Stitching, pottery and skeeters

I'm going a little stir crazy being down here by myself and mostly sheltering inside because it's so blasted hot outside! So I turned back to a couple of sewing projects.

I did more envelopes for the "Letters From Home" quilt. I'm not sure how big it will get. Maybe just one more row will do it.

And I'm embroidering some tea towels for gifts, even though it hurts the arthritic thumbs. 

I bought this set of iron-on embroidery patterns with 10 different herbs many years ago and decided its time has finally come.

You can get several transfers out of each pattern, and you simply iron for about five seconds with a hot, dry iron. Here are three towels after I transferred the patterns.

They go pretty quickly just using the backstitch and two strands of embroidery floss. Fun!

And THEN I went back to The Happy Saguaro and bought a Talavera pot! I buckled it in for the drive home ...

... and put it on the bench in my front courtyard where I can see it from the cutting table inside and when I sit outside with my morning coffee. I just love those clear, bright colors and the organic design!

Speaking of outside, every time I go out since I moved here I get a fresh crop of mosquito bites, even though I don't have any standing water on my property. So I ordered an arsenal of skeeter attacking products. I hate the idea of spreading bug spray on me, but these ones are DEET free. And the Patio Egg is a ceramic container that holds a mosquito repellant oil that's also DEET free. I put an egg on the front courtyard a few weeks ago and it seems to reduce the number of bites. I'll put the other one on the back patio.

I go out front every evening at sunset and take pictures. This one is actually facing east, so it's the setting sun reflected in clouds behind my house. That's the Pusch Ridge behind me, where the Bighorn Fire erupted 23 days ago from lightning. You can see how close it was to my house! It's still burning, having consumed over 100,000 acres now and growing bigger every day, but it's no longer near my house. There are now more than 1,100 firefighters out there day and night, with that number also steadily growing.

Everyone is waiting for the summer monsoon rains to come and help put out the fire. It sprinkled for a couple of minutes at my house yesterday, a warm rain that left the patio steaming when it stopped. 

Have a colorful day

Colors of Mexican Talavera in Tucson

Ever since I moved to Tucson, I've been wanting to get some colorful Mexican Talavera pots for my courtyard. Imagine my excitement when I googled "talavera tucson" and found a huge selection of the pots just a few minutes down the road from me at The Happy Saguaro!

And not just pots, but

BUNNIES

and kitchenware

and even sinks!

Plus it has a big selection of textiles, including bright embroidered table runners, pillows and clothing.

Here's a Wikipedia description of the pottery:

Talavera pottery is a Mexican and Spanish pottery tradition from Talavera de la Reina, in Spain. The Mexican pottery is a type of majolica or tin-glazed earthenware, with a white base glaze typical of the type. It comes from the town of San Pablo del Monte (in Tlaxcala) and the cities of Puebla, Atlixco, Cholula, and Tecali (these four latter in the state of Puebla), because of the quality of the natural clay found there and the tradition of production which goes back to the 16th century. Much of this pottery was decorated only in blue, but colors such as yellow, black, green, orange, and mauve have also been used.

Here's a closeup of one of the pieces at The Happy Saguaro. The paint is raised, creating a nice, rich textured feel.

On my walk today, I snapped this picture of a Mexican Bird of Paradise, which picks up the vibrant colors of so many of the Talavera pieces. I also want to get one of these for my yard.

So, you ask, what did I buy? Nothing -- yet. I was so overwhelmed by the selection and the heat (much of it is outside, where it was 99 degrees and rapidly rising) that I just wandered and took pictures. But the prices are very reasonable, so once I decide what size pots I want I'll go back. And I can easily see myself getting sucked into some kitchenware and maybe an embroidered blouse, and then gifts for family and friends ...

Have a colorful day

Fire, flowers, desert dishes, and a new quilt

Smoke over the Santa Catalina Mountains
during my morning walk today.

I owe you an update on the fire, since when I last wrote my bags were packed for possible evacuation. It's grown to more than 31,000 acres in the 13 days that it's been burning, fueled by hot, dry air and high winds. I'm on the western edge, which is now relatively safe because I'm buffered by a highway. The main fire has blown east, threatening the popular Sabino Canyon hiking area. Mt. Lemmon was evacuated yesterday -- the red area in the map surrounded by white dotted lines.

I live on the western side just across the orange highway from the green area. Green means to be on alert. Yellow means have those bags packed and consider voluntary evacuation. And red means go now! It's called "Ready, Set, Go!" I still have my hand stitching and a pillow in the car, but my suitcase has moved back inside so I can use what's in it.

Photos taken at night are more dramatic, and here's one from a Facebook Tucson group:

The firefighters -- more than 700 -- are doing a terrific job of keeping structures and people safe as they battle the flames in temperatures that have soared above 100 nearly every day. It's hard enough to stand in the shade for 30 seconds in those temps, let alone be right by the flames wearing full protective gear and carrying heavy packs.

In other news, I've added some color to my yard with flowering plants. When I moved in, this stone planter in my backyard was empty except for dirt. I added the bottlebrush tree (which lost its red blooms after it was planted) and red, orange and purple lantana. Here's a closeup of the lantana, which loves the desert sun.

Here's a bottlebrush bush (not the tree), which is right outside my bedroom window and is always buzzing with bees and hummingbirds.

AND I ADDED HOT PINK

BOUGAINVILLEA! 

I've always wanted bougainvillea, but I never lived where it would grow before. I can't wait until it bushes out and fills the view from my living room window.

I replaced my melamine beach dishes with a set of desert ones that I found online -- on sale! -- at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I left the beach ones with the Feet & Forks.

And I finally sat down at the sewing machine to start piecing the "Letters From Home" quilt. The colors are basically the same as the dishes.

So that's it for now. Today I'm hunkering down in the AC with my sewing machine and watermelon. Hope all of you have had a good week. 

 Have a colorful day

Wildfire evacuations ordered

My woe-is-me post from Wednesday about being lonely and not having anyone to hang out with suddenly changed to a freakout over the wildfire that has exploded in the past week practically in my backyard. 

When I woke up yesterday, I had a phone alert about neighborhoods ordered to evacuate. I thought I was in the evacuation zone and I totally panicked, then I realized that there are two First streets/avenues in Tucson and that the one bordering the evacuation zone was not the one near me.

But still ... it's pretty close.

The area just across the highway from me is in the area that has been placed on alert for potential evacuation. I think the highway will keep me safe, but I packed a bag and filled the car with gas just in case.

On my way back from the gas station, this is what I saw -- massive piles of smoke from the fires north of Ina Road. Today the wind shifted and brought the fire and smoke back to my part of town in Oro Valley. All day long the helicopters and firefighting planes have been buzzing past my back windows. 

More than 7,000 acres have been burned, and the fire is only 10 percent contained. Hot Shot crews from around the country are helping fight the fire, along with air brigades.

I can't imagine how the firefighters must feel wearing full fire gear in temperatures over 100 degrees. My hat is off to them, and to the Red Cross which set up an evacuation center in a nearby high school.

By the way, thank you to everyone who wrote to me after my last post. It was so good to hear how others are handling the coronavirus shutdowns. I made a list of all the advice and I'm going to use it! Namaste.

Have a colorful day

Too much time alone

I'm starting to get really bummed out about being alone in a new city where I can't meet anyone because meetings and activities are canceled and my old friends can't visit because of the virus. 

I try to stay connected with phone calls, texts, emails and FaceTime, but I'm craving hugs! I want someone to share meals with, to sit next to me when I watch the evening news, to walk with in the morning. I'm sure most of you who live alone are having the same feelings. How do you cope?

My daughter in law posted this photo of her with my son the other day and I burst into tears because I haven't seen them since last fall and they don't think they'll be flying down here to visit me until the coronavirus scare is over. They live in Madison, WI, not exactly a hop, skip and jump away. 

And I miss my daughter, who I haven't seen since Christmas. We had planned to visit in the spring before I moved, but then everything shut down. She lives in Spokane, WA, way too far away.

I'm trying to cope by building routine into my new life. I get out early in the morning for a walk before the heat sets in. Yesterday I took this photo on my walk. It's a Mexican Bird of Paradise in front of smoke from the forest fire. The fire has now burned more than 3,200 acres and is only 10 percent controlled. I'm safe where I am, even though it's so close.

After the walk I have coffee on my front patio and listen to the birds. I bought this mug the other day when I went to my first quilt store since the virus hit. They only allow six customers in at a time.

I'm reading up on my new city. I just got this order of books from Amazon. Hiking, birding, exploring the city and eating.

I'm trying to get into a routine of sewing, but it's been slow. Last week I cut out fabric for this pattern, "Letters From Home," but I haven't started sewing it. I'm not settled enough yet to create an original quilt, so I'm following a pattern.

I bought some cactus fabric ...

... and took this photo of similar blooming cactuses on one of my walks.

I spent a lot of time organizing my treasures just so, but now everything is in place so I'm done with that routine.

This is a collection of molinillos, which are used in Mexico to whip hot chocolate. My daughter sent me the sun hanger, so it reminds me of her. And the Hand of Fatima on the drum from the Middle East is for protection. Every item in the photo below also has special memories.

My mother gave me this "Bloom Where You're Planted" hat many years ago when the kids were little and our family had made our umpteenth military move. I put it in my front hallway to remind me of her and to remind myself to bloom.

I'd love to hear how all of you are getting through these days and weeks and months.

Have a colorful day