August 04, 2017

The Summer Lull

Every spring I find myself yearning for summer vacation and thinking of all the sewing I'll be able to get done. Just think about it - no babysitting (because school's out and I only babysit teacher's kids) and my boys are old enough now that they don't need so much of my attention, so I can sew for hours every day if I want to! Projects are lined up 6 deep in my head.

And then summer comes and I hardly sew. This has happened often enough that I've finally realized it's a thing, which has made me think a lot about why. Here's what I've come up with:

1. There are other things going on. Whether it's hiking, picking strawberries, swimming at the pool, reading in the backyard or whale watching...there are lots of things going on in the summer that don't happen much during the school year. Plus, when it's nice outside, I feel like I should spend as much time as possible out there enjoying it. After all, we spend most of the winter months inside.
strawberries | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
It doesn't get much more fresh than picked from the backyard!

2. It's hot. During the winter I laugh at you southerners who cringe and hide out inside when the temperature dips to near freezing. This is my payback, obviously. We have been having an unusually warm summer and I don't deal well with the heat. For the record, heat for me means anything above 27°C, or 80°F. Go ahead and laugh, lol, but once it gets hot in the house, I can't do anything productive! We don't have air conditioning because most of the time we'd only need it for half a dozen days of the year, so there's really nowhere to hide. And yes, I am aware I'm a wimp in this area 😁
rosebud | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
Seen on a hike with Paul, the boys and my parents this week.

spreading dogbane | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
Spreading dogbane, which looks like it deserves a much prettier name. Seen on the same hike.

3. Summer = Lazy. This is the biggest factor, I think. I'm sleeping in, then lingering over a cup of tea. I'm reading more (I finished Gretchen Rubin's Better than Before last night) and going for more walks. I said to my husband one day last week, "I love the lazy summer days, but I sure don't feel very productive lately!"

The summer hasn't been a total bust, of course. I've basted some diamonds for my Scattered Stars quilt and sewn a few pieces together while we've been driving here and there.
 diamonds | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
I've been working on getting the quilts for the seniors finished and packaged up and out the door (still working on that last part). I made some ornaments.

Mostly, though, I'm hanging out in the sunshine and enjoying the relaxation. Yesterday, for the first time ever, I watched humpback whales breaching and slapping their fins on the water. It was amazing!

Are you enjoying your summer (or winter for those Down Under)? Do you find your sewing (or not sewing) goes through seasonal changes?

3 comments:

  1. Oh boy, yes, summer really does slump a bit. Our A/C was broken for 2 summers and with the house getting to well over 85 degrees for month at a time, I finally found someone to fix it for me this year. I'm still noticing a general slump this year, even with the heat being better indoors (well, my husband's health issues aren't helping).

    Getting to see the whales breach sounds like a rather magical experience. I've had the good fortune to see a calf do that once and I could have watched all day. :)

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  2. There are so many other distractions in the summer that it is hard to justify being stuck indoors at a sewing machine. Whale watching sounds like a great reason to put the sewing aside :)

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  3. Your post reminds me that I need to slow down and enjoy these summer days. I'm still working on finding balance, but I'm getting better. Your summer sounds fantastic and relaxing. I hope you're having a wonderful time!

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