Hibernation Season has Begun
It has turned chilly here, both day and night. Yesterday (Saturday) the sun shone much of the beautiful afternoon. However, the breeze blew right through my full-length wool knit coat (purchased, it’s like a thick wool jersey fabruc rather than a sweater). I wore my hat, my legwarmers, and my handwarmers, and I still had to pull my hat over my ears on the way back to my car.
A Day at the Sewing Expo
I did actually do some reasonable work Saturday. My Heritage Heirloom Sock class at Heritage Spinning didn’t “go,” so I changed plans. My friend, Deb (Scarlet Zebra) had a booth at the sewing/quilting expo at the Novi Convention Center, just over an hour from Lansing. I went down there and worked 5 hours in her booth so she could get restroom breaks and a lunch break. She was selling a few kits I made up of my yarns and sock patterns, and they did well enough I wished I’d brought a few more down. That’s life, I guess.
I did enjoy the people I met at the center. I saw Dr. Maggie, who is a friend of my Sis-in-Law, Diana… and who is on several of my online lists. I saw a friend of my mom’s, and Jane S, former president of my Mid-Michigan Knitting Guild. I saw a woman I’ve known for years socially (her husband works with Brian) who works for Country Stitches, a quilting shop in Lansing. And a computer student of mine (from Foster Center) who is also a knitter and quilter, happened by the Scarlet Zebra booth and we had a nice chat.
I also met a few folks when walking around the center, especially Karen of City Knits (Fisher Building, downtown Detroit), who I’d met online but never met in person. And at the City Knits booth was Liz C., who I know from the Spinners Flock guild (which meets in Chelsea on the 2nd Saturday each month). I was wearing my ColorJoy stole, and that did receive a good bit of attention. Sometimes people were talking to me and I didn’t realize they were! It was fun to talk about it.
The Arrival of Hibernation Season
The real change for me right now, is that I am just overwhelmed with the need to nap since it turned cold. I had that 40 minute nap a few days ago on the hammock, but that day I only needed a good sweater and one comforter.
Well, yesterday on the way home from Novi, I was so tired I was worried I would fall asleep at the wheel. As soon as I got home, I put on layer after layer of wool, then wrapped myself up in two wool blankets and a comforter, and slept on the porch. And even though it was something like 58 degrees F outdoors, I slept for nearly two hours without waking up from the cold. Wool is my friend!
It’s ironic that I spent almost no time on the porch this summer. Hammocks are perfect for weather over 85F, they have their own air conditioning because the wind blows over you as well as under you. It makes a lot of sense that many cultures sleep in these rather than beds, in tropical climates.
My hammock is my comfort spot when the weather is good. My huge heatvent on the floor is my comfort spot in the winter. I prefer the porch every time, though, as I am not a cold-weather girl. In typical years, I’ll eat lunch and dinner on the porch for months at a time.
This year, I didn’t get any time on the porch during our incredibly rainy spring, because for once we had hordes of mosquitos (we usually don’t get any until the sun goes down). Then when it dried out and got warmer, I had one or two days where I got out there for 15 minutes or so. And then I didn’t get out there again until it has turned so cold I need blankets.
I’m not complaining. I finally am getting some down time. It may be only an hour or two here and there, but I have pushed myself very hard lately. I’m working as a computer teacher, knitting teacher, singer, dancer, web page author and hand-dyer. I’ve had concerts to promote, a CD to record, samples to knit for stores, and students to teach.
I overschedule the teaching part of my life, because some classes don’t “go,” but sometimes they all happen and I have a very hectic week or two.
But yesterday I got a 2 hour nap. And this morning I got to sleep in until about 11am. I am so grateful. I’m going to spend some time with my friend Anne, and then some time with my sweetheart, Brian.
I *am* doing a little work today. I’m doing a sample for my rug class which will be this Friday at Threadbear. This class already has enough folks in it for me to go ahead and teach it, so the sample is more important than ever (I’m writing the class pattern from the sample, since the last rug I did was from different yarn).
I’m using Brown Sheep Burly Spun, a really fat yarn that feels partly felted. It’s so fat, the rug takes very few stitches. Although I swore I was going to take a whole day off, the knitting is so pleasant I don’t mind.
Here’s for hibernation season! Long live naps! I can’t believe how much more sleep I seem to take at this time of year, but I suspect it is because the things I’m allergic to in the air change when the furnace goes on and leaves start turning to mildew in the yarrd. Whatever the cause, I’m determined to enjoy the extra sleep I’m getting. It’s such a luxury.
Images are actually to illustrate my post of September 25, about my Gramma Illa’s quilt. Here is a picture of Gramma Illa as a young woman, and a photo of the farm in 1955. (My grandfather built the buildings, with the help of his two oldest children.)