My Life as an Intern, Week 1

Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm passionate about two things: raising awareness about childhood cancer until a cure is found, and learning about the American education system to eventually reform it.

This summer, I get to do both.

During the day, I am an intern with the Children's Defense Fund. I'll be working under their Youth Leadership and Development department, which focuses on training young advocates. The larger organization advocates for children's rights in areas such as child health, child mental health, early education, and literacy. They speak up for children without a voice. Find out more about their organization at their WEBSITE.

When I'm not interning with CDF or exploring Washington DC, I'll be volunteering with TheTruth365, assisting with social media. TheTruth365 is a "grass-roots documentary film and social media campaign designed to give a voice to all children fighting cancer." I am honored to get to work with this fantastic organization, which you can LIKE on Facebook or FOLLOW on Twitter. Be on the lookout for Tumblr and Pinterest, which will be up and running in the coming days.

Of course, I'll still have time to knit along the way. My current project is actually learning to crochet. While knitting will always be my first love, crocheting will be a valuable skill to add to my repertoire. I've done some crocheting before, such as the cowl pictured below:

The yarn, called "peaches and cream" is naturally striping in one of my favorite color combinations. The small skein is one of my last acrylic yarns, which is astonishing, especially considering that I used to use acrylic yarn exclusively. I used a bit of the scrap yarn to attach the two pink buttons, which I discovered in an old arts and crafts kit. Buttons became my favorite ornaments this past winter, so expect to see more of these in other posts.

Stephanie, pictured here, is a wonderful dancer and choreographer. The pictures, like many of my others, were taken by the wonderful Emily. Many thanks to both of them for joining me in trudging through the snow (somehow we managed to not get Stephanie's pants soaked, and her shoes were only a little wet). As always, check out my Facebook Page for more information.

Seasonal Knitting

This year has been a rollercoaster, if nothing else. New friends brought new adventures. I had a chance to reevaluate a lot of things during my recovery, and I'm so ready to take on another year. Right now, I'm home for a week before heading off to my summer internship. I'll be working in Washington DC for the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), which is an incredible organization advocating for children's rights. Look out for my posts about my experiences, as well as how it's shaping my opinions, this summer. That, of course, and my knitting. 

Summer seems like an odd time to knit, don't you think? When we think of "knitting," we think of scarves, and blankets, and curling up at the fireplace with a cup of cocoa. We can't imagine knitting when it's warm out. I used to be one of those seasonal knitters, but not anymore. Pictured below is one of my favorite summer pieces: summer shawls. This particular shawl was knit from one corner, increasing to center and then decreasing back to the other end. I especially love the yarn color, called "Denim Mist." If you look at the piece up close (the lower center image) you can see the different colors woven through, ranging from a blue so pale it's nearly white, and one that's so dark it's just about navy. Looking from further away, though, reveals the beautiful texture that these colors create when combined. 

The photographs above are from last summer. Pictured is the lovely Lori, one of my wonderful dancing friends who came out on a summer afternoon, walked around the block with me, and trekked through the field. While wearing high heels. Kathryn, another friend from my studio, also came out and took the beautiful photographs you see in this image. Lori is also an accomplished photographer, whose work can be seen HERE. Many thanks to both of them for joining me for this summer afternoon.