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Date: 12 November 2014. Warm Fuzzies (winter bedding)
© janice142
As a southerner I hate being cold. The approach of November winds and frigid temperatures is looked toward with trepidation. A couple years back though I bought Skipper a fuzzy piece of fabric so she would have a nice place to snuggle on the dinette seat next to me. Sitting on it a couple times myself sparked an idea for staying warm during the harsh winter weather.
The best idea though was shared by an old salt I once knew. He suggested:
If you are too cold, sail for the equator until the shivering stops.
The fabric I bought for my First Mate was $13 a yard as I recall at Hobby Lobby. It is wonderful stuff and washes well. One side is suede-like (hers has leopard spots) and the other feels like a woolly lamb. I knew it reflected heat after having sat on it during the summer so thought that something similar would be wonderful on my bunk in the winter.
Even though $26 would not be unreasonable in staying warm over the winter, I wanted to save money. When I visited my daughter we shopped at a couple of thrift stores and one had a blanket with a fuzzy side. The price was $4 and that met my budget criteria spot-on.
So I bought it.
Well, the upcoming forecast is for below freezing temperatures so I took out the blanket, removed the backing fabric and laid the fuzzy side over my bottom sheet. It does not look bad and will reflect heat so hopefully I will be a bit warmer this year. Here is the fabric on my bunk:
The observant will notice I again have my 12-volt electric blanket on the bunk. I made a duvet cover (it's actually an old sheet) and a bit more about that can be found in the As Winter Approaches article.
I've already tested it. Yes, I'm a wimp when it comes to getting into a cold bunk and by clicking 15 minutes before I'm ready to go to bed, it's toasty warm for me. The blanket works perfectly. I recommend the Comfy Cruise brand because it uses just 35 watts (3 amps) and many of these things use upwards of 7 amps.
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Update July 2023: The Comfy Cruise is no longer available. A comparable blanket by a company I have bought from before is the Trillium 12v Heated Travel Blanket With Safety Timer. This one has features I like including a timer to shut off the blanket after either 30 or 45 minutes. That is important in the wintertime when battery capacity is lower than in warmer weather. When my Comfy Cruise finally stops working I will be shopping for this electric (12v) blanket. J. |
I did notice that the fuzzy piece made the bunk seem warmer too. BUT it is not soft -- not like the nicer fabric I had paid $$ for at Hobby Lobby. I should not have bought the rough blanket at the thrift store and would have been wiser to spend the money on something of better quality.
Anyway, this is my advice: add the fuzzy, but make sure yours is of better quality than mine. The next time I am able to get to a Hobby Lobby I will seek out the fabric I bought for Skipper and buy a large enough piece (two yards) for my bunk.
What I have is okay and this time
that is not
quite good enough -- not for the long term.
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Have you ever tried adding fuzzy fabric to your winter bedding layers?
Are you staying warm in this cold snap the country is enduring?
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