave it in the comment section!

A little bit about me

2009-05-29T14:10:00.002-04:00

I guess I will talk a little bit about what is going on in my life right now. My husband and I have been married for almost 4 years now. We have been trying for over 2 years to have children. I have miscarried twice and also had a stillborn son.

My first miscarriage was in September 2007 and I was 6 weeks along. I do not know the gestational age of my baby because I had not yet had my first doctor appointment. I have nothing to remember this child...no ultrasound photos or anything. In September 2008 I had Tatum (Tate), my stillborn son. He was 34 weeks gestation. His death happened very suddenly. If you want to know the whole story it can be found on my website http://www.foreverwarm.org under the tab "Tatum's Story". My last and most recent miscarriage was in March 2009 and I was supposed to be 8 weeks along but the baby only measured 6 weeks 1 day.

Doctors have done testing and have not been able to find anything wrong with me. Also, when Tatum was stillborn they did an autopsy and were not able to find anything wrong with him either. So, now my husband and I are ready to try again but we are both so nervous because we don't want to lose a 4th child.

Recently a "fake" angel parent has been posting items on the message boards of a support site. Everyone knows that the woman is not a real angel parent because her stories seemed a little too unrealistic so a friend of mine did some investigating and was able to track the woman down and contact her parents to let them know what was going on. I just cannot fathom why someone would want to pose as an angel parent. It is not something I would choose to be. Unfortunately this woman is not the only fake angel parent. There are quite a few out there and a group has even been formed to "out" the fakes. These people steal the photos of other angel parents and claim them as their own. It's bad enough that angel parents have to cope with their own grief and try to support others that have lost, now we have to be careful that the people we talk to are sincere people and not nutcases.

Getting Started

2009-05-28T17:03:00.000-04:00

Well, I have decided to try this blogging thing that everyone seems to enjoy so much. It is something that I have thought about doing before but I never felt that I really had anything to say until now.

This blog is going to be about my life and my inspiration to crochet baby blankets to donate to parents that have lost a baby during pregnancy or shortly after birth. I started an organization, Forever Warm, to get the word out about what I do. My inspiration for doing this is my son, Tatum, who was stillborn. I made a blanket for him while I was pregnant and after he was stillborn I used that blanket to bury him. That is why I have named my blog "Crocheted with a Mother's Love"...because, even though my child is not with me, I am still a Mother and now I am crocheting blankets for other parents who have suffered a loss and I am doing it out of the love for my angel.

I will post photos of my blankets and also patterns if I get the time to write them out. I don't use pre-made patterns, I just make things as I go. I am also a member of an online crochet group and we do crochet-alongs where we all make something using the same pattern. I will post photos of those projects as well.

In between posts about my crocheting projects I will update things about my life and my thoughts. I hope that whoever reads this blog will enjoy taking my journey thru life with me and be inspired to crochet.