New Skills
I’ve always enjoyed sewing, in fact when I was in Jr High & High School I made a lot of my own clothing. For the past 20 years or so, I’ve mostly made quilts, curtains, bags, and other household items. I’d love to get back into sewing clothing more and have collected a few patterns to try. Last fall, I got a new coverstitch machine and I have been watching a Crafsty class to learn how to use it.
So far, I’m really loving this little machine. It’s easy to thread and actually really easy to use. I just got a chainstitch foot for it, so next up I’m learning how to set it up for chainstitching.
So far, It’s much easier to thread & use than the serger (which isn’t that difficult really). My old faithful sewing machine is at the repair shop, getting what will hopefully be a tuneup to get it running again. There’s not much winter left, so I’d better spend some serious time in my sewing room before the garden thaws and the outside work begins.
What hobbies do you cultivate in winter?
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Winter Walk-In Cooler
Typically, we use our back porch as a fridge/freezer during the cooler fall/winter/spring months. It’s always been a way to keep things cold when the fridge is full. After a big storm in October, our fridge hasn’t been keeping things quite cold enough. It’s barely keeping things at the top of the “safe” zone.
As a result, we’re shopping for new fridges and keeping our milk on the front porch where it stays really cold, in fact sometimes we move it to fridge so it doesn’t freezer out there. Thank goodness our fridge decided to slow down in the winter. Hopefully we can get a new one within a month.
Do you have any fridge brands to recommend?
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January Cure
A few years ago, I did the Apartment Therapy January Cure with a friend. We’ve been doing it and loving it ever since. Basically, It’s a month long focus on clearing out the clutter and cleaning. Every day there’s an e-mail with task, generally they take between 15-30 minutes. Each weekend there’s a bigger chore, which takes a little longer. 
Typically, I stay on top of cleaning/organizing throughout the year. I’ve developed habits that work for me. Last year, with all the traveling and my mom’s illness, I got a bit behind in the deep cleaning, decluttering chores that I did in big blocks of time. This year The January Cure will help me get back on track.
Every January my friend and I do the challenge together. As I was telling another friend about it yesterday, I realized it would be fun to do as a group. If you’re on facebook, join us during the week of January. Each day I’ll post photos of my cure project and you can post your photos in the comments of the Chiot’s Run facebook page.
Do you have a specific time of year you clean and declutter, or do you do it throughout the year?
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Brrrrr……..
This morning our bedroom was 47 when we woke up, and that’s in the new part of the house with good insulation and windows. There was frost on the inside of the windows.
The lows during the nights have been around -10, next week they’re supposed to get down to around -20. That’s a bit cold. Since we have an old, fairly drafty house, when it gets this cold we find ourselves covering the windows with blankets and the bottoms of the doors with towels.
This helps tremendously with the draftiness and typically helps keep the house 5-10 degrees warmer during these very cold nights.
How cold is it getting in your garden this week?
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Life with Cats
During the summer, all of our cats spend most of their time out in the garden hunting for rodents. In the winter, they mostly spend it indoors getting into mischief. They follow me around throughout the day, stealing my warm chair, begging me for food, and getting in my shots when I’m trying to take photos.
They’re a fun bunch and definitely keep life interesting.
Do you have indoor pets?
