when your hands feel tied, you sew.

i have a friend.

okay, i’ll wait. get it out of your system. (seriously, i’m a little shocked myself. really—who wants to be friends with a lady who has five kids? that’s just asking for trouble).

but this friend, well—she can’t point any fingers. because she just gave birth to her own #4. her first girl after a series of three boys. little miss P, we’ll call this beautiful new bundle of joy.

little miss P is already making her mark in the world. she was scheduled to make her arrival this morning. but she came on her own schedule—sending her momma into labor tuesday night prompting a mad rush to the hospital for a super quick delivery.

so instead of being born this morning, miss P is headed into surgery this morning. actually, she’s in surgery as i type this.

it’s not my story to tell, so i won’t. but this beautiful little baby was born with some health issues (which the parents knew about beforehand). issues that are going to require a mess of surgery and fairly extensive hospital stays.

:(

when you have friends going through such troubles your heart aches to help them. to be helpful, to say the right words, to do the right things…to in some way ease the burden they’re carrying.

but you can’t. not really.

you can make a meal, or do laundry…but you can’t heal a baby. you can’t answer unanswerable questions. you can’t make guarantees for the future.

but that doesn’t mean you can’t try. or that you shouldn’t try.

because you can. and you can just be there. and you can offer hugs and a shoulder to lean on. you can make a meal, or do a load of laundry.

or you can make a bag.

miss p’s momma will be spending many, many hours at her bedside in the next few weeks. travelling back and forth from home to hospital—balancing the needs of the newest, littlest, most delicate one with the needs of the older three boys—who still need a momma themselves. and through this troubled pregnancy miss p’s momma has spent some time developing a new hobby.

she’s become a knitter.

so because i can’t answer unanswerable questions, and i can’t make guarantees for the future, and i can’t take it all away, i do what i can: i can pray for that baby. i can pray really, REALLY hard. and i can make a bag for momma to take all her knitting back and forth in.

it’s a nice and roomy bag—big enough to carry whatever the current project may be.

i did simple elastic straps on one side to help keep the skeins of yarn somewhat organized.

the other side has pockets for more organization.

and the front has a nice big zipper pocket.

the bag is made from a soft yellow leather (which i’ve used before), and lined in a striped upholstery weight material.

to go along with the bag i made a little organizer for all the knittin’ needles.

one side with slots for needles (and crochet hooks when she finally listens to me when i tell her how much EASIER crochet is!), and the other side a vinyl zipper pocket for odds and ends.

i actually have a tutorial planned for this little guy—a quick and easy sew.

and because i’m such a WONDERFUL friend, i filled that empty side with momma’s favorite…

ohhh trader joe’s ends and pieces…how i love thee…

so there you have it: one little bag, sewn and given (just in time!). big enough for knitting, and big enough to hold all the love i filled it with.