The cool, damp Pacific Northwest has been suffering from an unusual heat wave this week. We are not accustomed, in this area, to temperatures over 80 (F). We may reach 80 at the peak of summer - which we are in - but anything above that is record breaking. We broke records this week. We've also been the recipients of the smoke from wildfires burning to the north of us in British Columbia, Canada. Needless to say, I've had a tough week. Even the dog didn't want to go outside yesterday. I don't think it was the heat that bothered her, it was the smoke in the air. We don't have cloud cover right now, we have haze. Thank goodness for the portable air conditioning unit my husband purchased last year (or was it the year before?). We've needed it to clean the air as much as for cooling. It looks like we might be in for another full week of this kind of weather too. Yikes. No rain in sight. I've been out to water my flowers (with my mask on of course) but we may have to invest in some soaker hose to keep the hedges on two sides of the house from drying out.
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| David Austin rose "Charlotte" |
When it gets this warm I'm reluctant to use the iron, and I use the iron frequently when I piece quilt blocks. Consequently I have a pile of piecing on the ironing board, waiting to be pressed.
The
RSC color for August was announced as light neutrals. I quickly pieced up three 4.5" postage stamp units and a 16 patch block (8" finished). On the board we also have a couple of 6" scrappy Barn Door blocks and a pile of HST's for bear paw units. Earlier in the week I pulled out this work in progress...
... and I'm thinking I'll use the bear paws in a border treatment. I may repeat the flying geese too, we'll see. I started this project last year in August and haven't been inspired to work on it since I put it away last fall. I've been referring to this as
Camping Princess in my mind but now I'm thinking I should call it
August Nights!
I plan to link up with the other
RSC bloggers Saturday morning. My apologies to those of you who have come to visit, been so kind to leave a comment, and have not heard back from me. Blame it on my weakened endocrine system.
Your beautiful panel and surrounding blocks, a winner. And the smoke, maybe worse than heat waves. Keep calm ,keep cool, and maybe just plain old " Keep indoors". Hugs from a much cooler NZ.hope you all are feeling a whole heap better very soon.
ReplyDeleteIt's been hot here too and lots of us 'ladies of a certain age' have been suffering especially at nights.
ReplyDeleteAs for smoke in the air - my neighbour decided to have a bonfire the other morning just as I was about to hang out some washing and air the house out after I'd had to spray some nasty chemical about the place due to a bit of an animal flea problem. Bonfires are supposed to be forbidden but I've noticed those sort of rules are only adhered to by us 'newcomers' - the people, especially the older ones, who have lived here for generations, do as they please.
Stay cool!
The green and purple in the star blocks just pull that night theme out into the borders. What a beautiful panel for late summer inspiration.
ReplyDeleteThe green and purple stars just pull the night theme out into the borders. What a great panel for late summer inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI love your WIP! Bear paw blocks will complement it nicely. Sorry for your heat wave! I'd send you our rain if I could. It has been a very wet summer here and it's making me crazy.
ReplyDeleteI feel for you with all the heat and humidity. Add the smoke and... YUCK!! That definitely makes for some bad breathing days! On the up side, your Camping Princess/August Nights quilt is coming together nicely. Looking forward to seeing the next border!!
ReplyDeleteI hope that it will clear up and cool down soon. 80 sounds cool to me, but we are all living sealed inside air conditioning this time of year.
ReplyDeleteYour project looks great. Sorry you are having such problems with heat and smoke. We had smoke here last December from the fires in the Smoky Mountains. It's no fun. Hope you feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteNo need to respond! I love your August nights quilt. Great colors and borders so far! I hope you (and us too) get rain soon - Mother Nature's healing elixir.
ReplyDeleteAugust Nights is,the perfecr name. I can just see a bunch of friends hanging out and laughing. It's really a winner.
ReplyDeleteSmoke and heat is a hard combination to deal with, even when one's health is good. I am sorry that you are suffering, and, even more sorry that it is stopping you from doing the things you love. xxx
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