A Handmade Gift Carrying Love Forward: A Hooded Hexagon Turtle

Some custom orders begin with a pattern idea.

Others begin with a person and a reason for wanting to create something special.

This was one of those orders.

A customer reached out wanting to do something meaningful for the daughter of a former coworker who had passed away. Her daughter was expecting a baby girl, and my customer wanted to give her something thoughtful, personal, and handmade as she prepared to welcome her little one.

Something created especially for this new chapter while carrying a whole lot of love behind it.

Together, we started exploring ideas and eventually landed on a 2 in 1 Turtle Tortoise Hooded Blanket by Crafting Happiness.

When someone comes to me wanting a custom creation but isn't completely sure what that creation should be yet, that is perfectly okay.

Sometimes figuring it out together is part of the process.

For this gift, we wanted something that would be sweet enough for a new baby but also useful and comforting.

The hooded hexagon turtle gave us a little bit of everything.

It had the coziness of a handmade blanket, the personality of a turtle, and a design that was certainly different from an ordinary baby blanket.

Once we landed on the idea, it was time to pick colors and start stitching.

One of the things I loved about this project was watching such simple crochet shapes transform into something completely different.

It started with hexagons.

There is always a point in projects like this when the individual pieces stop looking like separate bits of crochet and suddenly you can see the finished creation emerging.

This little turtle definitely had one of those moments.

What began as yarn and individual hexagons eventually became a cozy hooded blanket ready for a brand new baby girl.

As cute as the finished turtle was, the story behind this order is what made it special.

My customer wanted to show someone she cared about that she was thinking of her during a season filled with both new beginnings and the absence of someone incredibly important.

There wasn't anything I could crochet that could replace that loss.

But we could create something that said:

You are thought of.

You are cared about.

And this new little life is already surrounded by love.

Sometimes a handmade gift gets to say the things that are difficult to put into words.

And that is exactly where I hope handmade creations like this one end up.

Not tucked away because they are too special to touch, but used, cuddled, loved, and woven into everyday life.

This hooded hexagon turtle began with one person wanting to do something kind for another.

And stitch by stitch, that thought became something she could actually place into her hands.