Hats for the Homeless

When I closed The Knitting Loft, I wanted the community previously supported by the shop to be able to continue gathering, creating, and encouraging one another.  So I chartered The Capitol Hill Knitting Guild, under the umbrella of the national organization, The Knitting Guild Association.

We enjoy sharing our projects and learning from one another.  In addition, one of the things that we do on a regular basis is charity knitting.  Last year, we made hat and scarf sets for homeless children at The Playtime Project,  This year, in addition to providing yarn to Bread for the City for their crochet classes, we have chosen to support a local homeless shelter.  We are making hats for the men that they serve.  Our small group learned that the shelter serves 500 men.  But we haven't let that deter us.  The organization is grateful that we are helping and they will receive whatever we are able to provide.

So we've begun.  We are working in between our other projects and we are making progress.  We've also reached out to other charity knitters and crocheters on Ravelry and invited them to join us in our efforts.  And they have answered the call.

Today, it is warm outside in Washington, DC.  But we know that cold weather is right around the corner.  Knitting and crocheting hats is a small gesture.  But it's one that we gladly make.

If you'd like to help, you may find details in our Ravelry group thread.  Or, send an email to theknittingloft@gmail.com.

Until next time... 

A Cry in the Wind...

There's a cry in the wind.  If we paused for just a moment, we'd hear it.  It's calling you and it's calling me to stop being complacent.  With each appalling incident where an innocent life is lost, it gets louder and louder.

There's a rustle in the wind.  If we took our eyes off of our devices for just a moment, we'd see it.  It's the step we can take, the thing we can do, the difference we can make.  It doesn't ask for much.  But it does ask.  With each appalling incident where an innocent life is lost, it gets more and more urgent.

 So here's my first, baby step...

It angers me to live in the United States in the 21st century without a vote in Congress.  I love being a native of Washington, DC.  I love the culture and the pulse of the city.  I love the diversity and the food.  I even love the rhythm that politics creates.  But I hate paying taxes with fewer rights than those who live in one of the fifty states.

There's a cry in the wind.  And it's calling for my voice and the voice of over 600,000 citizens of the nation's capital to join in.  But we have no voice because we are not a state.  We are governed by people that we did not elect.

"District citizens pay full federal taxes and serve in the military and die for our country but have no say in whether we go to war, what those taxes are, who serves on our federal courts or in the President's cabinet, or whether the United States should enter into various treaties and international obligations. We can't even spend our own local tax money freely. Congress is implicitly our 'state legislature' and does whatever it wants here, even things it would not dare to impose on their constituents back in their home states."  Excerpt from DC Statehood Yes We Can. 

There is a move for DC statehood.  And every citizen of the US can play a part.  Read "Why We Need DC Statehood" and "The Case for DC Statehood".  Then, write or call your representative and urge them to support statehood for the District of Columbia.  Sign the petition and ask everyone you know to do the same. 

To learn more about DC Statehood and what you can do to help, click here.

I'm back...

#dcstatehood

All Things Are Possible...

 GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION

1227 Pennsylvania Ave. SE

Washington, DC 20003

202.544.0702

www.theknittingloftdc.com

Saturday, August 4, 2012

10:00am - 5:00pm

I'd love to see you there!

Until next time...

A Dream Manifest...

Over the past few months I have been working... hard...very hard... on a daily basis.  I have been purposeful and prayerful.  I have been excited, scared, excited, and scared again.  I have been encouraged just to be discouraged and then encouraged again.  In so many ways I have been living principles that I've tried to instill in my children: setting goals, being persistent, staying focused, and doing what I enjoy.

It all leads to this...

The Knitting Loft, located at 1227 Pennsylvania Ave., SE in Capitol Hill, will celebrate it's Grand Opening on August 4, 2012!  If you're in town, I'd love to see you.

Until next time...

Don't Breathe on the Baby

Babies are such beautiful, delicate, and inspiring things.  They represent hope and all that the future has to offer.  They can be challenging at times but they also add a sense of purpose.  They innocently demand attention and they depend totally on their caregivers to mature and to grow.

Babies are also very vulnerable.  They are susceptible to injury, sickness, and disease in ways that are unlike adults.  Caregivers are very particular about who they let get close to or handle their babies.  And they should be.  Healthy development just might depend upon it.

A dear friend once told me, "Be careful who you let breathe on your baby."  In a lot of ways dreams and goals are like babies.  They, too, represent hope and provide vision for the future.  They add a sense of purpose and can also be challenging.  Until they become a reality they require diligence and depend totally upon the dreamer.  Sometimes the breath is blatant criticisms.  Other times, it is subtle indifference.  Either way, it can harm the dream and the dreamer if allowed.

Today I say to you, "Be careful who you let breathe on your baby."  And if by chance a harmful breath comes your way, surround yourself with the truth, and keep on nurturing.

Until next time...

One Year Ago...

One year ago today I was lying in ICU, heavily sedated, with several broken bones, and a tube in my chest.  I was fighting for my life.  The coming of this anniversary has been on my mind over the past few months.  I wasn't sure how I would feel or how my husband and kids would react.  My best friend picked up the phone and checked on me around the very same time that she received the phone call...one year ago.

There are no words to describe what I experience each time I approach an intersection or hear the wale of a siren.  A sense of security that I once had no longer exists.  And that's okay.  See, I am healthy and living a full life.  More importantly, I have decided to pursue a dream.  I am teaching others to knit and working towards opening my very own knit shop.  I am living my life with passion and purpose and I'm doing so one day at a time.

This is what it means to be held, how it feels when the sacred is torn from your life and you survive.  This is what it is to be loved and to know that the promise was when everything fell, we'd be held.

 
As you read this post, I want to challenge you.  One year from now, make sure that you are not where you are today.

Until next time...

Nomo

Today my family is grieving the loss of our family pet, a beautiful Akita named Nomo.  Ever since I was a little girl, we have always had full-bred Akitas.  They are absolutely beautiful dogs.  They are incredibly protective yet gentle and loving.  I often thought of them as my "other brother".  Nomo was no different.  He will be sorely missed.

Until next time...