It’s Winter And It’s Cold, Right? Stay Home and Learn a New Craft

 

This is a good time to pick up a craft and work on it. It gives you something to do while you’re stuck inside, and it will keep your lap warm!


Crochet an afghan and it will cover your lap and keep you cozy. Work on quilting a lap blanket and it does the same thing! Or you can do latch hook rug or pillow and keep you toasty.
Not feeling crafty? How about a nice fuzzy blanket, your favorite chair, maybe a fire in the fireplace and a nice warm cup of tea – and a good book!
Pick a nice long one that will take you a while to read. Read a bit, get up and walk around the house a bit, refill your tea or coffee cup or water glass, then settle back in for a bit more comfort time.
Bake things in the oven – that will warm the kitchen up! Fresh oatmeal cookies, a roasting chicken, homemade stew. They all make your house smell good and will be a nice warm treat when you need one.
Don’t forget to burn a nice smelling candle. The flame will wink at you, the fragrance will bring you joy, and I find them comforting.
Don’t forget to do some hot spiced cider this winter – it’s even better with a cinnamon stick in it.
It’s not winter – it’s indoor vacation time! Keep yourself busy and you’ll be surprised at how quickly it went by…

Book written by Jo Ann Hakola, The Book Faerie, © 2008 butyoudontlooksick.com

  • Vera

    I crochet preemie hats for charity. Somehow picturing those babies in my caps makes me feel better. If my hands are hurting really bad, I try to crochet something with my big wooden hook (size P). The wood gets warm with use and the big size doesn’t cramp my hands as bad. Sometimes, if I’m hurting all over and tired of tv and don’t even want to look at a crochet hook, I get out my crayons and coloring books, really! It is sooo calming. You don’t even have to think. LOL

  • Jenn

    I like working on Cross-Stitch…it is something you can do while lying down, and you just have to make little “x’s” with the thread, so it doesn’t really require that much skill, and most kits come with everything needed except the hoop.
    This hobby has kept me sane on those days where I consider it an achievement to go lie down on the couch (and those days have been many as of late)…
    Did I mention how much I hate crohn’s, arthritis and liver disease! Blech!

  • Pinky

    It’s so true that attitude and distractions can help us live with a better quality of life. That’s what hobbies and doing those things we enjoy do for us. I take time out of every day — some days more time than others — to do something “just for me”. I call it my “Be my own Best Friend Time”. Self-nurturing really does have it’s benefits.

  • These are some great tips for winter activities! I can add a few others:
    Whittling — a sharp knife and some soft pine is an introduction to sculpture that’s traditional, old fashioned and fun. If you have weakness problems as I do, try basswood or balsa — balsa carves like butter and it’s still real wood that can be stained and varnished and set out as a knick knack. You can get chunks at hobby stores or Blick.
    Soap Carving: a big bar of Ivory, a tray to hold the shavings and any pocket knife is a physically easier approach to sculpting that wastes nothing. You can moisten all the leftovers, squeeze them in a ball and still use that as soap once your sculpture is ready to set out on the shelf. Cheap materials, easier than wood or other carving.
    Model Building — this can be a lot of fun. Takes a kit and some glue. Many hobbyists start “kit bashing” and saving spare parts to build unique original models.
    Drawing and Sketching: A cheap wire bound sketchbook, a set of charcoal pencils and a book on drawing and sketching can turn a raw beginner into a salable artist with a dedicated winter of daily sketching. I suggest “Drawing the Head and Figure” by Jack Hamm, or “How to Draw Animals” by Jack Hamm, or “Drawing Scenery: Landscapes and Seascapes” by Jack Hamm. All three are $10 Dover books. Those three have all the instruction you would ever need to become a skilled artist except color mixing — and if you get the drawing right, any colors work. I’m serious on that. They are a hard read but if you do one page at a time they are very easy. Get all three and you will be able to draw anything you want to, realistically.
    Charcoal pencils are cleaner than stick charcoal but also soft and easy to finger smudge. The set from General’s has a kneaded eraser for lifting. Keep a wet washcloth or Baby Wipes handy for hand cleaning.
    If you want color sketching, Oil Pastels are the cheapest color medium you can get at the dimestore. A set of 12 is usually only a dollar or two. They are bold and opaque and dustless.