With the news this week of Kate Spade committing suicide and then just this morning Anthony Bourdain doing the same, to say I’ve felt off this week is an understatement. Suicide rates are going up in the US and I was just telling a friend the other day, kindness is going down. I’ve had so many other friends who blog or even in my old blog days would tell me about people who would say mean things or write hateful comments. Fortunately, I’ve never had to deal with that but it always leaves me wondering why? Why would someone do that? Why spread hate? It’s why I try to use this blog, my little corner of the internet to spread some positivity and light. Sprinkle a little happiness with knits and color. It’s why I love knitting, it allows me to spread joy. Maybe we just need to teach the world to knit? Or crochet? Or just fall in love with yarn? Because knitting always seems to pull me out of my funk, help ease the pain of loss or soothe the tension of a particularly bad day. Yesterday my day had the shittiest of starts. I stepped in poop. I was barefoot. It was gross. Not the way you want to start your day but hey, it happens on occasion when you have dogs. Twenty minutes after the poopcident I got a text from my girlfriend Rachel. I’ve shared stories with you about her children before and the things I make them. Well, in 2016 I knit her daughter Leah a dress. It’s 2018 and we think this is the last year she’ll get to wear it but she’s still wearing it, folks.
But the best part? She told her Dad, “Daddy you should wear a blue shirt so that you can match me. My blue shirt is beautiful.” That text totally turned my morning around. That sweet girl in that little blue dress that’s now a blue top is why I knit. So that my friends think of me and smile, so that I can make a special moment or memory for a child with a doll. So that I can spread a little love into the world on knit at a time.
Spread some love today, the world really needs it.
Yards of Happiness 
yes, dana, knitting is a stress reducer even with the hard stitches. you bring a little joy into the knitting world with your blog, at least in my little corner. thank you for that. love the little nose peeking out! what is that beautiful item you are knitting? I love the colors!!! thanks for your kindness contribution. debbie
That project is the Askews Me Shawl by West Knits! It’s a fun brioche project to work on right now. I’ve got the pattern memorized so I can just knit away.
Oh, Dana, thank you for mentioning the sadness around Spade’s and Bourdain’s decisions to end their lives, and what seems to be an explosion of unkindness in our country. This makes your little corner of the internet all the more important – you give me a place to connect with others around more than ‘just knitting’ and I am grateful. I am busy knitting colorful wool caps for persons living with Hansen’s disease in Nepal to ease my pain.
Their suicides make me feel so sad to think someone was hurting that much to take their own life. We’ve got to be kinder, make mental health a priority and watch out for the people we love.
Wonderful post…I am turning 60 later this summer. I am focusing on a gift for myself: Sixty random acts of kindness. Tired of listening to the bad news on TV and social media each day! I’ve got quite a list going of ideas, especially handmade ones to spread kindness. Keep up the good work!
Oh that sounds wonderful! I did 33 things before I turned 33 years ago. I’m turning 40 at the end of this summer…maybe I’ll do the same!
What a beautiful mission! Thank you for spreading your joy.
Awwww, what a great story DWJ! And I think you have the right idea – make everyone fall in love with knitting . . . in love with yarn! Oh what a world this would be. I can’t wait to see what Leah will get next now that her “shirt” is in its final stages. 😉
Love the “growth chart” sequence of pictures! Your post is a perfect antidote to the tragic news of the day. So grateful that your style of optimism is to acknowledge the bad news and then remind us all of ways to “rise above it,” as my Granny used to say. Real optimism isn’t hiding from bad news, but insisting on a loving response, and you consistently demonstrate that. As you say, we’ve all got to stop and pay better attention to those around us who may be at the very edge of desperation. Right now I’m knitting some bright red socks for an artist friend who’s had brain surgeries recently. I work on them at my mom’s bedside. She was admitted to hospice on Mother’s Day. It’s not an easy world, but we can all create some warm, soft spaces in it if we try.
You know, I’ve always tried to say what scares me, upsets me out loud in hopes that someone can help me figure out a way to get through it. When you share, you often find you’re not alone and that’s helpful. You can’t always carry that weight around with you. And I’m sorry to hear your mom is in hospice, I know that’s not easy after having gone through that with my Dad. Hugs to you!
Reading your blog always cheers me up! And with the news as bad as it is these days, we need every bit of cheer that we can get.
You’re posts always make me smile. It’s your words, the colors you use and your spirit. Thank you.
Amen ❤️
xoxoxo
I cannot send enough ❤️s for this post. I also have a heavy heart and am weary of darkness threatening all around. I am not a terribly skilled needle worker but in small ways I also try to show love through a pair of knit socks or a shawl or some little unexpected item which shows I thought of someone. For me, as an introvert who has little emotional stamina after a day of doing (mental health) therapy, these projects give me a time to recharge, pray, contemplate. And I have great joy in the work of my hands and giving a little love in yarny form.
It’s so true. There are so many parts of the web that are horrid, awful. I truly appreciate the little corners of sweetness. Thank you.
And that blue dress is beautiful!
Hi Dana–
Thank you for this post. I struggle with the meanness I see being displayed and I just wonder why? Life is just too short to put any energy towards being mean. I also think the current person in the WH has given license to those who bully. I soooo miss the classiness, decorum, intelligence (do I need to go on?) of President Obama. Will we ever have such a role model again in the WH? Not sure. I always try to put myself in the other person’s shoes and just always say hello, thank you, and just in general, try to acknowledge them.
Keep up the positivity!
Chris, I work down the street from the White House…don’t get me started. But I try to not let the negativity pull me down.
Great to meet you via the Mason Dixon Knitting blog. Keep up the joy! (I’m pretty sure I’m knitting a shawl from the same wool as your rainbow sweater in the header photos.)
I love rainbow yarn, it just makes everything more happy.