Blanketing Newtown in Love

Hey there, Sharon of Three Irish Girls fame has started a Facebook page and Ravelry group called Knitters for Newton. She has made two unique indie dyed color ways, Love Wins and The Giving Tree. Through sales of the yarn, 20% is donation, and direct donations, she is gathering $10,000 to help those devastated by the events at Sandy Hook Elementary. She is also organizing a group blanket drive with the idea of delivering the blankets in a few months when the media's attention has faded. I plan to help by making some squares and helping with the seaming together of them. I might budget some space and money for yarn. The Love Wins is a lovely soft rainbow that would make a nice remembrance shawl. The Giving Tree is brown, green, grey, and white, the colors of Sandy Hook's school colors and mascot, the eagle. It would make a nice, sweater for K. We often ask ourselves how can I help? I'm just one person. Through a multitude of small simple acts of kindness and love, the families of Newton will know they are blanketed with love from a nation of compassionate compatriots. Hopefully, the blankets will serve as reminders that love does win that life does give. We just don't always understand why or how at the moment, or even later. Please lift the families up in your prayers, if you pray, and in your thoughts with love and kindness if you don't. Thank you for reading. Jen

Bootstraps

I can easily wallow in my troubles. That won't do any good. I need to find a way to focus my thoughts and energy on something other than my disability. So, how do I do that? Get involved with real folks. I have few offline friends, and few who live nearby. I need to change that. How? Going places and lingering to get to know folks. I liked going to the knitting circle at the library on Thursdays. I also want to get involved in the monthly writers group there too. Get active. I need to move more. I am very sedentary and my body doesn't like me doing that. Walking is easy. I just need to do it. There's a treadmill in my garage. I need to get back into using it. Complete projects. I have a works in progress list that's really long. I have started working through it, frogging projects or completing them as time goes by. Read more. I have a stack of books from the library that would have taken me a week or week and a half pre meningitis. I still haven't finished the slenderest book and am nearing the return to library three week mark. I can read it's just harder for me b/c of eye strain leading to headaches easier and for some reason I'm slower at it. I have to reread more to get what's been communicated. Write more. I like writing. That's why I have a blog. :-) I have gotten away from writing for a while, but need to get back into it. I've been writing some knitting patterns, published one, and am on the way to working on another. It's been a while since I was this excited about anything.