Hot water bottle cozy

In Dunedin, we talk about the indoor temperature much like Vancouverites talk about the rain, Torontonians talk about the humidity, and Prairie folk talk about the snow. Locals covet their neighbour's heating systems like other people covet their neighbour's perfectly manicured grass. Debates rage on across the city about whether an open fire place really is the best way to heat a home, or whether they're just an open invitation for drafts.

Why the obsession with indoor temperature?

Because, it's cold. That's why.

The climate here is similar to Vancouver's except the houses are generally not properly insulated and double glazed windows were not required until just a few years ago. Our house happens to have some insulation, but that doesn't mean it's warm. Whereas in Vancouver we heated our home to a nice balmy 20 degrees, we're lucky if we hit 16 on a good day here in Dunners...and that's with the heaters cranked. The other morning it was a brisk 10 degrees in our bedroom when we woke up. Brrrr. That's cold.

We've resorted to going to bed with hot water bottles most nights in an attempt to fend off the chill. Abner desperately wanted a cute little cozy for her new bottle and has been reminding me to make one for days now. Over the weekend, I finally got around to it.

She dug through my fabric drawers looking at all the flannel and picked out this bit of pink that I had no other plans for. She amused herself with colouring while I picked out some left over scraps to embellish the front with.

I placed the scraps roughly in the centre and then just started sewing any which way until I ran out of thread. I love how the stitches remind me of a child's scribbles.

I have a feeling I will be making up many more of these in the coming months. They'd make a great gift for anyone newly arriving in Dunedin: "Welcome to Dunedin. Here's a hot water bottle cozy. You're going to need it."