The Big Chill

Last week, the weather took a cold turn and the temperatures where I live have plummeted. Tomorrow they are calling for a N'oreaster which will likely impact many holiday travelers. We decided a while back to stay home for Thanksgiving. We have spent the last few on the road with family and I was in the mood to cook and feast and enjoy leftovers.

Today I shopped for the holiday meals and had fun carefully selecting the items I wanted to make. It was a big cart of goodies, things like chestnuts and fresh cranberries that I only buy in November. Tomorrow I will plan the meal and find the recipes I want to use while enjoying my morning Joe.

But I digress. What I wanted to write about tonight is how the cold weather affects my quilting. I have discovered after quilting for 35+ years now, that when the weather turns chilly, I quilt more. A lot more than in the warmer months. I believe this is probably true of many quilters. This seems to be the case supported by the large number of show and tell items that were at last Thursday's Modern Guild meeting. The items were fabulous and very inspiring. I love the stories that are told for most of them, what inspired the maker to start the quilt, when they have imposed the deadline to complete them and who will receive the quilt and why. There were many new quilters in the group, a large number of visitors came and many shared their items with us.

While I do create and make quilts year round, I seem to hunker down and be more productive with my sewing arts when the weather turns cold. I guess this makes me a cold weather person. Maybe it's because the basement is warm being that the furnace and gas dryer are there. I know my laundry gets done sooner in the winter months than in summer. Could it be that since the garden doesn't need tending, I have more time to create in cloth? Maybe. Perhaps I've just gotten into a good routine that allows me the discipline to spend more time creating. And there is always the possibility that the increase in catalogs arriving in my mailbox serve to inspire me to finish things.

Do you find that you craft, quilt, knit, create more on a seasonal basis and if so how in what ways? I'd love to hear from you on how the weather, season or temperatures impact your creative nature.

comments and feedback welcomed. Happy Thanksgivika to all!