Our First Donation!

• 10 Crocheted & Knitted Blankets, 25 Mini Cards for a lock of hair to SW Washington Medical Center's Labor and Delivery Bereavement Dept.
• 14 Crocheted Blankets, 10 Hats, 6 Memory Boxes, 25 Mini Cards for a lock of hair to Legacy Salmon Creek Labor and Delivery Bereavement Dept.
• 26 Crocheted Blankets, 3 Hats, 8 Moon Rattles to Legacy Salmon Creek Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

We made special tags with our butterfly logo that read, "love and comfort to you, Remembering Rowan Project, MOMS Club of Camas, WA". The quilt we were given when Rowan was in the NICU read "Love and Comfort to You, from Franilou..." The rhyme was cute but I love the sentiment. After many hours of hand sewing on our tags with the help of my sister and my friend Carissa, we delivered our first donation to the hospitals today.

My friend Michelle has helped the project as our "Hospital Liaison", contacting the hospitals when I found it difficult to make those calls myself. As it turned out, her husband is doing his nursing internship at one of the hospitals, and she has a friend who is an L & D nurse at the other one. Michelle also lost a baby several years ago, and she wished there was something nicer than the little baggy for the treasured lock of her son's hair. She made 50 little cards to donate with our blankets with a tiny ziploc bag inside for holding a lock of the baby's hair.

Today we met to bag each of the blankets into extra large ziploc bags, and delivered the first box to Southwest Washington Medical Center. Michelle then took the other 3 large plastic totes full of blankets to deliver to her nurse friend for Legacy Salmon Creek.

On the way to the hospital my son Griffin was asking about the "dead babies" who were going to give our blankets to. He asked, "We made the blankets to remember our baby, right Mommy?" I tried to explain that most of the sick babies do not die, but he was clearly thinking about it all day. As we walked into the hospital my 3 1/2 year old talked with Michelle's 5 year old about how "some babies die and turn into angels." Later this evening he was playing a game where he was "taking the sick babies to the doctor." We all process grief in different ways. It might be easier to not talk about our loss, but by making the blankets and talking to others about this project we will always remember Rowan.

Lasagna in the Garden

Ingredients:

• 1 layer Old Phone Book Pages, Newspapers or Cardboard Boxes
• 1 layer Recycled Egg Cartons & Christmas Tree Branches
• 1 layer Horse Manure
• 1 layer Dried Leaves
• 1 layer Compost
• 1 layer Hay
• 1 layer Top Soil/Sand Mix
• Sprinkle some Coffee Grounds and Egg Shells in between the layers

Add plants and grow!

We doubled our vegetable garden space last year, but no amount of rototilling will get rid of the grass and weeds. So we are trying a Lasagna Bed on top to smother the weeds. Griffin had a blast tearing up old phone books to make "a blanket to keep our garden bed warm". Not to mention the benefit of finding a use for my ever increasing piles of phonebooks, empty egg cartons, newspapers and cardboard boxes.

Playing With Dolls

I have been having so much fun making dolls lately. As I was finishing an Elf Boy for Griffin after the felting workshop I went to last month, I realized that I had sewn, crocheted and felted dolls, just in the past month! First I helped my friend Bambi throw a Yo Gabba Gabba birthday party for her two year old. Along with Carissa, we had a "sweatshop" going in my craftroom that week, preparing kits for each kid to build their own Monster Dolls inspired by the birthday boy's favorite show. The kids stuffed their monsters and stuck on eyes and mouths cut from sticky felt. Then the moms sewed up the side seam and they were done.

Then I whipped up a couple of crocheted "Bella & Edward" dolls for Bambi's birthday. Inspired by a book called Creepy Cute Crochet, I made them my own by adding a tailcoat (proper for a turn of the century vampire), as well as Bella's dress, braided hair and saphire & silver hair combs, as described in the Twilight book series. My 3 1/2 year old insisted the vampire needed a little blood by his mouth. (Is it wrong that he can tell you what vampires and zombies eat?). And finally, my needle felted Elf Boy. This was the second workshop I have gone to with haddy2dogs, and my first time trying needle felting over a wire frame, so his arms and legs can bend. As soon as he was finished Griffin took his Elf Boy to play with, so I was only recently able to get photos of him. I now have materials to make 2 completely different types of dolls which I hope to make in the next month... so stay tuned for more...

Our Article in the Camas Post

The Camas Post Record featured a full page article about the Remembering Rowan Blanket Project a few weeks ago which included several photos. Since The Post does not keep their articles online for more than a week I wanted to share the article here. Unfortunately my name was misspelled throughout and there were a few other inconsistencies. But overall it was a lovely article which I matted and framed.

** NOTE: Words in italics were changed or added to correct misspelled or misquoted information.

Remembering Rowan
Camas MOMS Club members crochet afghans

for local hospital intensive care units

Story and photos by Danielle Frost, Post-Record staff

It was every expectant mother's worst fear.
On August 10, 2008 Laurinda Reddig gave birth, expecting to bring home a baby. Her daughter Rowan lived only one day. She was born blue and unable to breathe due to an umbilical cord problem that cut off her oxygen supply. Lifesaving efforts failed. There was nothing the doctors could do. Reddig made the heart wrenching decision to take her baby off life support.

Rowan was wrapped in a handmade afghan. The nurses made clay molds of her hands and feet. Reddig's 3-year-old son Griffin was brought in to say goodbye to his baby sister. She was bathed for the first and last time, and cuddled until she passed away in her mother's arms.

Reddig was given the handmade afghan and a quilt to take home. "These are the only things that parents in this situation get to bring home and cuddle," she said.

Through her grief, Reddig saw a way to help others. She is administrative vice president for the Moms Offering Moms Support Club and the group was looking for a service project.

"It is my job to come up with projects that give back to our community," she said. "I knew the club was looking for a project that had personal meaning to our members. I saw the blankets and thought that this would be something we can do."

Reddig, who has a passion for crocheting, brought her idea to the club. The response was overwhelming. "This is an activity that has encouraged both moms of young children and those who have older kids to get involved," she said. "This is something that everyone can be a part of and it is neat to see how much everyone has gotten into it.

Reddig hosted a "learn to crochet" event at her house for mom's night out. One of the participants was Camas MOMS Club president Trisha Brotherton.

"I am not a crafty person at all, but I've really enjoyed learning how to do this," she said. "It has been so good for us as a club. Laurinda's been an inspiration to us. It's so bittersweet because you are giving a blanket to someone whose baby has died. But at the same time, this has helped Laurinda through her grief."

Brotherton said that members of the MOMS Club were especially supportive of the project because it has such a personal meaning. "Any mom recognizes that losing a baby is a possibility, and we all want to help those whom it's happened to," she said.

Although the six months since baby Rowan died have been difficult, Reddig has found healing through the crocheting project. "This gives me something to focus on and a way to spend my 'unexpected free time,'" she said. "This has gotten me back into teaching crochet and I love sharing my passion for something with other people. I was just overwhelmed by the support that came pouring in from the MOMS Club."

Since the club began the project, MOMS clubs in northwest Vancouver and Spokane have agreed to make blankets to donate in memory of Rowan. Quilts will be the next phase of the project.

The club is hosting a "Remembering Rowan" baby blanket open house and reception at the Camas Public Library on March 10 to celebrate the first phase of the project. The event is open to the public.

"We decided it would be nice to have all our finished blankets on display so our members and those who have donated supplies for the project can view the blankets," Brotherton said.

Camas MOMS Club member Carissa Reid has crocheted two blankets since getting involved in the project. "I thought this was a really good thing for Laurinda to do after losing Rowan," she said. "This seemed like a very sweet way to channel our energies to help other parents.

Reid said that it was a bit awkward at first because no one knew for sure what to say or do. "This was a great way for us to get together and let whatever feelings there were about it to come out," she said. "It's been an awesome project and I'd like to see it continue."

Reddig agrees. Although the project idea came from the heartbreaking loss of a child, it will be a comfort to parents who leave the hospital with nothing to hold onto but dreams. "This project is something that moms can take part in and feel good about," she said. "And I want to thank everyone for being a part of it.

Blanket Showing Reception

I have been overwhelmed by the support for my Blanket Project. Last night MOMS Club of Camas hosted an Open House Reception in honor of the Remembering Rowan Blanket Project. MOMS Club Members, family, friends, and a few strangers who read about our project in the newspaper a few weeks ago, came to view the 44 crocheted (and a few knitted) blankets we have completed so far. We will be making our first donation to local hospitals as soon as we have attached the custom labels we made.

We have such a talented group of MOMS! Not just the talented crocheters, knitters and sewers making so many lovely blankets (and hats too!). One of our moms designed our new logo for our labels and blog header (notice the 2 Rs in the butterfly's wings, so perfect!), and did face painting for the kids who attended.

Another one baked an amazing cake draped with fondant blankets and inspired by the blue and lavender butterflies on one of the blankets I made.

Yet another created beautiful invitations and tags we tied on to each of the blankets to indicate who made or donated them.

The kids were fascinated by the lovely harp music my Dad provided, just as he did in the NICU as we said goodbye to Rowan on the day she was born. My friend Eva said it best, "His music allowed her to experience something beautiful in her short life." Providing comfort to other parents with these blankets is another beautiful thing inspired by and honoring her brief time with us.

It was an amazing celebration of our project. Thanks to all of those who have made it possible!