Fire Saga Update: Friends, Housing, and lots of Love

If you've been following along for the last few days, you may remember that a fire started in the home of our oldest son. By the time the fire was extinguished, everything in the house was lost. However, the only truly important news is that everyone is okay. No one was home when the faulty wiring caused the smoke and flames. 


The other thing that I want to mention is the unbelievable love and support our whole family has received. People have been stopping by for days now, to deliver items, clothing, and money. It seems that our little community is actually quite big. 

Will's family lives in Chicot and their friends jumped in to help. We live in Evergreen; it didn't surprise us that people from our small town have done the same. However, people from other towns--Bunkie, Cottonport, Plaucheville, Hessmer, Marksville--have pitched in and donated and so much more. It's a bit overwhelming, actually.


For example, a woman who went to school with my sisters and me (40 years ago) sent a Christmas card and a check. Absolute strangers have donated money to them via a GoFundMe account. Others have bought Christmas gifts to replace the ones that burned with the house.

A great example of how  considerate people are came from the school the grandies attend. The principal gave permission for our kids to wear "street clothes" to school because their uniforms were lost in the blaze. Believe me, it's much easier to put your kid into a pair of donated jeans than to find uniforms over a traumatic weekend. 

But the principal was worried that the Marcottes, as the only ones in regular clothes, might feel like they stand out. To avoid that she took the regular clothes idea a bit farther and had a fundraiser. The high schoolers could donate money which would allow them to wear jeans and tee shirts for the week. The money they donated is meant to help us to buy uniforms, but since other students were wearing regular clothes, the Marcotte kids easily fit in. How thoughtful is that? 

We all have had to do some adjusting to life. That includes my not getting to emails, this blog, visiting you all, pinning--just anything on the computer.

One big adjustment has been the new living arrangements. To keep Will and Stacey's family  together with enough space for all of them, Rich and I moved into our 19' camper.  Adam and Jenny, who were living with us since their house became infested with mold a year ago, have moved into Will and Stacey's much larger camper. 

We're all making the best of it. Adam and Jen have a larger, nicer camper, but it's out in the open. Our camper is tiny but stored under a large shed. Both now have full hookups so it's very much like an RV park.  

We've set up tables, chairs, and our outdoor rug. For fun we call this area "the parlor." We also made a small play area for our Maltese puppies, especially the escape artists.

Rich pulled some of my potted plants over to protect them from the occasional 30 degree weather but they add life to our shed. I won't say we can live this way for a year or two, but for now we're all in it together and are making the best of it. 

Finally, it's time for a Milly Moment!
Miss Milly has a new tooth. It's a typical little baby tooth that her tongue found about the third day after it broke through, and she simply doesn't know what to do with it all. We've had such enjoyment from her nonsensical faces and tongue mishaps. That silly tongue seems to have an ADHD problem. 

Every time her tongue touches that tooth, it forgets everything else and probes around trying to figure out what's there. It's hard to eat, drink, or talk when your tongue is doing something else. And I'll leave you with that thought while you celebrate the holidays with family and friends. May you have a blessed and merry Christmas!

Baby Amelia Bibs ~~ finishes

taking selfies in a new bib 

Our granddaughter Dusti often works on weekend nights, and needs a babysitter. In come the grandparents, ready to cuddle, change, feed and bottle the little stinker. She seems to grow and change quite a bit from one week to the next. Last week she pushed herself backward in her stroller. This week she can push forward and pretty much go where she wants. 

Milli is a cutie! But she drools, spits, and blows bubbles non-stop. Which means she needs a clean bib quite often. So that's what DeeDee made early this week. In fact, I made four. I really like these little bibs. A friend bought one at a craft sale and asked another friend to make a few. That second friend asked me to work on a pattern. 

I made quite a few changes, but the basic idea is that there are straps so the baby's arms have something of an armhole. The straps prevent the baby from pulling the bib off, and the width and length of the bib really help catch the dribble.

It's wide enough to go under the arms a little and cover the shoulders. I bought a cotton terry from Lola Pink while there last week and also these cute baby prints. Can you believe I had no baby prints in the stash? 

Before making the first bib, I figured out how to avoid using bias to close every seam. It was bulky and looked messy unless the stitches were exact. I wasn't happy about either one, so I changed the design to add some length and to almost eliminate the bias, though it does still form the straps and a tie for the back. If I make more, I'll change the ties to velcro or snaps. Otherwise, I'm loving the four I've made. 

Linking up with

Sew Can Do (Craftastic Monday)
My Quilt Infatuation (Needle & Thread)

Confessions of a Fabric Addict (Can I get a Whoop! Whoop!)

Busy Hands Quilts (Finished or not Friday)

Celebrate!

Wide awake and looking
for a bottle from DeeDee.

Our youngest son celebrates a birthday today. He is 33 now. The middlin one will be 35 in two weeks and the oldest makes 38 in July just a few days before our 39th anniversary. And somewhere in all that celebrating I get to retire. Lots of changes for us, but by the grace of God, all good changes.

And of course, there's this little addition to the family. She came for a visit last night so I could help mommy with a little English homework. Good thing I've read Hamlet. 


 I enjoyed holding her, giving her a bottle, burping her. It's always wonderful to have a baby in my arms. Of course, in no time I had her sleeping. How sweet is this?

While there may be lots of celebrating, and with it much stress, there's also many opportunities to relax and spend time with each other. One way we're doing that is to visit with my sisters this weekend when we go camping at a nearby campground. We take turns cooking meals for whomever shows up. 

Everyone in my family is invited...my seven sisters, their children and grandchildren, and usually a few friends who show up. Sometimes those friends are significant others to a niece or nephew. Sometimes they are young friends to the preteens and younger children.

Marley hiding so I don't know
who ate my pear.

I am really looking forward to this family gathering. It's always fun and energetic and a great way to connect with the family that I don't get to see very often.  Richard and I are sharing a double campsite with our oldest, so Amelia will be right next door all weekend. I plan to set up my hammock and rock her. She loves to nap with her DeeDee. 

What are your Mother's Day plans? Are you lucky enough to be able to spend time with your family?

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: Little Ones

You know you're getting close to retiring when former students become co-workers. When they begin having children in multiples, it's so much more fun. For me, it's a reason to continue working. For a little while anyway. I need time to get used to the idea of watching these children grow up on Facebook. So in honor of my "month of many children," let's be inspired by new babies.

So now that you're inspired....baby quilts!

Aren't you inspired? I think I want to start a new quilt for one of those new babies!

Updated NICU Gown Pattern

One of my most popular posts since I started this blog in 2010 has been the NICU pattern that I wrote about after our grandbaby was born weighing only 2 lbs. 4 ozs. This week I am washing and delivering 24 gowns to Cabrini's Women's and Children's NICU ward. 

the old version

While I am happy that so many people have been interested in making NICU gowns, I haven't necessarily been happy about the look of the pattern itself. So I finally got around to cleaning it up.

newer, updated version

To print the pattern simply click on the picture and copy it. Then go to MS Word (or whatever program you normally use) and paste it there. Enlarge the pattern so that it just fits inside of a regular 8½ X 11 sheet of copy paper. Nothing is exact--if you get close it will be fine, but remember that the pattern is half of the gown. (I print one but cut out two and tape them together at the center back.) You have a pattern that easily. One of the reasons that size is not terribly important is that the gowns aren't necessarily clothing the way we think of it. 

In the NICU, still not wearing clothes

Preemies are all sizes (generally 1-6 lbs) but most weight 4-5 pounds before the nurses put clothing on them. This is because when tiny babies are irritated, they fidget and cry, and any irritation slows down their weight gain and development. 

Christmas (almost two months in NICU)
wearing a gown I made

We couldn't touch or hold Catherine for the first few weeks. It's devastating to think that just your touch can delay her progress. Because the gowns are designed to cover the baby rather than fit tiny bodies, there's a little wiggle room . 

Catherine at 5 years old

NICU babies are kept at an exact temperature, so the gowns aren't even meant to keep them warm. Their job is to help the parents cope with having a preemie in such delicate condition. 

Catherine now at six years old.

Young moms and dads come into the NICU and, seeing the baby with clothing, begin to see her differently. There's a renewed hope that the baby will survive. They've been touching and holding her for a few days, and this is one more advancement. They eventually practice putting clothing on her, changing her diaper, nursing or giving her a bottle--all while a nurse is close by to help them. Even parents who have older children are afraid to handle their frail, tiny infant. A two pound baby can be frightening! 

If you are interested in making NICU gowns for your local hospital, first call and ask if they prefer a particular pattern be used. If this pattern is acceptable, you can find the tutorial here. 

Small finishes: NICU Gowns

I've been quietly working on more NICU gowns to donate to St. Francis Cabrini Hospital. It's the closest hospital that addresses the needs of neonatal babies and is a Children's Miracle Network hospital. 

I'm not sure how many are ready to go, but there are quite a few. I've sewn these on and off for the last few years as a simple way to make the world better. Catholics believe that we should give of our talent, time and treasure during the Lenten season. Making these tiny gowns is a way to live the life of a Christian. 

Because I try to work on lots of gowns at a time, I make them in assembly line fashion. I cut out about 25 or so gowns for step one. In step two, I sew the lining and fabric pieces together leaving only the neck open for turning and clip the threads. Then comes step three: turning the gown right side out. 

Cut, sewn, turned, ready for neck closure

Step four is consists of sewing the neck opening, which is perhaps the most difficult part because there's a slight curve to deal with. Adding the Velcro is step five. Pressing is step six. Sometimes I mix it up a little, but really this is my best procedure when making 20+ gowns.  

Next step: sew on the Velcro pieces

I'm adding another step after pressing. That is to sew a fast top-stitch to the body of the gown after pressing. I find that the cotton wrinkles and requires so much pressing after washing that I just need to try a new approach. If top-stitching saves me from having to pick the seam out of a wrinkle inch by inch, it will be worth the few seconds of sewing. 

I've top-stitched a few gowns and will wash and dry them to see whether the stitching helps. Either way, ironing is the last step because I always wash, dry and press before I deliver the gowns.  

If you're interested in making some of these NICU gowns, you can find the tutorial and pattern here.  Someone asked the size of the gown, but I don't think it matters so much. I drew the pattern on a sheet of 8½ X 11 paper and just filled the entire sheet. 

I've never measured the gown, but babies come in all sizes. They may weight only four pounds when they first wear clothing, so even if the gowns seem really small, don't fret. If the pattern is too big for the paper, it's too big for NICU babies, and you'll need to resize it.

Much more important is that you use small pieces of hook and loop tape (Velcro) for closures--I use about ¾ to 1 inch--and remember to wash in mild detergent. I always use two rinses to make sure I remove all of the detergent (even though I use All Free). I want the babies to look cute and cuddly, not have an allergic reaction.

Linking up with 

Crazy Mom Quilts (go check out her cute pixie basket)