First Person
There Will Always Be Knitting: A Reminder
Dear Kay,
I’ve been thinking about Max Daniels’s post last week, where there has been a robust and moving exploration of what everybody’s Word Of The Year will be.
Sure, I just stitched a word on the front of a new sweater. I’ll be SUREing my way through 2025, in all its meanings.
But I’m sitting here at the airport, waiting to fly to New York for a gathering of knitters, and I’m looking around at all the quarter-zip tech bros and the influencer talking into the air about her hotel problem and the swarm of high school volleyball players all kitted out in the exact same outfits. And I’m hit with another word: limbo.
Here at our gate, waiting for our groups to be called, we’re all caught in the in between. We’re not home, but we’re not there, either.
Wow, is limbo ever a good word. It contains so much.
You’ve got your age-old Christian definition: “The supposed abode of the souls of unbaptized infants, and of the just who died before Christ’s coming.”
Then there’s a modern definition: “An uncertain period of awaiting a decision or resolution; an intermediate state or condition. ‘The negotiations have been in limbo since mid-December.'”
And, of course, there’s the dance: “Limbo is a popular game, based on traditions that originated on the island of Tobago. The aim is to pass forward under a low bar without falling or dislodging the bar. The dance originated as an event that took place at wakes in Tobago.”
If you say that someone or something is in limbo, you mean that they are in a situation where they seem to be caught between two stages and it is unclear what will happen next.
Unclear what will happen next.
I think we all look at the year ahead and wonder what on earth will happen next. Maybe it feels heightened right this minute, but the thing is, every year is like this. We don’t know anything, ever, about what is ahead. What we do have is the continual gift we all get, every day: waking up. Sometimes Hubbo and I will look at each other and say, “We get to have another day.”
The iconic opening credits to Love, Actually say it all: the montage of people at the airport running to each other, hugging and laughing and crying at the discovery of each other. Old people, teenagers, toddlers. In the limbo that is an airport, life happens as it does in every second of every day.
And, I hasten to add, in the limbo that is daily life, knitting is going to be more important than ever. In the coming year, I’ll be grateful for this community, as always—grateful for the good cheer and kindness and surprise that have made life so much better since that day I picked up a pair of knitting needles.
Love,
Ann
Fortunately, being in limbo about a particular situation, condition, position, etc., is not all there is to being alive–especially, as Ann has pointed out, when we carefully cherish and cultivate our continual awareness of all there is.
Canadian of a certain age here. When I was growing up America was always the cool kids. Then we got cool too and hung out together. We liked each other and were there for each other. And now I am left shaking my head, honestly afraid for what the next four years will strip away in terms of decency, respect and progress, not just for my American friends and family, but for the world at large. Like you, I will take solace in my needles and control what I can control. Grateful for the safe harbour this forum provides. Courage, sisters
Please know that Americans are not all represented by our current administration. Many of us despair over what is happening despite effort to prevent it. We indeed need courage and knitting needles. I am off to knit some items for charities.
Thank you Deb!! I’m gritting my teeth and gripping my knitting needles a bit tighter as I consider the next four years. But I’m also making a temperature blanket for home and a “book” blanket for one of my grandsons to celebrate his love of reading. Add to that several shawls in progress and I’ve got some yarny protection from getting overwhelmed by what’s to come. I hope we’ll all continue to be cool/good neighbors as the unknown unfolds. ❤️
Sincere thanks, and merci. Courage to you and your beautiful country, too.
Thank you!
Thanks, Deb! You’re very cool and very kind.
I’ll say it out loud.
In light of the shitshow displayed at our nation’s capital yesterday with messianic claims made by a decrepit old man too demented to place his hand on the bible, I needed this.
I will hasten to point out, however, that this ISN’T like any other year, except perhaps 1933 in Germany. See the Nazi salute proffered not once, but twice yesterday, in case you have any doubts.
I do understand dancing around political firebombs, especially as a small business. But I don’t frankly care who I piss off at this point. Too much is at stake.
Thank you. I’ve never thought knitters should ‘stick to their knitting’ when we all have full lives that are impacted by politics every day. We need to stick together in this very important community.
Thank you for saying this-I’m overwhelmed with grief and some anxiety. We must keep fighting for dignity, respect and kindness.
Not swearing on a bible is an actual honest thing he did yesterday.
What did he swear on?
The air – in other words, nothing.
One thousand percent! Thank you for having the courage to stand up and say what we’re all thinking.
Absolutely agree with all of this. Overwhelming sense of dread and sadness at the ignorance in this country. A shameful time and history will look back on it in exactly that way.
Thank you for your succinct summation of what we see & what we face. I’m down, but I will keep fighting.
I am Canadian of a certain age too.About 5-7 yrs ago, I noticed a movement towards the right in politics….everywhere in the world.I told both my kids « the world is going to get alittle crazier…..don’t listen in too closely…..just go about your own day and focus on your family and community ». Our generation lived at the best time. We always think things aren’t going to change, we’ve fixed everything. But history when you look back, is always changing. No matter what beliefs we hold, we are all anxious moving forward. I’m going to be focused on loving my neighbors and understanding.
I truly appreciate ALL of you and look forward to the MDK posts.
SubwayHooker….you do know that Elon was ‘throwing his heart’ to the audience, right?
You know he’s a huge geek and has Auspergers and can be very childlike in his excitement. As well as brilliant.
I advise you to actually watch his speech in context and not just take a meme you saw online or some dude on CNN who said Elons a nazi!
Good grief, have ypu seen all the photos of Kamala ‘making the nazi salute?’
Do I believe she was doing it or the camera caught her in a questionable pose?
I’m smart enough to know it was the latter.
I’m smart enough and not so gullible .
And yesterday was a phenomenal day.
Phenomenal alright! It was the first time a convicted felon was inaugurated into the highest post in the land. Not something I care to celebrate.
Phenomenal in what way? Please tell me, I’m dying to know.
“Not so gullible?” LOL.
Well said. I’m knitting to keep sane, I can’t bear to read the news any more. My family and I are hunkering down to wait it out for the next four years, keeping an eye out for trouble. Instead of asking “how did we get here?”, for me it’s more important to try to figure out how to get out of this mess in one piece.
Thank you for saying what I did not have the courage to say. I’m about to turn 73 next week and, based on that number, I don’t have a lot of time to be patient and hope this dysfunctional country that I love can find its way. I am new to this community and to knitting in general and am grateful to have found both. Let’s help each other to stay strong. Thanks to Ann as well for this beautiful post!
Thank you for voicing what so many of us are thinking. How did our country get here?
Thank you for voicing the thoughts of many. Before opening MDK, I read that Vivek Ramaswamy has been “dismissed” by tRump and Musk. He now plans to run for Ohio’s next governor. The chaos moves now to my state level.
It is good not to be alone in grief and fear as I sit in the bitter cold in my home 10 minutes and many closed streets from the scene of yesterday’s atrocity. Thank you for Love Actually….one of my favorites. We can hope love and any level of civility will transcend the current and coming damage. I have started a sock. Nothing shows hope and confidence like starting a sock, never knowing if the second one will appear! We must be.vigilant and support each other through both socks in this
time. I will continue to look forward to your greeting each morning.
Both socks. My new metaphor for getting through the next four years. Let’s get through both socks. Hoping it’s only four years.
Well said, I agree with you.
I refuse to close my eyes and hope for the best. That’s how we got to this place
Amen!
Thank you for saying what we are thinking
I have never seen the Movie “Love Actually”…
Thank you so much for sharing this opening clip.
I can think of no day more needing of THAT message and visual reminder than yesterday, except for possibly today.
We will all need to knit love with and for each other and ourselves for the next stretch of time. How much time? How much can we knit our love?
Insert big heart right here.
Great movie. Give it a watch!
Watch it, you won’t regret it.
Thank you for this – much needed reminders. Virtual hugs sent to my fellow makers.
Beautiful reminder. Thank you.
More squozy cats!!
Some folks knit and think and write carrying a strand of kidsilk haze, while others use a less ambiguous pattern of yarn and communication. I am so lucky to get glimpses of all of it (life) here, and translated into the things we plan/make. I appreciate you.
Whatever *it* is for any of us, show up, do the work, and it will be interesting to watch limbo fade in the rear view.
(Insert heart here, too)
This clip is one of my favorite parts of the movie.
Ann, I agree. But I will go further: I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. So I will keep knitting, with courage and love, as I try to find my joy daily.
So timely and well said. Thank you!
Community is the key! Now that is a word that is everywhere. I am so thankful for my crafting communities- I’m in a few different ones, and man, are we ripe for continued connection, sensibility and occupying our minds and hands if nothing else. Thank you for forming the Knitting Society- I am grateful to have this as one of my communities.
Thank you for this.
Thank you Ann for the beautiful uplift this morning! And thank you subwayhooker for the poignant reminder of what my dear papa fought against during WWII. Let’s not forget 1933-1944 — and what was at stake. In the meantime, knit on!!!
You brought tears to my eyes. Thank you, Ann.
I love the idea of the four letter sweater! In my Bible study we use the word, “sure” to mean assurance in terms of the afterlife that people can have through believing in Jesus; “sure” is a word with many meanings. In terms of the inauguration yesterday, I was happy, but I understand the feelings of Democrats who were on the losing side, having been on that side many times. The two-party system is absolutely necessary lest we end up with the culture of Putin’s Russia. In the USA, folks may say or write whatever they believe without fearing bad consequences. I may not agree with what someone says against the current situation, but I defend to the death their right to say it! Just don’t let those sour grapes eat you. Back to my knitting……
Amen. I feel much better reading all of these comments after a very dark day yesterday.
We have ALL lost!
Anne, I take umbrage at your assumption that it is only Democrats on the “losing” side.
As with lemons we will take those “sour grapes” you mentioned and make some delicious grape juice and wine to be shared by ALL.
Well said Anne Cave
Ann, thank you for your words. I have found so much peace in them as I do the in the gentle motion of my knitting hands and the click of my needles. Knit on.
Thank you for such an insightful word to describe what I feel. I live in Butler, PA. I am a knitter and a weaver. I felt that Butler had become my home in retirement. Then things changed this summer with the attempted shooting 2 miles from my home. Since then, I feel like I am indeed in limbo…home; but it isn’t – the community feeling has changed…significantly. I will wait here with my knitting and weaving…in limbo to see what unfolds further, with hope!
Thank you, Ann! I keep going back to that column on choosing a word for the year and limbo works, as well as rage….keep writing. We all need comfort and laughter to get through these next 4 years as the new administration tries to continue to strip away our rights….next we will be knitting caps and blankets for the people herded into deportations camps soon…..
A Canadian grandmother here. Like Deb, I grew up thinking the Americans were the cool kids. And some of you still are. But this morning I am worried for all of us and what the next four years will bring. To all of us, and to the whole world. Thank you MDK for this forum. We need public places like this.
Know that Canadians are most def the cool kids! One visit is all it took.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Dylan Thomas absolutely nailed it. Thank you for posting this great quote.
Amen.
I am a knitter and crocheter of 50 years and I love all things related to this art form. I also rejoiced in the inauguration yesterday and I am certain that American is on a more honorable path. The exercise of free speech is back. Our country will prosper as never before. Change of direction for our country is a good thing and sorely needed. I will support and pray for President Trump to lead us into the future. Knit on with confidence!
Honor? Seriously? A man who lies as easily as he breathes? Who is hell bent on stripping away our freedoms and the safety rails that keep our government in check? While you’re praying for him, you’d best say a few for the future of America, especially the women, minorities, immigrants and marginalized people out there just trying to live their lives. If you have daughters or granddaughters, I think you owe them an apology. I don’t think the next four years will be what you envision.
Honor? Trump DIShonors the police who were injured and killed on Jan. 6. He DIShonors experienced military leaders like Mark Milley. He DIShonors the Constitution with his executive orders. He DIShonors all Americans with his thirst to blame everything on someone else. We don’t have a president, we have a craven victim-in-chief who tramples honor in the dust.
Free speech only if you agree with the felon and kiss his -er- ring. Everyone else is on his hit list. There is no honor in a president who is a convicted felon, sexual predator, traitor, conman, and bully, with plans to roll back all the protections we rely on. Say goodbye to the safeguards we take for granted (like the EPA, FDA, OSHA, etc.). Why? Because billionaires might lose a buck. And as the climate clock ticks down to zero, we have an administration that ‘says’ climate change is a hoax. We will take the world down with us. So, I’m not feeling too chipper right now.
Thank you Susan! I have never been more ashamed of my foolish frightened country.
Well said Susan. I am afraid for our country and the world. I cannot understand how anyone could vote for or support a convicted felon and bully who has no respect or love for anyone but himself, or people who will do things he likes. He is a sexual predator and not someone that we should want any of our and grandchildren to emulate. I fear that the effects of this administration will be much longer than 4 years. I pray for our country, for democracy, and the world.
I agree. How can this country be more honorable with a felon at the helm? I was in South Africa in October with people from all over the world. Everyone we spoke with was anxious about the election and absolutely appalled at his nomination.
Susan, you put into words my exact feelings of shame at the elevation of this criminal. All I can think to say is, “God bless America”. I know God is in control not DJT and his oligarchs.
On a more honorable path led by a convicted felon? I think not.
What is the colorway in the sample?
Thanks Anne, especially limbo analogy. Im trying to be a knitter but truth be told im not suited but I am a right brain creator and i keep working at knitting and crochet work . Community of creative creators! ♥️
Really needed this today, Ann. Thank you so much for being here.
O my gosh! What a beautiful and
brilliant morning reflection! ‘Limbo’
certainly says it all — we are awash
in CHANGE at every level of life.
We sense some movement, but it’s
so little. Would it help if we recognized that we are all ONE
family?? And that LOVE — the
assurance of Love — could be the
answer? CSM
Thank you, Ann, for the reminder that knitting helps us tremendous way to “reknit” our souls back together in troubled times.
I have been traveling in Oaxaca for a few weeks. The last 10 days have been in a beautiful little beach town. Of course I brought some knitting on this trip, some socks—always a good option for travel. But my needles were idle for most of this time—until yesterday. Knitting is really needed now, especially as we head back to the states tomorrow.
Such a great word and actually, describes my knitting experience often. Even though I have knitted for 5 years or so, I can make mistakes in the easiest projects. And “limbo” for me is that time where I am trying to either figure out my mistake and commit to fixing it right, trying to fudge it and carry on (never the best choice) or deciding that maybe this project needs a rest. Whatever, the great unknown. Uncomfortable in all its manifestations, but a necessary part of this party we call life.
thank you for saying what we are thinking! i am beyond fearful, sad, anxious; but the knitting needles always invite me for a respite.
Perfect. Thank you Ann.
What lovely column. I am in a heightened state of anxiety and fear. Knitting does sooth the soul. Thank you.
Down here in Louisiana, we are being treated to snow today, and we are more accustomed to seeing alligators in the yard. Packing in anticipation of a snow day at our farm, I gathered a collection of hand knit scarves, cozy socks, a favorite sweater, and of course, a project to knit while the flakes fall. Best of all was arriving and opening my farm closet to find two thick, appropriate for polar expeditions only, enormous wool sweaters I knit years ago thinking I’d found the perfect, “knit it in the blind to wear it in the blind” virtuous cycle of hunting and knitting hobbies. I love that our handmade objects carry not only their beauty and usefulness but the memory of their making. The constancy and comfort of knitting are gifts!
Thank you, Ann, for reminding me that acute awareness of uncertainty is merely noticing something that’s bubbled to the surface, but has been bobbing around underneath all along. And will always do so. You have empowered me to put that awareness in perspective. You have saved my day, and possible reignited my engines.
Insightful comment. You also have the same name as my beloved Aunt – what a wild coincidence!
I am saddened that a nice letter about words (and letters) elicited so many comments that center on another emotion with 4 letters, ‘fear’ or even ‘hate’. I am grateful – to say goodbye to broken borders, rampant inflation, $4 and $5/gallon gas (I live in California), and more. I am hopeful about our future, especially with knitting needles and wool in hand.
Anne H. Bravo. I to am saddened that this site has become a beacon for negative and nasty comments. I feel when the US gets off track the voters put it back on track. This is knitting. Not politics.
What makes you think you’re saying goodbye to any of that?
Amen!
May each and everyone of us be free of suffering on this day and every day. Knitting helps me be free whenever I pick it up! Keeps my mind engaged and curious as I fix mistakes and dream about new projects and squishy luscious yarn! Let us all choose kindness and understanding in our lives. I love this space, this forum and listening to everyone’s voice. I’m still working on Stephen West’s MKAL from October!
This touched my ailing heart. Thank goodness we have Bang out a sweaterc coming up, a chance to share the joy and healing power of knitting
Thank you and you colleagues in knitting needles for being such a huge support for all that is knitting us together.
I took up ukulele after the orange abomination managed to gain the highest office in the land last time. I have always knit for solace. Between those two and the occasional scotch I’m hoping to survive these next 4 years. I pray for anyone not an old, white, dude with a hefty portfolio as the siege has begun.
Thanks Ann—I needed that.
Thank you for this. I watched my daily bit of news this morning and didn’t have a word to say. I felt out of touch, foreign, in my own country. Fearful, too. Your perspective has helped. Maybe I can begin to verbalize how I feel as I look ahead to what might be facing us all – the whole world – in the next 4 years. Thank you.
So my limbo dilemma – my Shakerag skirt sits half finished because I am in limbo about exactly when to start decreasing. Is it too short or is it long enough? Limbo! I have all the notes I took at the Shakerag Workshop, but just can’t quite take the leap out of limbo because the thought of it not fitting is, well, distressing.
So easier to start a new project! Happy to have a new granddaughter arriving in June. She will need an afghan or two. No limbo about that!
I started my decreases early, and love the bit of swing I get so that was a win for me!
But I wish I had just kept going straight, stockinette is so easy.
I did pick up my needles late yesterday, after a knitting hiatus (though it included reading about and planning for my 2025 knitting future!). But it was somewhat in response to what I had done earlier in the day, which was to watch some of the proceedings, although I swore I wouldn’t, and to stress-eat successive bowls of granola that gave me lockjaw that lasted an hour. I never heard an inaugural speech so filled with schadenfreude and the promise of revenge, just put right out there. My ears are up, alert to the dogwhistles. Maybe I’ll knit myself a Lucky Dog sweater.
Thank you so much for this loving and really needed reminder. I am making my first pair of socks. Needles up folks!
Perfect.
I am in a self-imposed “news timeout” and it’s a special place to be right now. It’s limbo.
I cannot emotionally afford to live with the roller coaster of anger and venom that I felt last time he was president.
Our nation’s gods are money and celebrity, and I don’t attend that church.
Limbo is one of my words for this year, btw, in my very first ever Bullet Journal.
I cannot settle on a 4-letter one for the pattern, but I am trying to remember that I am loved and lucky too.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Your “bang out a sweater” was life saving the first time this *** show hit the White House and now I am planning another to get thru another long cold February never mind 4 years of this grossness. Ty for what you do.
This is my first and last post. Until today, I had looked forward to opening the MDK website each morning and learning a new technique to improve my knitting skills, or be inspired by the creativity of others posting what they are working on….and I most especially loved the laugh out-loud articles penned by Kay and Ann.
But, honestly, I’m feeling like the word should be WHINE. I know how many of you feel. My needles gave me solace from the shenanigans of the last four years. We are blessed to have freedom of speech in this, the most wonderful country in the world. Unfortunately this has turned into a political opinion forum. I just wanna knit.
Yes! Me too!
Sue, please hang in here. Had things gone a different direction on election many of us would have been feeling what you’re going through. For me, this forum allows us expression even when, or maybe especially when we don’t agree. We have our common bond of knitting/making and we know we are good people. I appreciate hearing another point of view from a real person, not the those who have an agenda to push. Please stay and share your thoughts…we are all in this together.
When I started knitting so many years ago, I had no idea what a huge comfort it would come to be during stressful times. I maybe could have guessed at the comfort that would come from simply sitting and working with the yarn, but I never could have imagined how the words of people I’ve never even met would come to mean so much. The knitting community continues to amaze and inspire me more and more each day, and I’m so very grateful to be a part of it. Thank you, Ann, for sharing this post today and helping me feel a little bit of hope for the year ahead.
❤️❤️
What a lovely way to slide a little calm into the current chaos without really outlining the origin. Well played, Ann. Well played.
Thank you, Kay, for one of the most moving openings credits of any movie, ever. Cry every time, the best tears.
The first time I saw the opening of that movie I cried. It still brings tears to my eyes,just the every day love that makes us all connected ❤️
Limbo? For many, it describes us in reference to national happenings. For many of us, “limbo” is where the world is after the Eaton Fire erupted one week ago. Limbo is our toddler grandson who just “wanna go home”, and while his home is intact, it won’t be safe for him to live in til it’s scrubbed and everything woven or upholstered is discarded (even his stuffies and squishmallows). Until the soil is tested, we won’t know whether he can play in the yard. The home he visited weekly since he was tiny, where we stayed when we visited, belonging to dear friends of ours, is gone. The home of his parents best friends and their child is gone. Those friends are all in limbo, along with thousands in similar circumstances. They have a temporary place to land, but who knows what their “normal” will look like in future. I can’t even pick up my knitting. “Limbo” is a lot more local for a lot of folks just now.
Amen, Nancy! Young friends of ours lost their home and studio. He’s an artist, she’s a teacher. So they’re not rolling in money. They have two young children. Also, her mother and his aunt lost homes and business buildings. We’re way east of the Eaton fire but could see and smell the smoke. Schools, places of worship, small businesses that I recognized from the “before” photos…all gone. Limbo and uncertainty. And so many other emotions.
Dear Nancy, I’ve been saying prayers for all of you down south, and for all the first responders, that you may all get through this horrible ordeal that doesn’t seem to end. Can you recommend a preferred way for others to help, so that we may bring at least a little solace and assistance to those like you and your family who have lost so much? With love and best wishes from northern CA, and with hope for some healing rain that is forecast for this weekend.
So it has come, mdk is made up of Democrats
I know our United States will survive without you. I am helping. I do not need the government to make me rich, give me a home, give me food, give me clothes, give me transportation
I will unsubscribe from this group who wants only to knit.
Yup, this is a shame as I so enjoyed MDK for so many years to follow knitting content and their products. Why in the world Ann and Kay decided this past year to turn away Republican knitters is beyond me. Doesn’t seem like a smart business decision. Republican knitters have supported your business for years. Why turn those customers away?! I truly feel that President Trump will be the best President our country has ever had AND I love to buy yarn and patterns! I always thought a skein of yarn was just a simple beautiful thing, not remotely attached to any political leaning. Geesh!
Everything is political when human rights are under attack.
How have they turned against republicans? By allowing ALL of us to vent as necessary? We’re all given an opportunity to express ourselves and agree to disagree. That doesn’t mean we give up on one another and our shared love of knitting. If you give up on MDK because others don’t see eye to eye with you, it will be your loss. The community is still here. And we’ll continue to disagree on lots of things. But yarn will tie us together.
I’m obviously late to this discussion, but how have Anne & Kay turned away republican knitters? Did I miss an announcement or something?
Bye!
I’m glad to see there are those out there here with whom I wholeheartedly agree. I did not watch the inauguration or any of the festivities, as there is nothing to celebrate. I know this country will survive the next 4 years, hope it doesn’t get screwed up enough to hurt too many people, especially the immigrants and their children. I happen to employ two who have been in the states for over 20 years, all of their children are born here. They have been trying to get their paperwork done for years, it is not complete yet . They are the most honest, loving people I know.
My daughter-in-law, who I dearly love, is an immigrant. Her family is wonderful, loving, hard working and a wonderful addition to this melting pot country. It hurts my heart to hear the rhetoric against immigrants. Thanks for your words. And your support of immigrant families. ❤️
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Your article and the readers’ comments has inspired faith. Faith that we’ll manage somehow, probably through knitting and sharing. Faith that the world hasn’t gone totally bonkers. Faith that there are good people out there. Faith to feel comfortable sharing my thoughts and feelings. Thankful for this forum. I’m also a Canadian grandma who is struggling to keep a positive view of our world. I’ve quit watching/reading the news. America dominates everything right now, even our Canadian news: CBC, CTV and newspapers. It’s hard to avoid all the rhetoric. My word going forward is “calm.” Something we all need right now. Calm while in limbo, calm while feeling rage … knitting is my saviour. Keeps me grounded.
Thanks for “Limbo”. It’s perfect for now, this moment. The only other word I had in
mind was “HELP!”
Thanks so much for sharing your words and in the context of knitting….. Knitting is for me an act that can be transformative and gives back to us, as well as creating and living in each stitch as it is passed over a needle…… Suzanne
Well, the USA has President Trump, here in the UK we have Prime Minister Starmer. Both have their supporters and those who wish they weren’t there. What I will say is, they are only there because Almighty God has allowed it, and He can and will take it from them when the time is right. I don’t want to add to any negativity so I’ll leave it there.
Let’s just all keep knitting or crocheting or whatever keeps you sane!
Grateful.
Thank you for this. One of the reasons I joined the MDK Society is to have community in creativity. My heart hurts and my community and I have already felt negative repercussions of this past week’s events. I would ask those who are rejoicing to consider why so many of us in the U.S. are fearful. It’s the way people in our lives are treating us now that they feel emboldened. I will be knitting, but I won’t be “sticking to my knitting.”
Phew and my goodness… thank you for the sanity.
Our country is in for a really rough time: yes, too much is at stake to excuse, deny and ignore the lipstick on that pig.
Sending clarity, power and love to folks who actually DO behave and treat people with care and respect.
If this is a “what would Jesus do moment”, he certainly would not approve.
So, knit on and do not give in.
Resist and keep watch, take of yourself as best as possible.
We need our strength.
Hydrate.
This is not a time to suffer fools…
Peace and power
..take care of yourselves…
I am the spouse of a trans woman, who cannot go to NashFest because the state you live in is not merely intolerant but violently transphobic and it is literally not safe for us to travel or stay there. I dedicate my life to working with underserved populations, including immigrants, who are terrified every moment of every day, including the 300 who were rounded up in my city just the other day – because my city is a sanctuary city and it is being deliberately targeted by this chaotic, despotic, deeply deeply evil administration. Ann, it is time to stop pretending that sitting on the sidelines in “limbo” is an option. The most vulnerable are being targeted in order to sow chaos and fear, in order to dehumanize them and demoralize everyone else, so we will all look the other way while 47 and his billionaire sycophants strip the country for parts. Giant segments of the US government web site are being deleted. HIV/AIDS, reproductive information, gun violence information, the Spanish version of the site, all gone. If you think this week has represented a pause between events, you aren’t paying attention. I implore you, you have a considerable audience, and the privilege of being able to fall asleep at night without experiencing the abject terror being experienced by fellow Americans. Please take an actual, principled stand. Now is not the time to pretend that we can make everything civil if we just all act a little nicer and hope for the best.
When I first read Ann’s article I thought wow… that word really does describe so many things that women have to go through in their life as a mother, daughter, wife,
I thought of how some are in limbo caring for a loved one with a chronic illness , going through a divorce, losing their home, losing their child, so many things.
I never thought I would have to read these political disagreements again!
This is definitely not the space for me in my chapter of life
You all have this conversation but I’m moving on and trying to get through my Limbo season.