Cold Weather Projects
Although we’ve had a temporary warm-up here, the nights are still quite chilly, hinting at much cooler days to come. In addition to pulling out a few sweaters this past week, I’ve also pulled out my knitting.
During the summer months, all of my knitting projects stay neatly tucked away in drawers and closets, rarely even thought about. But with the first chill breeze, I begin getting the itch to start knitting.
I have lots of yarn for a variety of projects, but highest priority for this winter will be finishing a red fisherman’s knit throw I began a couple years ago, but haven’t yet managed to finish. I’m also going to allow myself one trip to a knitting store to buy some colorful yarn — maybe in blues — to make a scarf with beads. Scarves are fast and easy to knit, but the beads will be a new thing on my part.
Thanks to audio books, I don’t even have to decide between knitting or reading, I can do both at the same time. Knitting is also a great hobby that I can do while watching TV, provided the pattern isn’t too complicated. Right now, I’m envisioning a lot of nights curled up in a comfy chair listening to a book, while finishing that red throw. And I must finish it this winter, because I can already see in my mind the next throw I want to make.
Are you a knitter or a crocheter? If so, do you have any interesting projects planned for the coming months? And if not, do your hobbies vary by the season?
I tried knitting at a young age and could only ever do a straight line – so definitely a scarf. I have also tried Cross-stitching and it was a tiny piece that I worked on.
Last year I decided to buy a bunch of Christmas themed fabric and hand made a bunch of gift bags – they were all double sided (so you could flip them for a different pattern) and hand stitched with cross stitching thread so you could see the stitches.
Funny how in the past week I have wanted to go and look at fabrics again – I think I would try to be a bit neater this time. You learn new ways of doing things when you don’t trap yourself in with ‘I must do this’.
CindyS
I LOVE to crochet, but haven’t had the time to do it in years. The projects I’m most proud of are long baby’s christening gowns and bonnets, out of fine cotton thread. They turn out beautifully, and people seem to enjoy purchasing them.
My favorite cold weather activity, though? Horseback riding. Here in southcentral Texas, it’s too hot to ride in the summer. Too hard on both rider and animal. The horses are soaking wet even while standing still under the shade of a tree. So now that the temps have cooled down into the 80s, I find myself hoisting a saddle more and more often. No better way to enjoy the lovely fall weather.
Oh, quilting by hand — wowza! Do you have any of your mother’s quilts, Linnie? I could imagine perhaps tackling a small quilt by hand — say, for an infant — and I can imagine working on the squares by hand, but yes, for piecing the entire thing, my mind reels at doing that by hand! Hats off to your mom.
My late maternal grandmother quilted a lot, but she used a machine for the piecing and such — an old Singer with a foot pedal.
Missie, my mother used to actually do all of her quilting by hand — both the piecing into the patterns and the quilting. But I think most people do at least the piecing with a sewing machine. When I’ve tried quilting, I’ve tried to do it like my mother did, all by hand (because i wanted a hand craft that I could take with me, and I don’t have a sewing machine). It just didn’t work for me, but I still love quilts.
Kathy and Linnie, wouldn’t one need/want a sewing machine for doing something like quilting?
LinnieGayl, If I can do it you can do it. Just start with something small like a placemat or table runner. A Christmas wall hanging. That’s what I’m doing now. It’s in Redwork and the snowflakes have tiny crystals in them.
Kathy, I love to look at quilts, but just haven’t been able to master quilting, although I’ve tried.
I LOVE to knit and crochet and quilt and I can do it all while listening to a book!! It dosen’t get any better than that.
Missie, I used to do embroidery and cross-stitch, but honestly wasn’t good at some of the more complicated stitches (french knot!). It also really hurt my fingers, so I finally stopped trying.
Lee, it sounds funny, but actually one of the comforting things about knitting in the winter is that as a piece gets longer, it keeps you warm. it’s also one of the reasons I don’t knit much in the summer.
No knitting or crocheting for me. I just stick to reading year around. But I could see how knitting a scarf during cold weather would be a good idea. The longer the scarf gets, the easier to wrap it around your neck as you go along. ;)
I have yet to learn to knit or crochet — I do sometimes think about learning, though. I do enjoy doing counted cross-stitch and embroidery sometimes — but not in the heat of the summer.