Monday, June 29, 2015

{Almost} Too Hot to Quilt

Wowsers, it has been so very hot around here. And wouldn't you know it, our heat and air system went down on Friday afternoon!!! We're scheduled for a emergency 'fix it' sometime today or tomorrow, but really, we need a new system and can't even begin to afford one right now.

Course it had to break down when we need it the most. Yesterday evening it was 87 degrees inside our house--108 outside. Makes it tough to want to do anything at all and I've been thinking about our days before AC. We used to go sit in the river every evening just to cool down! For now I've been dragging my applique up to mom's and sitting in her lovely cool living room for a few hours every day, nagging the kids about drinking gallons of water and taking lots of cool showers. I figure they can take themselves off to the lake as I just don't do well in temps over 100 degrees anymore.
All the vine stitched down on the left side
I've managed to get all the vine stitched down except for one side on the lower right corner of the quilt. Next up is the leaves--all 102 of them! No way to do any hand quilting right now as even the light weight of this quilt top draped over my lap is making me crazy from the heat. I guess I'm a diehard quilting addict though. I will do other things for a little while, but eventually, you'll find me dragging my quilting back out and doing just a little more stitching....

21 comments:

  1. Down Under I can only dream of warmth at the moment ...just got up and its about 40F which is practically freezing...

    Good Luck with appliqueing those leaves - it sounds like a big job but they do look lovely arranged round the border of the quilt that way.

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  2. And now you know why my summer projects are small things and why I don't hand quilt anything in the summer! We don't have a/c and our heat is wood heat.

    Good luck on the leaves. That's too much applique for me in any weather! I'll just have to admire yours. I like all the variety.

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  3. we need a total new system as well and keep hoping it will last one more year and keep getting repair work done - they are so expensive! when it gets hot in the house it is hard to do anything more than sit and eat ice cream :)

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  4. We are having that same heat wave! Thankfully the ac in our house is working. I hope yours is fixed soon.

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  5. Hi Audrey, your quilt is looking great. Looking forward to seeing it finished - when the weather cools down a bit!

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  6. Love that vine, such fresh green colors you are using. Hope either your ac is fixed soon or the weather turns a bit cooler over there.

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  7. I love the applique border - all those greens are wonderful! I just have to stitch too - even when it's hot. I can usually retreat to the basement that stays cool year round. A season without quilting is really unthinkable :0) I hope they can fix your ac!

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  8. It IS too hot to quilt! But we're gonna do it anyway, aren't we? *grin* When I lived in southern Calif, I put the quilt on the dining room table and blew the a/c under the table onto me! It worked pretty well. Today I sewed in the living room when it was in the shade, and it was bearable. Like you, I don't do well when the temps climb. I actually get sick from it. Ugh. I hope your a/c gets fixed quickly! I wish I had a/c or a heat pump. My sister says hers works great to cool her house!

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  9. Oh Audrey! You do have my sympathy - I loathe hot weather like that. Loving our cold Winter. Shame you can't transport yourself down here! Quilt is looking lovely.

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  10. I can't tolerate hot temperatures either. Hope your AC fix is simple and happens today! I drape my quilting and hand work projects over the ironing board and sit in front of it so I don't get hot from having the quilt on my lap. Works for me! What surprises me is how much heat the extra light and sewing machine puts out.

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  11. I have been reading about your crazy heat wave on the news. I am not comfotable with anything over 75-80 and while we've had days over 90 degrees so far this spring / summer we are currently having cooler weather. SO cool that the other morning it was 57 degrees.With the temperate weather and rain I think we are having Seattle's weather or what they are supposed to be having.

    As long as you aren't going out in public and the top is not see through I will tell you what I did on our 95 degree day before my youngest got over here to put my window A/C units in. I unbuttoned my top, took it off, soaked it in the bathroom sink, wrung it out, put it back on wet, and instantly was 20 degrees cooler : ) I did that about 3x to get through the day ! : )

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  12. I have been reading about your crazy heat wave on the news. I am not comfotable with anything over 75-80 and while we've had days over 90 degrees so far this spring / summer we are currently having cooler weather. SO cool that the other morning it was 57 degrees.With the temperate weather and rain I think we are having Seattle's weather or what they are supposed to be having.

    As long as you aren't going out in public and the top is not see through I will tell you what I did on our 95 degree day before my youngest got over here to put my window A/C units in. I unbuttoned my top, took it off, soaked it in the bathroom sink, wrung it out, put it back on wet, and instantly was 20 degrees cooler : ) I did that about 3x to get through the day ! : )

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  13. That is hot and a quilt in the lap sounds like not a lot of fun. I love your vine border and the leaves, it's perfect.

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  14. I can't tolerate heat either. We don't have central air. In Maine you only need it for a few weeks so it isn't worth it. So... in the summer I sit in from of our little window unit and stitch. Hope you get some relief soon. I love this top. It is coming along despite the heat!

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  15. Hope you get some relief soon. It's hard to do anything when it's so hot. But keep your cool and do what you can.

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  16. Our air-conditioning went out recently but the repair man was here in about an hour and had it fixed in short order. It is a fairly new unit and I know they are expensive. Made quite a difference in our electric bill though with a new unit. Lots lower electric bill. And we got a rebate that helped pay for it.

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  17. Ugh, that happened to us last year and it took three days to fix it (during a 110 degree heat wave). !08 here today so I feel your pain. When it's that hot, you don't want to do anything. I'm thinking of starting a portable hand stitching project, maybe English paper piecing. Playing with the little pieces of fabric just sounds cooler than a big ol' quilt :)

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  18. I used to love heat, but as I get older it's harder to take (though we seldom get your temperatures). At least you have found a bit of cool at your mum's and can still get your quilting fix.

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  19. Beautiful stitching...love your eagle quilt!!

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  20. I've been living in my cool basement during this awful heat. Hope you get your AC fixed soon. Love your quilt.

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  21. your vine looks great. by now your AC is fixed I'm sure so enjoy stitching!

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