first hike of the year, and my cooper backpack

 Yesterday. Clear sky.  Hour long drive.  Van full, with four new friends, three old friends, and three dogs.  Lots of water.  Temperature in the seventies.  Rocks to climb on.  A new made-by-me backpack.  And hiking boots that feel so good to put back on. Yes, this is a great way to welcome back summer.

So now you finally get to see my Cooper backpack.  I finished it months ago, I've just been slow, as usual, about getting project pictures.  All of the fabric was different odds and ends I've been hording from my stash, so all I had to buy for it was the hardware.  The pattern was great, super easy to follow, with clear instructions.  The only issue I remember having was installing the jiffy-rivets.  That was a pain.  But the result is nice, I must admit.

There we have it.  Spring is here, being warm is back, and it couldn't feel much better than this.