Blankets #4 and #5.... Luissa and her father, Luis

A girlfriend of mine from high school contacted me about one of her dear coworkers, Luissa. Luissa's father was just recently diagnosed with Lymphoma, and she was absolutely devastated. April had asked if we could snuggle her up in extra love and help her through this difficult time. Of course we could! While we were at it, we thought that Luissa's father could probably use some love too. We asked April to do a little bit of research and find out their favorite colors and styles. Dad's favorite color was navy blue, and Luissa liked pink and green, and, well, we already knew she loved her dad, so we got an idea. Since dad liked navy blue, we'd give them the same backing on both of their blankets.

This is what we came up with.... Here was Miss Luissa's blanket.

and here was her father's....

(the lighting showed the blues differently but it was the exact same blue!)

I delivered these two blankets to April one day over her lunch break. We got starbucks and sat outside and chatted for some time. It was a beautiful day. We had hoped that they would find joy, comfort, warmth and most of all, all of the love that was put into these two blankets, not only from us, but also from April who thought of them during this difficult time.

A few weeks after delivering the blankets, I'd received two cards in the mail; one from Luissa and one from her father Luis. Luissa was beyond appreciative for their blankets and included a check with a donation so that others would also be able to receive blankets during their difficult times as well! I was SO thrilled!!! I had NO idea that one could be so moved like that, that she would donate money so that others could receive the same gift. I never expect any kind of repayment for our gifts, but was beyond moved that she felt compelled to give back. =) Luis and his wonderful wife also sent us a thank you card as well. She said it brought them to tears when they'd received it. Knowing how much it touched them, moved my heart and had me on to help the next person who needed snuggling.....

Blanket #3 - Sweet Symba (and his momma)

My very dear friend Erica has had sweet Symba since he was a pup. She calls him "Moo." I'm rather certain Erica loves Symba more than her husband. (and I don't blame her.) Moo is a lot more mellow. ;) Well, recently, Erica was diagnosed with cancer and has undergone two surgeries and radiation in hopes of curing this stupid thing once and for all, and just as 2011 couldn't get any worse, it did. Sweet Symba was, too, diagnosed with cancer. Sweet Symba needed to be snuggled in some extra love, as does Erica.... but we started with a blanket they could share for the time being and we hope to get Erica her own very soon! If anyone deserves it, she most DEFINITELY does!!!

This was the first option.... I really liked this one because of the red and it representing love and such....

and then I came across the white material with the black paws, and for whatever reason, I really loved this one more.... I think because she calls him Moo and it reminded me of a cow, sort of.... and the blue.... after all, Symba IS very much a BOY... but I went with the brighter blue because the navy blue felt too sad, or dark to me.... (that's my little helper in the cart holding down the material).
and the finished product may have looked a little bit plain, but couldn't have been filled with anymore love than it was....

Blanket #2- Sunshine for Mrs. Russell.

Blanket #2 was laid on my heart when I read about Mr. Russell's struggles with his mom's diagnosis of cancer.... I know how that feels to know that you may soon lose your parent to this awful disease.... Nothing you can do prepares you for the loss.... even when you think you might be ready, you aren't.... however, there is a sense of peace I felt FOR my father when he passed.... a peace that he no longer had to struggle and fight and suffer. He didn't have to live a life lacking the quality it once had.... And I realized how selfish it was for me to value quantity over quality.... I wanted him here more than I thought about how much he didn't want to fight any longer. He told us he didn't want to fight any more.... I can only imagine how it must feel to feel like you're slowly losing your battle.... to always have to be strong for everyone else and most importantly for yourself.... an individual's mindset can highly affect the length of their life.... My father KNEW he wasn't coming home, the last time they had to call the ambulance. He said, "this is it Ma. We've had a good life together. I'm not coming home this time." He had his arm around her and they looked back at their house. Of course, she thought it was non-sense, and rushed him along, ran in to pack their bags for their hospital stay. (they lived at least an hour from the hospital).... When I stumbled upon Mr. Russell's twitter account.... when I read his posts about his mother, and saw the pictures of his mother at the doctor's.... when I read about the horrible food he was eating from the hospital cafeteria, running on a lousy 3 hours of sleep, all for the love of his mother, I had to make her a blanket too! I complain about my days, but I'm thankful for all of the blessings I take for granted, daily....

Here is the follow up to the last blog.... The material gone wrong one.... Went back to Joann's to find something with red and yellow in it to send to a very special woman who was just recently diagnosed with cancer. I had picked out a few before deciding. This was option A. I actually really kind of liked this one.... Had a good variety of colors, seemed kind of bright and would have looked good with either color as the backing (although I probably would have gone with yellow).

This was option B and photographed ugly. I really liked this material the day I purchased the wrong material, but it was up too high, otherwise I probably would have gotten extra material that day and had this lying around, which probably would have wound up being her blanket, but I didn't buy it that day, nor did I buy it today.... something about it didn't feel like it was the right match for her....
This one was option C and it, too, photographed poorly. It was REALLY pretty in person. I loved how bright it was and that it was mostly red and yellow (and orange).... however when I consulted with Sharon, she didn't care for it too much, and so it was on to the next....
This one was not as bright but still along the same colors.... seemed a little too old lady-ish for me.... so onto the next.... no option D this time....

Then there was this one, Option E, which just looks terribly ugly in the picture, but it was kinda cute in person. It was pretty much rainbow colored flowers on black. For whatever reason, the reds are photographing as oranges.... which is fine. but there WAS red in this material as well. seemed a bit too young and too dark for me.... so on to the next one!

This wasn't really an option, as there wasn't any red in it, but I do love this material anyway.... will likely keep this one in mind for someone else's personality it might fit....
Option F jumped out as I was going back to get Option A.... it seemed just right. Not too young and not too old. Not too wild, not too dark... had the red and the yellow and felt bright. It was the perfect one for Mrs. Russell. Went with a yellow background for this one.... the RIGHT material this time!!
Here is the finished product.... all ready to go out tomorrow!!! I hope she and her family can feel the love that went into making this blanket. I hope it will wrap Mrs Russell during her future treatments, cover her legs when she's lying in bed.... I hope it will drape the shoulders of her family members who wait at all hours of the night in the cold hospital waiting room, and wherever else this journey takes her.... and most importantly, I hope it snuggles her in a great amount of love and that she knows she isn't alone....
Off to Cordova, TN she goes tomorrow! So long, sunshine!!

Lesson Learned- Wrong Material

Blanket #2's story will come once it's completed, which will hopefully be tomorrow when I can go BACK to the fabric store for some more material.

Last week, the kids and I went to the fabric store to purchase material especially for this special individual. She likes red and yellow.... so these were the three that we narrowed it down to.... Option A: Red, Orange and Yellow Large plaid print.

Option B: Red(s) Paisley and a beige color.
and Option C: hearts.
Option C was made of a different material, one I've never made a blanket with before, but it was SO extremely soft and cuddly AND it had red AND yellow AND it was hearts (for ALL the love we would be sending to her).... it seemed like a great idea! So we decided to try this new material out.

We got the blanket home, had it all laid out on the bed and began measuring and cutting. When I removed it from my bed, there was material chunks EVERYWHERE!!!!
including all over my BLACK dress....
Not only was the material ALL over EVERYTHING, including ALL over the carpet, but you could tell it was going to easily fall apart. Once I started making the initial cuts into the material, I could just pull on it softly and it would rip apart.... it would be wonderful, if it was a steak, or ribs possibly, but NOT a blanket.... so, as much as it broke my heart to stuff the material back into a plastic bag, I had to. We want to snuggle her in love.... not colorful, shredded material pieces!!!!

I'll see what we can come up with tomorrow and hopefully have a finished product by then!!!

It all started from here....

Decided to make a blanket for a friend's sister who was going to be transferred from the hospital to a nursing home, after having been diagnosed with stomach cancer, and hardly being able to hold any food down for nearly 6 months.... After a few rounds of chemo, she had lost most of her weight and was too weak to receive any more treatments....She's a girly girl. She likes zebra and the color purple. This was the closest I could find to zebra and purple. They had discussed placing a feeding tube into her stomach, however this was against her wishes. She didn't want the feeding tube. She was sent home with her children to be looked after....

This blanket is the first to come from "Snuggled in Love," as this was where the whole idea came from.... We want her to know that she is NEVER alone.... that though we are not in her shoes, we have been on the other end, watching my father battle the demon, cancer.... We want her to know, that though we may be miles apart, there is a place in our hearts reserved for her.... a place that wishes we could heal her.... take away her pain, and let her know every second of every day that she is loved.... so hopefully snuggling her in love will help remind her of that daily.... So to Miss Renee Alefantes, our very first blanket will be delivered whenever you are ready!