Big...ummm...Words?

I...like...big...WORDS, and I cannot LIE--

You other bloggers can't de-NY;

When the page starts off with itty-bitty words,

It dissapoints both you and I...

<insert record scratch here>

WaitWaitWait...I'm pretty sure thats not how the song goes. I'm also pretty sure I'm not alone in my love for words! I Wordle and Quordle and Octordle just about every day, and the hubs and I work the Spelling Bee together for fun...so it shouldn't surprise anyone that some of my favorite knits have involved the building blocks of words...letters!

There's the knitted alphabet, which lives in my toy bin these days. With just one of every letter, its use is a little limited...although this word uses 15, unique, non-repeated letters (it even has its own blog post)...

Then two sets of alphabet blocks for grandchildren, with soft, foam cores that are light and squishy.

My daughter tells me that the middle boy enjoys it when she bounces these off the hiss forehead, and I've seen it...she's  right, he does! 

But I prefer to line them up and help the kids learn sounds and sight words. 

However we play with them, knitted alphabet blocks are just plain fun (for English nerds anyway!). This new set has a firmer foundation, with a different core block...still super light, but not squishy (details on my project page)...

I've modified the design a bit, unified the color palette, and I am so close to finishing...with 24 blocks already completed! 

26 blocks, 6 sides each, 156 possible letters to work with, and at least 4 of each letter! So many possibilities! How can a knitter follow that? 

Well, since you asked, maybe we'll do some numbers too! Reading AND math...I almost can't contain the excitement...lol!

What are you knitting for fun these days? Drop a hint and let me know...I could use some ideas for my next knit!

Thanks for stopping by, and

And, if you really need the song, here it is: Sir Mixalot's pop-rap hit from 1992

Be Kind

Where does kindness come from?

If you know me, you may already know my answer, and you have probably already guessed that I have put zero "research" into my answer. I could argue that my life has been a study, full of research, as I've certainly run across my share of kind and unkind people in the last 5 decades. Here's what I have found:

Kindness comes from stepping out of yourself and seeing things from someone else's perspective. It's part of the "Do unto others..." plan of living. If someone is having a bad day, and you can see that they are having a bad day, kindness comes from the ability to imagine what you might need from the next person you meet if you were having a bad day. 

Kindness comes from empathy. When you take a moment to try and feel what the other person feels, or to even think about feeling that way, you may be better equipped to meet them in their moment. Whether the emotion is happiness or sorrow, joy or grief, anger or hope, empathy allows us to join our lives together and help bear the burdens of others. It's like helping someone pick up the emotional "groceries" that have just spilled out of their bags and onto the street.

Kindness comes from thinking ahead. I often have a quick answer at the ready...but many times, it is not the right answer. I am more kind when I go over those words in my head, before they fall out of my mouth, thinking carefully about whether or not they are words I would welcome. Notice an error, and you want to tell them about it (just to be helpful, of course)? Stop and think about how helpful it will be. Perhaps it doesn't need to be said. Especially when it cannot be reversed (time only moves forward)...it is not super helpful to know (or think that) everyone around you is judging your mistake.

Kindness, for me, comes from a place of love. If I know you, I'd probably like to like you. I'd like for you to feel loved, special, valued and even treasured. I love to watch people bloom when they are seen and heard. 

Think of the way most people treat young children. There is grace for the mistakes, gentle correction, loving guidance and shared joy at the victories. At heart, we all still want that. But, in a world where many have encountered the unkind far too often, some people have lost hope that kindness still exists. Let's work together to bring the hope back.

Let's be patient. Let's be kind. Let's persevere in our hope and trust, and let's invite people into kindness everywhere we go. After all, it only takes a moment to smile and be nice...and I usually have a moment. Don't you?

Thanks for stopping by, friends. I hope that today is a good day for you! If it is a struggle, I hope that you are met with small kindnesses along the way, a reflection of the kindness you share despite your current struggles.

Be kind, and Knit in Good Health. 

This...because it is a knitting blog, too!

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.    (Matthew 7:12)

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.     (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Dogpile

I've been working a pattern

Called Pile-able Pups.

I've been stacking them down;

I've been stacking them up!

I have stitched them together

In blue, yellow, red-

Black noses and smiles,

Square bodies and heads.

They are cute, they are fun,

They are soon on their way-

To find a new home,

With new friends to play!

This morning, I thought to myself, "I'm going to call this post, 'Dogpile!' That will be fun, and it applies...but I think it means something." So I looked it up...

From the Free Dictionary: 

dog·pile

 or dog pile (dôg′pīl′, dŏg′-)Slang

n.

1. A heap or cluster of people pressed closely together or piled on top of each other, as in celebration or assault.

2. In football, a heap of players that have leapt or fallen on top of a tackled ball carrier or loose football.

3. An outpouring of like-minded criticisms or retorts in response to something: the latest critic to join the dogpile condemning the new TV season.

4. A deposit of dog excrement.

It is also a search engine, go figure. There were other definitions, but I am not sure I put stock in them. After all, they were not in the Free Dictionary! 

Of course, none of these definitions apply to this stack of stuffed toys that slighty resembles the idea of puppies playfully piling on top of one another! Two lessons here today friends:

1. Check into a word you have heard before you use it freely. There may be a definition you don't know, and you could be stepping in a dogpile if you use that word in the wrong company! (I speak from experience, having used new words without checking before today...) And
2. The Internet can be a very funny place, but don't believe everything you read there!

It has been gray here lately, but Summer is coming! I am glad that I have these bright friends around to perk me up until the sun comes back!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

PS - Tomorrow is Mother's Day. If she is still around, call your Mom. She loves you, and  none of us is guaranteed next year. 

Full of Words!

I am full of words. I love to speak them, I love to hear them, I love to read them, and I love to write them! I also am a fan of spelling and grammar, though I generally keep that to myself on social media, where I die a little every time someone uses the wrong your or there. I just want to bury my face in yarn and hide from the world when that happens. 

But I digress... 

I blog because I love words, and I think it is important to leave something behind. One day, maybe sooner than I think (because you just really never know), I will not be around. I will be in a better place, to be sure, so I am not sad about that. But a vain part of me thinks that perhaps my children and grandchildren might want to know more about what made me tick, and why I knit so much. 

In truth, my words are a lot like my knitting. Everything is woven together with a common thread, and the blog is full of my stories and yarns. Each year, I print a hard copy of the blog, and I tuck it on a shelf. When I am feeling nostalgic, sometimes I'll pull a volume down (I have been blogging since 2007!) rather than searching the online blog...if I am looking for a recipe...or I want to remember exactly when that big event happened...or I just want to look at my own words and photos on the page, in black and white (and stunning technicolor!).

It is interesting to me that the yarn and the knitting and my life are all so intertwined. The things I knit are often in response to events in my life, or the lives of people around me, and sometimes my knitting brings to me great revelations about my life. Whether I am working on a simple and sturdy hat, a delicate lace shawl or an intricately cabled coffee sleeve, there is usually a parallel somewhere. Even this morning, while I was reading my bible, I came across Psalm 139...the one that says (among other things) that I am God's masterpiece, knitted and woven together by Him in my mother's womb! God put all my delicate parts together and he knows me, from the beginning, inside and out...and he gave me all the words! 

And I think a cabled coffee sleeve is impressive!

So, if God did that (knit me together, on purpose, infinitely more complicated than any cabled pattern, and gave me this love of words), is it really vanity that says my words are important to someone? I think not. Rather, God gave me something to say, and he knows if there is someone who needs to hear it, whether friend, family member, or complete stranger. As much as I love words, I do not know who will read what I put here, if they will like what I have to say, or whether anyone will really care to keep those books on the shelf when I am gone. Vanity says, "They will treasure your words, Pretty!" But reality reminds me to write for me, even if no one else ever stops by.

But today YOU stopped by, and I am so glad that you did, because I have a message for you: God knit you together, too! And He has also given you something to say! You may express your message in another way...I know not everyone loves words or wants to blog...but the important part is that you do express it. If you are not sure what your message or purpose is, look around, see what God has to show you through his Word, through nature, through the people around you, and take time to decide who you are and what you love most. When you do, I would love to hear about it!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!