For Sam-Sam

Last week, I mentioned briefly that one of the volunteers at the theatre was going through an especially rough time. The ladies in the crafty group I’m part of decided that we should band together and do something really nice for her – along the lines of a very comforting care package. Now, normally during stressful times (i.e. the birth of a new baby, the death of a loved one) my “go-to” is comfort food: delicious, healthful, and easy to prepare sustenance – something to remind people to keep going when their world has changed drastically. Unfortunately, this woman is currently stuck in hospital, and I wasn’t certain of dietary restrictions / food storage / meal preparation, etc. So. With the help of a few suggestions, I decided to go in a different direction.

As Sam is in hospital, we thought it was a good idea for her to have a bag or something to carry her things around should she want to move about. I dug out my fabric remnants box and used my sewing skills to craft her a personalized tote bag – building on my original “crazy tote” design with the addition of some wacky quilting, internal pockets, and a full-length zipper.

Crazy Tote for Sam – note the disease-arse-kicking Batman, and the moose-of-many-pals.

Now, as you can see, the pockets of the crazy tote were filled with other goodies. I know some of the other ladies added books to the care package, so I put a couple in to illustrate. I also added one of my Audrey-Hepburn-esque sleep masks, because I know just how hard it is to get any good rest while you’re in hospital, with everybody buzzing about. (Rumor had it that a sound machine was also added to the package, to drown-out all that clinical noise…)

Finally, I crocheted Sam a cozy and super-soft hat based on a show that I know she really likes. Continuing with the Doctor Who theme that I seem to be running with lately, (see the scarf post, if you so desire), I whipped her up a Tardis hat. A what?!?! Well, simply put, the good Doctor (the main character of the show) time-travels in a space ship that looks like an old British police box…

So, after a few failed attempts, I came up with this simplified Tardis design for a hat…

Which I still wasn’t 100% satisfied with, so I tried yet again, the latest incarnation fitting slightly more snugly, and having larger ear-flap ties.

One of the ladies was going to knit a matching scarf to go with the hat, so when the hospital gets chilly, or when Sam wants to get out for a breath of fresh, mid-winter air, she’ll be all set. (This post is getting rather long now, so I’ll write some more detailed instructions for the hat at another time, for those of you interested in perhaps making one for yourself or your favourite Doctor Who fan.)

Anyhow. The crafty ladies (aka The Forces of Good) collected our contributions in a beautiful basket, and they were brought to the hospital yesterday to an appreciative young lady. We hope you heal well and soon, dear Sam. You are in our hearts. xo