Feeling blue

I had a high school classmate pass away over the weekend. Such a shock.

We were a small class. 12 girls. 6 boys. We were very close. And still are...you know where you can see someone after years and pick up talking just like you'd only seen them yesterday.

Our 20th class reunion was legendary. (That was 20 years ago. We are now at 40 years out of high school.) We met for supper and then went to a local campground where adjacent sites had been rented. Everyone brought in campers and tents. And we took our kids along. Our boys remember staying up and watching us out the window of the camper. They talk about it to this day.

It was so much fun. We had a huge bonfire and we all sat around having a few drinks, visiting and telling jokes. Some people stayed up all night. One of the guys kept saying "It doesn't get any better than this." And he was right. It was perfect. I'm so glad we have that memory of us all to look back on, now that we are fewer.

Rest in peace, Jay.

Giving...

the gift of life.

I donated 2 units of blood today.

I started donating years ago after my dad had surgery and needed a blood transfusion during the operation. We could have lost him if not for people giving blood. It was all I needed for incentive to start donating.

It's a good thing.

Wordless...ummm...Thursday? Whatever.

It's pretty huge....

I'm improvising on this. The idea for the braided edge came from the Northman mittens. The Nordic star is from Basic Lined Hat Pattern. And the stitch count and needle size are from Frolicking Deer Two Sided Hat. The stripes are from my own imagination and the need to make the yarn go as far as possible. I still had to order more.

We measured a current hat that he's wearing and it measured 25" around and 12" high.

This is going to be very close to that size. If I can decide correctly how much further to knit before I start the crown decreases.

But it's looking like it's going to be a huge hat.

Thank goodness he didn't have a big head like that when he was born. Yikes!

It's heeerrreee!

The yarn arrived. Yay!

Black & White for stranded mittens for 2nd DDIL. The lining yarn is on backorder but it's the same color as my mittens...chili pepper. Gonna use the same pattern as mine.

A stranded hat for 1st DS. He requested something a bit out of the ordinary but I found a couple patterns, here and here, that I'll combine to get what he wants. Plain on the outside with a brim that can be folded up with the design on that. My only fear is that I didn't get enough yarn...

Yeah, I won't be knitting the naughty design for him. Just the snowflakes...

For 2nd DS this is the same stranded mittens and also a stranded hat similar to 1st DS's. There is more yarn, I just didn't get it in the picture.

And yeah, no frolicking deer for him either. I'm a killjoy!

Something else that arrived that isn't exactly fun but I've been waiting for it also...cold weather and wind. I get to try out my hand ovens! Yippee!

Waiting, waiting waiting....

There is a yarn order out there in never never land lost between my house and Reno, NV. It was supposed to make it's appearance here on the 5th. And being the impatient person that I've become...I think the instantness* of the internet made me that way...I couldn't just sit around waiting for it to arrive. And so a cowl is born.

2nd DS and DDIL gave me the yarn for Christmas and I love it. The color is perfect.

And the pattern I found...thanks to Ravelry's advanced pattern search...fit the yarn type and amount perfectly.

It is very warm and I'm thinking it could come in handy if I ever get a chance to walk outside this winter. So far the treadmill has been looking better than the streets. We had a thaw that made slush and has since frozen again and so now they are a rough and uneven mess. Anyway!

It's wonderful. It's warm and it'll keep my nose warm when I venture outside. And most importantly it's kept me occupied while I am waiting!

* Instantness is SO a word...I looked it up on the internet!