My mother-in-law has been trapped inside at a rehab center for a bit over a month now. She broke her femur and recovery is slow. As hard as they try to make it a positive environment for everyone, it is winter in Michigan. It is cold, dark, and gloomy outside. It is difficult to stay cheerful and positive.

There are many employees who work hard to brighten everyone's day where they can. I thought I could help out just a bit. With the help of my co-conspirators, I decided to make a few mini-snowmen to place on some of the window sills. There is enough window sill on the outside of the windows to allow for a small snowman to look inside from out there.

I have been trying to enjoy the snow this year. So far I have had limited success. I was struck by an idea a few days ago. It took some time to work out the details. Now I am looking forward to the next snowfall--and they are predicting 40 degree weather for the next day or two. Time for me to make preparations.

Update: 4 days later and we finally have snow. Unfortunately it is only 14 degrees and too cold to build a snowman. I have to wait for it to warm up enough to be good packing.

Update: a week later--still too cold. We are not expecting 20 degrees for the next week. This is terribly frustrating.

Finally!!! After 12 days of snow that was too cold, it was perfect weather this morning. Cold enough to have snow but warm enough to make a decent snowball--33 degrees.

Step 1: Planning the Hat and Scarf

I cut my pattern from the welcome letter that we received upon my mother-in-law's arrival--recycling where I can. I started with the circle brim of the hat. Once I had a good size, I cut the hole for the snowman's head.

I used the piece that I cut from the hole to cut a circle for the top of the hat. I cut the circle a quarter of an inch larger than the hole all the way around. This gave me enough fabric for my seam.

I cut a rectangle for the hat that fit the circumference of the hat top with an extra quarter of an inch for the seam.

I could have cut the pieces from felt but I found scraps of polar fleece in my basement. I really just needed a fabric that would not fray.

Once I had my hats cut out, I cut some long strips to be the scarves for my snowmen.

Step 2: Making the Hat and Scarf

I stitched the hat together with a simple running stitch. Starting at the corner of the rectangle, I stitched the side of the hat to the top. I stitched a scant quarter inch seam. It is not necessary to turn the piece inside out. I continued the seam down the side. Then I finished by stitching the hat to the brim.

For the scarves, I simply cut the end into an inch long fringe.

Step 3: Assembling and Displaying

I used some dark glass floral marbles for the eyes but you could use large beads or buttons. I had some old baby carrots for the noses.

We dressed up nice and warm with some waterproof gloves and headed out into the newly fallen snow. Making snowmen is as much fun as it was when we were kids.

Don't pack the top ball too hard--or it will not let you shove in the carrot. I had to keep taking off my gloves to do the faces.

One of the nurses (Gloria is one of the best nurses ever) is taking a hat, scarf, eyes, and a nose home to her son. There were people talking about the snowmen but very few people knew who had done it.

Soooo much fun!!