Summer Crochet My Salvation

Often people think that the most productive time of year for crocheting is during the cool months of autumn and winter, however I have always found that I create more crochet in summer than any other season.

I thought that in my youth this was due to school being out and my having the extra hours of boredom that what seemed like then, a long summer break. However it continued through high school when I had a summer job and still found time to hang out with friends, so boredom did not seem the likely cause of the warm weather crochet.

Summer Crochet www.lindadeancrochet.comLooking back over project I have created, the majority have been completed when the sun created temperatures that did not require being bundled up. Granted living in California means that I have more days of shine then rain, but still November through February tend to be fairly quiet on my hook. Maybe it is the holidays and being busy with other commitments, or the fact that hearty foods are needing cooking, and those are always my favorite to make.

One of the more practical explanation actually comes from the weather itself. Maybe I crochet more in summer to actually keep cool. I have only lived in a home with air conditioning for a few years of my life, mostly apartments in my early twenties, other than that I have used the old fashion method of cooling your home, windows. Windows are opened every night, and closed every morning, I still do this today, so during the day I do not really want to run around in the hot sun I prefer to stay seated by the fan. So maybe it is my lack of activity that lends to the movement of the hook.

Or maybe it is simply that the new life of the season stirs a creative spark in me. Maybe I need more daylight to get my ideas flowing and my craft progressing. Whatever the reason, it helps me to remember that I get this bit of crochet flurry especially around January when I feel like I have no energy and ideas. Maybe the warmth stirs me, and that is odd since summer really is not my favorite season, I could do with less heat.

 

Harvest of Gifts

ScannedImageIt is that time of year, when the hours feel like minutes and the weeks like days. I really do not know why the last few months of the year seem to go by in a blink, maybe it is because there is so much to do (even when not taking into account the holiday season).

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Basket of Persimmons and Quince

I have been bringing in the end of the year harvests, the quince, the persimmons, the grapes, the figs, the apples, and I still have to finish gathering the walnuts. Then there is a matter of canning, drying, and baking all the above mentioned late harvest.

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Zinfandel jelly

Then I realize that I need to get the gifts for the holidays, and this is when I realize that I am holding a silent protest against being a consumer. The advertising in every outlet I see has been telling me for weeks what I should be buying for the people I love, and how to make my dollar go further that I should be shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving, or now Thanksgiving days itself. But I have never been one that believed the dollars I spend equates to the love I have. When I spend time creating something, I have to have that person in my thoughts longer then just checking them off a list; I think of then for several hours as their gift is coming together. I don’t know if they realize or fully appreciate everything that goes into their gifts, but I can at least feel good that for me the meaning of the season has not been lost. I cannot put a price on my love, or relationships, saving a dollar on a sale and hunting to save a penny is not who I am. My gifts may not be fancy or complete showstoppers, but my heart is there.

I hope you have a way to feel the meaning of the season in your holidays.