A quest for a 6-9 month baby hat pattern...

I've been out pulling some stubborn , prickly weeds this morning before it gets all too hot here in the desert. It was 112 in the shade on my back porch yesterday afternoon! PHEW! Soon it will be time to plant my fall garden which I am going to do in my new square foot garden box.

I was so blessed as I walked the dogs at about 6:30 this morning. The sun was quite far up above the horizon, hidden behind a huge dark grey and white cloud, and to the left, 3 small patches of blue sky could be seen with glorious rays of light pouring through them. It looked like 3 conduits to Heaven, and I half expected to see Christ descend through one of them, as He had shortly after His death and Resurrection, when He appeared to the Nephite people who inhabited the Americas at that time.

It was so lovely, and I hoped it would last until I arrived back home so I coujld grab my camera. Oh well, I feel very blessed to have witnessed it this morning, and to be able to feel the Love of my Father in Heaven, just by seeing it. I am so thankful that I have been given the great gift in this life, to be able to feel Heavenly Father's love directly and to know that that is what it is I feel.

So... here is my quest!

I am leaving for NYC on Tuesday and am planning what to bring along crochet or knit-wise to keep my hands busy for many hours while we fly and have a small layover in Denver. My daughter Patti is coming with me, which I am so thrilled about as it will be our last mother-daughter trip for a while. She leaves for the University of Utah in a couple of weeks.

So, I was thinking my new grandson lives in NYC, and it is bitterly cold there in the winter, so that boy needs his granny to make him a warm hat. I started looking online for a 6-9 month sized hat and found almost nothing out there! Most patterns are for newborns or toddlers, or adults and there is not much in between.

Time for Bev to get the crochet hook working on that earplap, toasty warm, pre-toddler cap pattern! So, that's what I will be working on on the plane. I have plastic hooks which I think will be permitted on the airlines.

The mittens to match, no problem...
http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/tod-mitts.html

I think he will need some bigger boy ones too for next year!
http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/bev-hat-mitts.html

I love to see my friend Nicole's little guy wearing those mittens and matching hat, every time I open that page. I got to see him this past April at the County Fair and my, he has grown so much! Still so handsome though. =)

Back in the day, I used to freelance write quite a bit for TOTLINE magazine. You might see those at your public library-- in book form mostly now, in the reference section. Here is one of my fingerplays I wrote for them in 1990.

I have posted this on the mitten page now, so mamas who make those mittens can teach their children and grandchildren the fingerplay as they give the mittens to them:

Mittens and Boots - FINGERPLAY
Beverly Qualheim © 1990 - All Rights Reserved

These are our mittens,
(Pretend to put on mittens)
What are they for?
They keep our hands warm
(rub hands together)
When we go out the door.

And these are our boots.
(Pretend to pull on boots)
They will keep our feet dry
In piles of cold snow
(stomp the snow)
When we play outside.

I used to write so many of those fingerplays! I even self published a book of them to try and earn a little money for our family. Never sold too many of them as I didn't have the internet reach to advertise. I still have ONE copy of it for my family. =)

I also need to make at least 1 pair of mittens for LDS Humanitarian as I know they will be requested really soon. October cold weather is just around the corner and I am trying to get a stash of them made before then, so the little ones in the orphanage will be able to have warm hands. I can't stand the thought of any child going without warm clothing, it rips my heart out.
Hopefully many of you will join me in making some snuggly, warm mitts for children aged 2-14, as the weeks pass by.

Graphic courtesy of CuteColors.com

I would like to get my Recipes pages at Bev's Country Cottage, rolling again, so if you have any family fave recipes you can share, please do. I am currently looking for Summer Time easy-to-fix meals right now.

Bev's Cranberry-Orange Salad
Ingredients:

1- 3 oz. pkg. cherry jello
1-3 oz. package lemon jello
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups boiling water
1 8 1/4 oz. can crushed pineapple (do NOT drain)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 small orange, seeded and cut into quarters
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup finely chopped celery

Directions:

Dissolve sugar and jellos in boiling water. Add undrained pineapple and lemon juice. Chill until partially set. With a food processor coarsely grind orange and cranberries. Fold cranberry-orange mixture and chopped celery into jello. Pour into a 7 cup jello
mold and chill until firmly set. Serves 10.

HUG THE ONES YOU LOVE!
Bev