our fireplace is drafty. when there isn’t a fire crackling away, a cold trickle of air comes in on days like today. ahem. days like today when the wind and snow blows. when school buses get canceled. when the temperature drops way down low to freeze the tips of my tulips that had just emerged to greet the recent warmer air we’d been enjoying. we, like those poor tulips, fell again for mother nature’s oldest trick. it happens almost every year.

as i write this, the snow drifts up against my front door, trying to sneak inside and mock my cozy new blog header no doubt.

as for the draft from the fireplace, i came up with a quick fix the other day. i got one of those tension curtain rods that squeeze into place. it was just under $10 at the local hardware store.

the ends fit snuggly on either end of the frame around the fireplace…

and the tension from the coils inside keep the bar above the fireplace…

i draped an old crib-sized (*sniffle*) quilt over the rod. this quilt was the first one i ever sewed, made when i was expecting a little one.

it has really made a difference in keeping the cold air out of the room.

and it’s nice to have that quilt back out again. the fabric print deserves a close up. those cows and chickens remind me that it wont feel like winter forever.

(right?)