Quick knit update

My mother is visiting for a few days, so this will be a very quick knit update. I finished this scarf last evening:


A woman in the Handmade RAK group asked for help in making scarves for a friend of hers, who works with terminally ill patients in California. The pattern is called Montego Bay and I made it with South West Trading Company Bamboo - yes, bamboo. It is very dense but yet light and silky. The pattern was a bit monotonous, but I like the drape of the scarf. And I like that it may bring some comfort to someone who is ill.

I also finished my second calorimetry; this one for my friend Heidi, who lives in Pittsburgh:


It is knit from the ever-luscious Malabrigo Merino yarn, in a gorgeous kettle-dyed purple colorway. I found the button at Jo-Ann when Mom and I were wandering around there today, and I think it looks quite cute. I will soon send it to Heidi, and she will have it in more than enough time before the cold winds start to blow.

A scarf for a friend's birthday is in progress, and I just cast on for a hat for Aidan, which looks like a piece of candy corn!

Sunshine on a gloomy day

I admit it: I have been wallowing a bit lately as I reflect on the last four years living in Georgia, whining about my lack of success in making friends. You will be happy to hear that I am officially done whining and wallowing - aren't you relieved?

Conversely, I have had tremendous success in making friends via Ravelry, the online knit and crochet community (one friend's daughter calls it "My Knitting Space"). That is no surprise to any of you who have my posts before. I now count the friends that I have met via Ravelry to be some of my dearest friends, even though I have not met most of them in person. It doesn't matter; we connect via Ravelry, Facebook and email, keeping up with each other's lives, sharing in each other's sadness or disappointments, and celebrating each other's successes and joys. These women make me laugh, make me cry and make me feel valued.

I was so excited to see an unexpected package in my mailbox today, and even more excited when I saw it was from my friend Noelle in the Motherhood Later group - I knew it would be good. She knows me well, because she sent me coffee beans and a coffee mug cozy! I can't wait to try the coffee (even if it came from Ann Arbor - it's a running joke between us) and the cozy is adorable. Noelle made the cozy out of hemp, if you can believe it, and the buttons were reclaimed from a Peruvian-made sweater. She also enclosed a terribly cool "Handknit Heroes" postcard.




My coffee will taste extra delicious tomorrow morning and my coffee mug will be better dressed than me, all thanks to a dear friend with a generous heart.