Originally, I designed these little bears for Syrian refugee children, but I wanted to address the critical comments that some people had made. They said that we should be taking care of people who are already here and are suffering.
Well, I agree: We do need to care for those in pain, but it is NOT an either/or situation: It is AND.
I had recently read an article that spoke of acts of compassion and ended by saying that the heart must stretch, or it will break.
I thought: Alright… let’s stretch the heartstrings.
I thought: Who is here that needs me? Immediately, the answer came up: The Women’s Shelter.
So, two weeks ago, I asked the Women’s Shelter if I could donate some of the tiny Blessing/Comfort/Kindness bears to the children in their care.
Confession time: Truth be told, I was still in the design stage at this point… how bold of me to phone them up when I hadn’t even finished the workable prototype! LOL
They said, ‘YES! Please make us 40!’
When I recovered from my astonishment, I said: ‘Of course I will’.
And, so, for the last 2 weeks, I have gotten up early (very VERY early some mornings!) and gone to bed late….
and …. tadah!!!!
40 little Comfort/Blessing Bears in a Basket! (made with love by Noreen Crone-Findlay)
I knew that I could not possibly get them all knitted by hand in only 2 weeks, so I knitted the bodies of most of them by machine, but some of them, I knitted on 2 sets of circular needles (cumbersome) and some on 4 dpn’s… which is much more doable than the 2 circs.
(I have my dpn’s and yarn with a bear on it in my ‘going out the door’ knitting bag… more about that, later).
The hand work of sewing the back seam, stuffing the bear, sewing both ends shut then making the necks, legs, ears, stitching on the arms and embroidering the faces is what takes up most of the bear making time.
It’s slow, but contemplative work, and it brings me such great delight as each little face smiles up at me when I finish embroidering it! Such joy!!!!
I have to race to finish family Christmas presents now, but I will be casting on lots more stitches for more, more, more bears- for Syrian refugee children, and more for the Women’s Shelter to have on hand, and more because I keep meeting people who need them….
This makes me sooooooooooooo happy! ❤ 😀 ❤
Yup, this has been a real heart stretcher… I have so much more room in my heart than I ever thought possible.
I think that the extra room is bear shaped….
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.tottietalkscrafts.com
My dream is that people will be inspired to knit or crochet all kinds of wonderful wee comfort/kindness/blessing bears to give to anyone who needs some compassion and healing. Won’t you join me? 🙂
Tottie Talks Crafts Blog 
Forty gorgeous little charmers! I’m sure they’ll all go where they’re needed.
😉
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Thank you so much 🙂 I actually knitted 43, because they kept being needed by people…. 🙂
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Bless your heart!! Bless your hands! And bless your family this Holiday and into the New Year!!!!
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Thank you so much, Joanna! And, blessings to you and yours, also! 🙂
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Those tiny bears are so adorable! And it’s great that you are also making some for the Syrian refugees.
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Thank you, Veronica 🙂 I am indeed making them for the Syrian refugees 🙂 and other people, too ….
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The bears, the whole delightful post, your words…. they warm me and inspire me beyond telling!!! Thank you and I WILL be joining you!!!
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Oh, I am so pleased! Thank you so much! 😀
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Love x 40 – that is wonderful!
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Thank you, Kjerstin 🙂
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what an amazing image that is – a basket full of love! You’re a wonder!
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Thank you so much- they were indeed made with love!!! 🙂
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Pingback: Weekend Reading–New Year’s Edition | Rabbit Girl Crafts
“We do need to care for those in pain, but it is NOT an either/or situation: It is AND.” “And”, what a wonderful word! I am so happy to see all those bitty bears AND all the love they represent.
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Thank you so much 🙂 AND now… 🙂 I am working hard on more bears for refugee children 🙂 Happy New Year to you and yours 🙂
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How did you use a knitting machine to knit up the bears?
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I knitted them flat using the pattern in the blog post, then followed the pattern.
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