Layer Away!

Now that it's December, we can pretty much say that it is winter, and that it is pretty much cold outside - well, at least colder. So that means more layers!! I love this time of year when I can wear warm tights with a cute skirt and a fitted turtleneck sweater, feeling comfy warm yet look really nice, too. It is also the time of year when curling up under a nice warm blanket in the corner of the couch with a good book or movie and a cup of hot coffee seems to be calling my name, too.

Let's face it - we are in the holiday season. It's winter. It's cold. It's December. It's almost Christmas. I don't really like the cold as we head farther into winter, but with the cold comes fun family activities, sometimes more travel, and some wonderful events that hopefully, bring us closer together in friendship and love.

I don't know about anyone else, but I love snow...when I can leave it behind when I have had enough of it. This is the first week that snow has been in our weather forecast here in Indiana, and I am excited and apprehensive. As long as I don't have to get out in it, and I feel warm and safe inside, then it will be fun watching the first snowfall of winter. I can't imagine going through a long, cold winter like pioneers did in their breezy log cabins! The drafts would freeze me, for sure!! However, if I had been of that time, I am sure I would have coped like everyone else. I would layer, layer, layer and quilt like there was no tomorrow!

Right now I am working on finishing up a couple of quilts I started awhile back that now just need to be hand quilted. I thought about tying them, but I just thought that I would like the look of them better if I did them right - the old-fashioned way. So, like many-a pioneer woman, I am trying to spend my cold winter days hand quilting so I can be warm the rest of the winter.

Here are a couple of swatches from one of the quilts that I will hopefully be working on. I like the neutrals, especially tans and browns.

If you don't quilt, then perhaps try knitting. Scarves are easy and don't take too long to make, and they really make a difference if you are cold indoors. They can also be a fashion accessory!

Try to stay warm, my friends!

Blustery Days

Today was very cold and windy here in Indianapolis. The leaves were blowing around, making the trees look bare but the ground look full and somewhat colorful. All I wanted to do was curl up in a nice warm sweater and blanket in front of a roaring fire and read a good book, perhaps with a cup of hot coffee or tea.

Feeling the way I did today, I can't imagine what pioneers went through with the wind blowing through the cracks of their log homes and the only heat source coming from a fireplace. It sounds fun to us today, but as cold as I have been, I don't think I would like living that way day in and day out. Looking out my front door, I took some pictures of what it looks like on a blustery fall day. Perhaps the pioneers had a view similar to this.

Regardless of how it looks today versus 200 years ago, it is still pretty and still cold! Time to get out the wool yarn to knit some scarves or get out fabric pieces to make a quilt. It's what was done back then and is still enjoyed today.

Off to go through fabric and yarn!