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
5 comments:
How could you have mosquitoes in such a dry hot place???? Glad you found a pot to call your own. Just love those embroidery transfers. Sorry it pains you to work on them but they look totally worth it. :-)
Jeez, mosquitoes too? Dang! Glad you found some things you could use to protect you from the little buggers! Oh, I love the pot... will you be planting something in it, or just enjoy the wonderful colors and designs? And speaking of that, I love your letters! They seem very intricate, but full of interest, and yes... I remember Aunt Martha's embroidery transfers. I think I have some in a box in the garage!
On the weather front, we are having some really strong winds up here, but I see T-storms forecast for later this week, a little preview of what's to come soon. We really need the rain, all over the state and the southwest, so I'm hoping this year it will be a good steady season. Meanwhile, stay cool... and keep those pix coming!
Come on rain! Come on rain! Yep I remember those nasty bitey things from when I lived in Colorado. They are chewing on me here in California too, but not nearly as badly as they did in the high desert climate. So glad to see you are out of fire danger and back to crafting. LOVE that pot you got!
I love the Talavera pot! It's beautiful and you get to view it daily! Envelope quilt is adorable!!! You go girl! You're very productive!
Those embroidery pieces remind me of when I was a kid and I used to do that on hot summer months sitting inside next to the air conditioner! That pot is beautiful. I really like that egg thing. I'll have to check it out. I am such a magnet for mosquitoes that every day when I go out to garden I have to put stuff on me. I used to make my own potion, but have found one I really like better - Sawyer Products 20% Picaridin Insect Repellent - no deet. Works like a charm. I went out to harvest the blueberries the other day without it and I got eaten up so I know it works. If those don't work for you, try it - available on Amazon. I've been using it now for years. Just ordered another supply. Beautiful pics at your house. Hope rain comes soon.
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