Stormy weather, a basket and a blanket

 

Our monsoon storms have been blowing in regularly with dramatic skies but lots of tree damage and power outages. It's not good to be out of power in triple digit temps, but luckily mine has only flickered so far. The top photo is looking at a sunrise from my dining room a few days ago.

These luscious orange and pink skies are sunset colors reflected in that same eastern sky.

We also had rainbows two nights in a row arcing over my house (on the left). Notice that my tree has been trashed by the wind and I need to have the broken branches removed. This is the third time in a month that that tree has been damaged by monsoon winds. This is my fourth summer monsoon season and it's the first time that tree has been hit.

Yesterday as I was driving home from Mahjongg, I stopped to snap pictures of the darkening eastern sky shortly before the winds howled and rain lashed several parts of town, downing 40 power poles and leaving tens of thousands without power. Some still don't have electricity. That's really unsafe in this hellishly hot weather.

I'm spending most of my time inside where it's cool, and yesterday I finished this coiled tray. I put a dent in my green strips and would've used more except I ran out of the rope that the fabric is wrapped around.

In other crafting news, my daughter and Charlie the cat show their appreciation for the cuddly, sweet blanket that my friend Pat crocheted for her -- one for Julia and one for the baby (due in January). Thanks, Pat!!! The blankets will be treasured for many years to come.

Have a colorful day

Now what?

I need a new sewing project because it's too hot here in the Arizona desert to do anything outside. Today is our 40th day in a row of temperatures above 100 degrees, setting a new record. I think the highest was 112. People are going to the hospital with burns just from contact with pavement, so I mostly stay inside except for early morning.

Yesterday I dove into the big basket of fabric strips that I keep for making coiled bowls. I dumped them out and they seemed to multiply!

I ruthlessly tossed out the ones that didn't grab me anymore and sorted the rest into a color wheel. That was satisfying.

The neutrals got their own piles. Sometimes I like to incorporate blacks and whites for a little zing.

Here are some of my old bowls, which I started making about 15 years ago after Linda J. from my Sew Day group showed me the technique.

So now what? I might make some single-color bowls. I might add some shiny fabrics. I'm not sure yet.

Meanwhile, here's some humor!

Have a colorful day

My granddaughter's first quilt!

My daughter found out that her baby is going to be a girl! So I pulled out a pink and yellow quilt top that I made about 15 years ago and saved, just in case Julia ever had a baby girl. It has scraps of this teddy bear fabric that I used for a little jacket for her when she was a toddler. I finished the quilt and sent it off to Spokane -- my first quilt for the baby that's due in January, with many more to come!

Meanwhile, it's been hot, hot, hot!!! Our highs haven't been below the hundreds in weeks, and the monsoon storms have started so it's no longer a dry heat. This is today's sunrise from my backyard, when it was a "cool" 82 degrees for my walk.

And this is a sunset last week from the front of my house at the end of another scorcher.

Have a colorful day

Prickly pear fruit and scorcher days

The prickly pear cactus fruit is ripe and ready to be picked and eaten here in the desert. I haven't tried it myself because you have to clean off the little prickles and I don't feel like doing that. But the animals certainly must be enjoying it and many people here do harvest the fruit. You can peel it and eat it straight from the plant or you can make it into jam, jelly, syrup, wine and probably a lot of other treats.

It's quite nutritious and has been used for centuries for medicinal purposes as well as just a good food source. And just about every restaurant in Tucson offers prickly pear margaritas! I buy bottles of prickly pear syrup and add a little to lemonade to sweeten it and turn it a lovely pink. Many use the syrup just like you would maple syrup on pancakes.

The red fruits above are on my neighbor's plant; the one below with the green fruit is in my yard. I've read that the green fruit is more tart.

Here's a link to a five-minute video showing how to pick and process prickly pear fruit:  video. In this video, the fruit is picked with tongs and a twisting motion to avoid getting your hands full of the prickles.

Meanwhile, we're in the midst of scorching triple-digit days, the kind of days where you try to get all your errands done by 8 a.m. and then you don't go out again. Even after the sun goes down, it's still in the 90s. We got our first monsoon storm of the season yesterday, and it tore through with lashing wind and rain, uprooting trees, knocking out power and even tearing off part of a roof not far from me.

To help cope, I bought this little handheld fan to carry in my purse and whip out when needed. On the day that it was to be delivered, I put out a cooler of water and grapes for the delivery driver. It was 109 and there was no shade between the street and my front door. My package was delivered and the driver took a frosty bottle of water, so mission accomplished.

While I'm stuck inside, I've been working on my wool appliqué embroidery. Our summer desert days are like winter days up north, where you hunker down inside and create.

 Have a colorful day

Cafe a la C'Art

In our quest to keep cool without hiding in our houses, a few of us went to the Tucson Museum of Art this week after having brunch at the charming Cafe a la C'Art next door.

The cafe is in an old adobe building with a series of rooms for indoor seating and a lush courtyard for eating outside (when it's not 105 degrees). We had our cozy room all to ourselves. The high ceilings would have allowed the heat to rise in the days before AC.

The cafe is full of art, like this oil painting with my favorite animal -- bunnies.

"Run Away" by Gail Marcus-Orlen

The courtyard would be enticing, but not on such a hot day.

After we spent a couple of hours in the museum (I didn't get pictures), we drove around the old part of downtown Tucson looking at the established trees and old adobe houses. I was in the back seat so I didn't get good pictures of the houses. But I did a blog post on them here: turquoise-doors-and-pink-walls-in-old.html

Meanwhile, our temps have been above 100 for I don't know how many days (or weeks) and monsoon clouds continue to tease us without delivering rain. These clouds are over Pusch Ridge in the Catalina Mountains from this morning's walk.

Have a colorful day

"Happy Hour" for sale

I made another red vase quilt, but this one has more fancy drinks than the last so I'm calling it "Happy Hour." It's for sale for $175, including shipping. Size is 17 inches wide by 22 inches high. Hanging sleeve on back.

Update: It sold! Thanks, Lil.

I fused the appliqués and then free-motion quilted them with black thread. It was fun following all the shapes.

The back is black, although it looks grey here. This shows the quilting lines.

For more fabric art inspiration, hop over to Nina-Marie's blog: getting-ready-for-more-mosaics-on-off.html

Now this next idea is no joke! This is a photo from Facebook that shows how to take a cool shower in Tucson in the summer. Our "cold" water gets so hot sitting in the water pipes that it's impossible to get a cool shower. In fact, the "cold" water feels hotter than the "hot" water from the water tank!

The forecast shows triple digits and a chance of rain every day with the promise of the monsoon, but so far I haven't even gotten a sprinkle.

Have a colorful day