I’m participating in the third annual knitting and crochet blog week. 
Today’s assignment is to blog about how local seasonal weather affects my craft.
On the surface, here is what I observe about my knitting:
- In cold weather I crave coziness and warmth. I knit “lap warmer” projects. I prefer wool.
- In warm weather I crave coolness and easy movement. I gravitate toward smaller projects and breezier yarns.
Well that’s disappointingly unoriginal. I’m not even trying here, am I?
Ah, but that’s just the surface. Ok folks, brace up. It’s time to get real.
Winter
I’m a little bit seasonal-affective, like a lot of people. During the winter, I cocoon. When I do, my natural tendency is to choose cozy, comfort projects; large projects that favor lots of time spent on the couch. I choose projects that allow me to become a knitting hermit. Just me and my needles. Plus a cat on my lap and a few good movies on the TV.
In addition, during the winter, I knit much more for others than I do for myself. I knit gifts. Part of being a little depressed is that I seek approval from others. So I choose projects that feed my desire to be liked.
In the winter, my knitting is therapy, coping mechanism, and emotional crutch.
Oh joy.
Well, I knew this blog post could go to uncomfortable places.
Spring
In Minnesota, spring is fickle. This season has more trouble making up its mind than I do when choosing a meal at Panera.
In Spring, my knitting is fickle too. I start new project after new project. And those projects spawn more projects. And I buy a lot of yarn.
My spring knitting is hopeful. Sometimes overly hopeful. It’s also intoxicating.
It’s a good thing I like knitting socks. This spring I’ve been buying lots of fingering weight yarn.
Summer
If past summers are any indication, my knitting will slow down significantly in the summer. It’s as if the amount of sunshine on my face has an inverse relationship to my attention span. I’ll keep a few small projects on the needles, like socks and dish cloths. Things I can interrupt without a problem and return to with ease.
What’s this seasonal affective thing? Never heard of it. Wanna go to the farmer’s market? Or for a bike ride? Sure, we can bring our knitting. I have a pair of socks that will fit into my backpack.
Autumn
My favorite season. The season is still having a pleasant effect on my moods, so I’ve got lots of energy and optimism, but I’ve suddenly got the attention span I need to start thinking about bigger projects again. I begin setting knitting goals again, browsing for patterns, and neatening up my stash. I shop for knitting books. I’m excited about my knitting. Christmas is coming in only a few months. I’ve got loads of time to knit gifts. Maybe this year I’ll finally knit all my gifts. And then I’ll rearrange my closet, and clean out the fridge, and alphabetize my books….
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All She Wants To Do Is Knit 
I love the skirt pattern – and already have a ton of linen waiting to be knit up!
Oh I love it. This will be my winter as a knitter and im looking forward to being cozy.
Your blog is all kinds of awesome.
I loved reading this and the way you go below the surface of what you are drawn to. You capture the essence of the impact of the seasons very adroitly. Thank you for sharing! E x
I definitely relate to the knitting-as-comfort, especially in the winter!
Lovely post. 🙂
Great description of how the seasons affect your project output..
This was a great post. I like how you broke it down in seasons. I could relate with a lot of what you were saying.
Oh good. Maybe that means that I’m slightly less crazy than I thought.
Wonderful post. I enjoyed reading about each season.
Such an interesting post. 🙂 I wish I’d known about the Knitting and Crochet blog week in time!
It’s been a fun challenge so far. Technically, if you still want to participate you can. You might not “win,” but I suspect few of us really care about winning.
Great projects!
Thanks.
That linen skirt is just gorgeous! And I’ve been meaning to knit up a honey cowl, I just haven’t gotten around to it yet…
The honey cowl is very nice to take to a party. Easy rhythm. And everyone wants to try it on after you bind off.
Excellent! I’m always in search of easy projects to take along, where I can just plug away without paying much attention. Thanks for letting me know!
Great post. I’m also in Minnesota and enjoy the same seasons you do.
Bienvenu, fellow Minnesotan.
Great approach to this topic. I need to make that skirt. Doing so will take some time, though.
Yeah, it definitely will take some time. Also, the pattern is just a little confusing. I’m going to share it with my local guru to make sure I’m understanding it correctly before I begin.
The skirt is one to add to my favorites. It’s gorgeous. I’m kind of the same way with my crochet work, although the spring is the most neglected due to the garden preparations and it hasn’t usually gotten too hot to go outside for a while.
Wow, everybody seems to love that Sasha skirt. You’re welcome, Louet.
Excellent post! Knitting is my security blanket all year round:) Your Honey cowl is gorgeous! I love the color.
Knitting in front of a fire is so cozy in winter…I just knit whatever catches my fancy all year around.
That skirt looks awesome. I need to develop the ovaries to knit that one (not the cahones). 😉 Can’t wait to see how you knit it.
Lovely post…But this skirt is awesome!!!
Love the Honey Cowl!
There really is something about spring that brings out the starteritis! I don’t get it.