Knit-In for Peace Day

December 21, 2016 By Carole

Today is the last day of the Peace Project Cowl. It’s not the last day for me since I still have (cough cough) several repeats to go but it is the last day The Healthy Knitter will be blogging tips and prompts about practicing peace. It’s also the day that we are all knitting in the name of peace from our own little corners of the world.

To say that thinking about peace has been inspirational for me would be an understatement. It’s something that has inspired me so much that, as I told you before, I have chosen peace as my One Little Word for 2017. I’m very excited about the ideas I have for keeping peace in my world and I’m looking forward to exploring lots of ways to expand and expound on peace.

Tonight will be the unofficial start of that for me because, while I’m knitting and thinking about peace, I will also be celebrating the solstice. As we have for the last several years, Dale and I will write down our regrets for the year 2016 and then burn those slips of paper in the wood stove. We will listen to a playlist that includes not only seasonal music but also Here Comes the Sun. We will state our intentions for 2017 and we will toast each other with glögg and say God Jul.

And we will wish for peace.

Wednesdays Are For Knitting: Project Peace Cowl

December 14, 2016 By Carole

Like many knitters, I have been working on the Project Peace Cowl.

This is where I was on December 4th. Right on track.

And this is where I was Monday night after town meeting. Less progress? How is that possible? I’ll give you a hint.

join in the round, taking care not to twist

Yep. Twisted. And I didn’t notice until I had completed 7.5 rounds.

So. Ripped and reknit, this time with a 4 row garter stitch edge and, most importantly no twist.

Issues aside, I’m enjoying the pattern and the prompts related to peace that go along with it. So much, in fact, that I have decided that peace is going to be my One Little Word for 2016. I’ve been tossing a few words around for a while now but last week the word peace just clicked for me.

I’ll talk more about it, I’m sure, but for now I’m just thinking about how I can incorporate more peace into my life. Knitting for peace definitely worked Monday night at town meeting when someone, on speaking to the article to approve applying for a grant for a library renovation and expansion project, called libraries a luxury. I was furious and nearly jumped out of my seat to give a lecture on the importance of libraries and to talk about how libraries level the playing field among the haves and the have nots. But I didn’t. I kept my head down and I knit on. And the article passed!

Maybe there really is something to this knitting and peace thing.

Happy New Year 2016!

January 1, 2016 By Carole

As promised, and just as I did last year, I am ready to share the word I have chosen for 2016.

A new bracelet, this time from Stella & Dot, with an engraved charm that reads shine.

After joy and grace this really just seemed like the perfect word. It’s time to shine!

Grace: One Little Word 2015

December 31, 2015 By Carole

Today, on the last day of 2015, I want to sum up my journey this year with my One Little Word, grace.

When I chose this word I had an image of myself, welcoming friends into our home, sharing our life and space with them, and treating them with love, kindness and respect. It took me a while to figure out the word that described that image but I finally caught it: grace. It perfectly described how I wanted to treat people, how I wanted to handle situations (the happy and stressful ones), and how I wanted to move through my days.

Like everything in life, there were times when I felt like I nailed it and times when I felt like I completely missed the mark. But you know what? Nailing it every time isn’t the point. The point is to keep trying. To learn from our mistakes and do better when we know better.

Throughout the year I found lots of quotes about grace that really illuminated my feelings about this word. Quotes like:

“There are some of your graces which would never be discovered if it weren’t for your trials.” C.H. Spurgeon

“She believed the cracks were openings for grace.” Studio Lila

“Grace isn’t a little prayer you say before a meal, it’s a way to live.”

“Be pretty if you can, be witty if you must, but be gracious if it kills you.” Elise de Wolfe

My words don’t really leave me. Joy, my word from 2014, is still very much a part of my focus and I know grace will be as well. But for today, it’s time to remember this quote because it is absolutely perfect for my last day of focusing on this word:

“Let today be the day you learn the grace of letting go and the power of moving on.” Steve Maraboli

Come back tomorrow and I’ll tell you my word for 2016.

Happy New Year 2015!

January 1, 2015 By Carole

On this, the first day of the new year, I am ready to share with you my One Little Word for 2015. Of course I’m doing it with a photo.

It’s a bracelet from Keep Collective and it spells out my word, grace, with a crescent moon for the letter C. It’s funky and stylish and will serve as an awesome reminder of the way I want to live my life this year – with grace.

Grace at work and at home.

Grace in my relationships and in the way I talk to the people I love.

Grace while volunteering and serving the community.

Grace when welcoming and entertaining friends and family.

Grace in my actions and my words and my spirit.

I can’t wait to see how this word moves through my world in 2015.

Happy New Year, my friends!