This time last year I did much the same. I was looking ahead to June of 2016 and retirement, knowing that this major life event would change my life and begin my next adventure. It was about this same time when I discovered something online called a "temperature blanket". In a nutshell, people would set up a color spectrum to represent temperature ranges and would use that spectrum to create a unique blanket representing the yearly temperatures for a given area. Knowing that I would have some extra time on my hands and wanting to try something new, I decided to give it a go.
I created my spectrum, purchased my yarn, located a website where I could get daily temperatures for my area and set about the task of creating my own work of art. Within a month or two, my blanket was growing and so was my excitement. I decided that I wanted to make this project into my own service project. (More about that later.)
I kept up my crocheting and yesterday, January 1, I found myself putting in the marathon task of finishing off the blanket. With each stitch I found myself thinking back over 2016 and the things that I had faced during the year. I also found myself looking forward to 2017 and what I planned for it. (Check back later in the week to find out about those plans.)
First, allow me to introduce you to the temperature blanket for 2016, Booneville, KY:
The blanket is made of 2 panels. The first panel simply displays the year and a "thermometer" gauge that shows my color spectrum. The other panel contains 390 squares. Each square represents the average daily temperature for Booneville, KY. Temperatures were obtained from an online data chart from the OCHS WeatherBug. The white squares separate the months.
Some of the squares contain tiny "emblems" representing the major holidays. (Here you can see the Halloween witch hat and the Christmas tree.) The finished blanket is truly a one of a kind piece!
Now.... back to how this blanket becomes part of a service project.
As I was working on this blanket I really came to enjoy what I was doing. I looked forward to checking the temperatures each morning, crocheting the block, and seeing how the blanket progressed. I was having so much fun with the project that I knew I wanted to continue making these blankets each year, but I was not sure what I would do with them. I certainly couldn't keep them all!
Surely someone out there had some reason to think of 2016 as "special" or "meaningful". Maybe a baby was born that year. Maybe they experienced a milestone life event: marriage, graduation, or milestone birthday. Whatever the reason, surely someone would see the unique meaning behind this blanket and want to welcome it into their home.
It was then that an idea struck! With retirement I would be leaving the Owsley County School System, but I wanted to maintain my contact with it, because it had been such a large part of my life. What if I donated the finished blanket to a school group to auction off?
Well.... the blanket is done and the time has come to decide which group gets the blanket. I want to donate the blanket to a group from Owsley County High School who needs the proceeds and is willing to do whatever work is necessary to get the funds. I know from personal experience that some groups already do a lot of fundraising or have a flow of money from other funds or sources. The group can be a club or organization or it could be an actual class such as the freshemen, sophomores, etc.
In order to make that decision, I want YOUR help. I am asking you to tell me which group you think I should donate the blanket to and why that group is deserving. I will take suggestions through next Monday, January 9. At that time, my family and I will read through all of the suggestions and will ultimately decide which group will receive the blanket. I look forward to reading through all of the comments. Feel free to share this blog post with others so they can also make suggestions. Sometimes there is power in numbers!
Oh...... just in case you are wondering.... I already have my yarn for the 2017 blanket and I am ready to begin work on it today!
I think you should rotate between the academic team and the track team because those two teams represent many years of your babies' hard work and dedication.
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