I love a hotwater bottle. Nothing better on a cool winter’s night or when in pain and in need of a little attention. Wheat packs and electric blankets really don’t do it for me. Hotwater bottles are cuddly, you can knit clothes for them and they have history.
Here are some of the lovely clothes I have knitted for hotwater bottles:
How many wheat packs do you have with interchangeable outfits?
There’s nothing really exciting to say about the history of hotwater bottles except to say that we have been trying to figure out ways to keep ourselves warm at night since before we wore mammoth-skin cloaks. Records exist of beds being warmed with containers of hot coals, and later ceramic bottles of hot water, but it wasn’t until Slavoljub Eduard Penkala developed the rubber hotwater bottle did it really hit its straps as a leave.in.all.night snuggle-fest.
But history has not been kind to the hotwater bottle. Reports of burns due to improper use have diminished its glory in favour of electric blankets or wheat packs. So I was excited to read a new and thoroughly modern use for this fabulous item. The hotwater bottle has hit the techno big time as
... a laptop stand for your lap
Yes, Lifehacker Australia recently reported a blogger who uses a [tepid] tap-water-filled hotwater bottle as a comfy stable table between laptop, and lap. The hotwater bottle is ready to take on a new role in this millennium.
You can’t do that with an electric blanket.
I must confess that in the interests of thorough research I tried the hotwater bottle laptop stand and found it to be ... a bit wobbly. But it was comfortable.
How about you – do you love your hot water bottle or are you a modern microwaveable wheat pack or electric blanket user? Do you have a modern use for your trusty hotwater bottle?
25 comments:
We're an electric blanket for me/wheat pack for the kids house. I chaqnged too many wet beds when the kids were toddlers to risk the same thing happening again.
AND I'm making wheat bags with removable covers (she said, sounding incredibly smug...)
But those knitted covers look so gorgeous that I'm almost tempted to buy a hot water bottle. Almost.
Alison and Megan,
No I don't have a hot water bottle. I just put a lot of blankets on the foot of the bed where my feet are. I use to use an electric blanket, but, I get to warm with it, so just put on the extra blankets. And there's always the dog or cat to help out when needed... ;)
The knitted covers are so cute, I almost think I need a H.W.B. just to make and use them...not!
Have a nice week and since I am a tea drinker I'm looking forward to your next post.
Gramma Ann
I have a living, breathing hot water bottle right beside me most nights.
I actually need a cold water bottle.
All three options are available at our house. Can you tell I hate to be cold?
Never did trust the electic blanket. They make me nervous.
The problem with knitting clothes for hotwater bottles is that they are knitted in two identical halves - just when you finish one half with a sigh of relief you are then faced with knitting up the other half. Bleh.
I like the idea of wheat bags with removable covers - but are they the same to hug? :-)
Oh, and Shula, I totally agree with you. If I use one at a hotel I always turn it off before I go to sleep.
Turn it off? I'm so mistrusting of electric blankets, if there is one on a bed in a hotel, I will unplug it from the wall before I go to sleep.
I love hot water bottles. Unfortunately my knitting speed means that, despite my best intentions, none of ours have knitted covers (yet). I wrap them in a towel, and often they are still warm in the morning.
My other half 'sees' so many fires from electrical faults occuring in electric blankets that expressly forbids them in thehouse. If we are in motel or hotel or anything 'guest-ish' he checks to mke sure taht if there is one even on the bed, it is not only turned off but unplugged completley.
So, we are a hot water bottle and wheat pack family!
I still love those little jumpers that you knit, they are so cute. Can I get them on etsy?
We've got a hot pink hot water bottle, but I generally use the wheat packs instead, they fold around my feet and back better, and they don't require water, which is a consideration.
Ha! If only I had the energy to knit enough to sell on Etsy but at about 3 weeks per hotwater bottle I can't see that happening anytime soon.
However, I'm sure there are some fabulous fast knitters out there on etsy that would oblige :)
I'm definitely a hottie girl. Though for the past six years or so I've been so hot at night that I can't even bear to think about one. I have a fan at the foot of the bed instead.
Now, about this knitting: this looks like an ideal project for circulars, wouldn't you say? That would save having to make two identical halves. You'd have to switch to dpns at the neck, but no worries.
I find my laptop is like a hotwater bottle when I rest it on my legs while in bed ....
In sunny Brisvegas we don't really need either ... but from my childhood memories I vite for the hot water bottle ...
Wheat packs for aches and pains.
Electric blankie for the south island of NZ for sure !
I have used a wheatpack for years but my microwave died recently so I have been using the hotties my children had when little - one has a Tigger cover and one a Pingu cover. Almost like sleeping with a pet.
My kids don't feel the cold anymore so I am not depriving them in case you are wondering.
Lesley, you speak wisely. Why didn't I think of circulars!
The kids love their wheat packs in this house.
Speaking of electric blankets, my memory has it that in the USA the E.B. is on top of you and in OZ the E.B. is under your bottom sheet!
Being from USA, I had a mattress pad that was electric and I've also had an electric blanket. But, since the tropical heat vacations~~~took over my body, I no longer use either one.
We only have a couple of months of cool, a few weeks total of cold, here in south Georgia. When I was growing up I had an electric blanket. Now I just prefer layers of quilts. No hot aids at all.
P.S. Rob is doing laundry and came across the wire hangers with knitted coverings (done by my great-grandmother) and wonders if you have the same?
I grew up in the South Island of NZ with a trusty hottie. When stay in our 'crib' (small holiday shack) in Otematata I used to hold the hottie and then wrap myself in a blanket before getting into bed - I haven't thought about that for years. Great blog, keep it up!
I love your blog and have added you to my blog roll. I love your knitting and funny but I had just done a Happy Thought about putting a blanket in the dryer to warm myself. Will visit more later!
G'Day, Alison and Megan,
If you have a few spare minutes, maybe you can fly over to my "Quotes and Things" blog. I have an award there waiting for you to pick it up. ;)
im a hot water bottle girl, i hate electric blankets, they are not safe & all that power they use....
lov your covers i just use a handtowel over mine.
Hi there
I’m from the UK and thought you might like to hear from this cold part of the Northern hemisphere where the trusty hot water bottle is still very popular. I recently read of a retailer reporting a 200% increase in the sale of hot water bottles this autumn which he attributed to the recent increase in heating costs. It seems therefore that the hot water bottle is definitely still in favour.
I love my hot water bottle and have done so since I was a child. I can't sleep without one and always take one to bed and two in the winter. Electric blankets scare me. I wouldn’t allow one in the house. Hot water bottles have to be one of the best inventions ever.
Lesley P.
Thanks Lesley P, I'm not surprised about hotwater bottle sales going up with the cost of heating being so high. I just hope the purchasers know how to fill them properly and don't burn themselves!
I'm with you on the electric blanket thing.
At the moment, hot water bottle, plus wheat bag, plus cat.
The hot water bottle definitely stays hotter way longer than the wheat bag.
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