Fighting For Forrest

Meet Forrest Kelly.

He's adorable, right?

He belongs to a friend of mine, and although he is exceptionally adorable, it is not the only unique thing about him.

After his first week of life it was evident that something was wrong. He was bleeding excessively from shots, his circumcision, and his umbilical stump. In the first months of his life he developed hematomas, spontaneous bleeds, and deep spontaneous bruising.

When he was just 5 months old, he was diagnosed with Hypofibrinogenemia, which is a Factor I deficiency. It's very similar to Hemophilia, but more rare. It means that he has extremely thin blood (as thin as is medically possible to detect) and he is unable to clot. This condition can cause deadly internal bleeds, joint disfiguration, nerve damage, and crippling arthritis.

Can you imagine having to constantly worry about all of that on top of the normal motherly things?

But the Kellys are optimistic! They are hoping for a cure. Scientists believe the answer lies in gene therapy, by repair or replacement of the faulty gene. This could mean taking genes with the correct directions for making the needed factor and inserting them into the cells of a person with hemophilia.

Thankfully, Forrest has been able to have fantastic medical care and has a great support group.

I have been touched by Forrest's story and have chosen to raise money through "A Chick w/ Sticks" to help fund research in order to find a cure, and to help other children that have also been diagnosed with this same bleeding disorder.

Josie Kelly (Forrest's mother) has plans to start a Foundation and help create better awareness for those with bleeding disorders. I will make sure to share that information when it is forthcoming.

Until then, please join me here on my ACWS blog as I document my progress and experiences.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me in my efforts so far!

Tis the *Hat* Season

It's definitely hat season, and I have had so many fun orders come in lately.

This first order came from a college friend. Her little boy is dressing up as Scooby Doo for Halloween. This hat turned out way better than I was hoping it would.

A friend of mine had a baby boy semi-recently and had me make her a "Big Blue" mascot hat. Her little guy wore it to a football game and showed it off. I then received an order from a friend of my friend. He wanted a hat for himself and also for his little girl. To "girlify" it, I added eyelashes and a cute pink bow.

 Another order I received was a Halloween request from my sister's friend. Her little boy is dressing up as Papa Smurf for Halloween, so I made a hat for him to top off the costume.

Pattern found HERE

 My sister was recently here for a visit, and after seeing the previous order of Big Blue hats I was working on requested a couple hats for her kids. This time we added pink to the tassels on the "girl" one.

 This next order came from my friend's older sister who I have had the chance to get to know a little better recently. Her little boy is really into The Very Hungry Caterpillar right now so she ordered a hat for him.

 This next order was a partial custom order. It included a "Mr. Bones" hat along with a Dino hat. I had never made a dino hat before and it turned out super cool. My little guy thought it was awesome.

Pattern for Dino Spikes found HERE

 And here is an order from someone down under in Australia. She is getting ready for Christmas early!

This last order was from one of my best friends up in AK. Her two kiddos are dressing up as monsters for Halloween and for the 3rd year in a row I got to make the Halloween hats. They turned out so stinkin' cute and I can't wait to see pictures of their entire ensembles. I also can't wait till I get to see them!

Avengers: The Incredible Hulk

This is the last installment of the Avengers hats. It was one of the hardest for me to make because I didn't have a vision of what I wanted. I ended up with something pretty simple.

The Hulk Hat

Body of hat (Toddler size):
w/ black make a magic circle, ch 1
Rnd 1: 8 hdc in ring, pull tight, join (8 hdc)
Rnd 2: ch 1, 2 hdc in each st around, join (16 hdc)
Rnd 3: ch 1, *2 hdc in next st, hdc in next st, rep from * around, join (24 hdc)
Rnd 4: ch 1, *2 hdc in next st, hdc in next 2 st, rep from * around, join (32 hdc)
Rnd 5: ch 1, *2 hdc in next st, hdc in next 3 st, rep from * around, join (40 hdc)
Rnd 6: ch 1, *2 hdc in next st, hdc in next 4 st, rep from * around, join (48 hdc)
Rnd 7: ch 1, *2 hdc in next st, hdc in next 5 st, rep from * around, join (56 hdc)
change to green
Rnd 8-19: ch 1, *sc in next, dc in next, rep from * around, join (56 st)
Rnd 20: ch 1, sc in each st around, join & tie off (56 sc)
Sew in loose ends

Hulk Hair:
Using two strands of black yarn tie a knot around each stitch of rounds 1-7. Once all the hair is attached you trim it to the desired length with scissors. Voila... you have a Hulk hat.