Knitting and Small Things

I have been knitting off and on for over 40 years.  There were probably a lot more off years than on.  I am by no means an expert knitter.  I knit more for the Zen of knitting than for an actual finished product.  I happily knit baby blankets, and scarves, an occasional hat, and a few simple baby sweaters for years.  If I never finished a project I would eventually frog it (rip it, rip it) and start something else.
After I retired I felt like it was time to challenge myself.  I took a knitting class and connected with a wonderful and welcoming knitting club.  My first goal was to learn to knit lace and use a chart.  It took awhile to really "see" the chart in my knitting but I conquered it.  I still prefer a written pattern, however.  The more I learn about knitting, the more I realize how much I still don't know.  I guess that could be said about quite a few things in life, huh?

This is what is on my needles right now.

The Time Turner Shawl by Elizabeth Saxton at Well-Read Knits.  You can find it on Ravelry HERE.  It is a free download.

           This is what it should look like.  Blocking will make a big difference (I hope it ends up looking like this).

I have also been doing some knitting for charity.  These baby thingss are for Taci at TACIstudio.  She will be taking them to Brazil this summer.  Looks like I need to do a few little girl things.

It's a small thing to knit a hat but we can make the world a better place just by doing small things.  After the recent tragedies in the news the world needs all the help it can get.  From murders in my local news, and a woman who shot into a McDonalds because they forgot the bacon on her burger (true), to the world news of terrorist attacks and the recent plane crash in France....it is hard to understand how human beings can hurt each other so much.
I would love to know what small things you do to make a difference in the world?

'Til next time,
Peace