Heat, UFOs & Strips

Lately I haven’t been in the sewing space very much! In July it was just too blasted hot up there. July was hot and then a heat wave and then just plain hot again.

We have two air conditioning units for this house. The one for upstairs, bedroom level and the sewing space, had been having difficulty before the month long heat set in. We had the A/C repair folks out 6 times before it really got hot, and when it would run nearly all day and still not be able to bring the temps down very much, I just turned the a/c off up there and didn’t spend any time in the upper levels. We have a basement room, that never warms up, so that became the bedroom. We moved a spare bed down there, where it will stay. Is it perfect? no, but it is much better than trying to sleep in a room that just won’t cool!

Temperatures are finally better, but I still haven’t spent much time actually sewing.

Ah, but I do have a project in the works! As I mentioned somewhere before, I am trying to deplete the stack of Un-Finished Projects, that have accumulated for various reasons. So far, I am turning one UFO, into two and have started another….  My idea for completing part 2 of the UFO will require a variety of brightly colored fabrics…. and to not have to buy each fabric… I decided to organize a strip swap! The little time I’ve been in the sewing space, has been dedicated to finding suitable fabrics for strips. The swap is nearly complete, but let me just say…. YUM! I hope to begin playing with those beautiful strips later this week. No pictures yet…. of the project, but they will be coming soon! I have enjoyed this swap so much, I might just have to do another!!!

Wednesday, was a sew-in at the local guild that I joined. It is in lieu of a regular meeting…  I have a baby quilt due sometime in September, so I thought I would work on that. Actually it is the beginning of every baby quilt I make in the future. I have decided to make a variety of 9 patch blocks, and the leftovers will be the beginning of the next baby quilt… Since babies need stimulation, and generally only see black and white early on, I am going to supply the black and white for the babies.

PICTURES!

I am still revisiting the pictures from our visits to Kruger National Park in South Africa. One of the most amazing adventures I have ever had. Above is the Lioness portrait. These ladies, along with some other adult females, young adults and adolescent cubs were just finishing up a breakfast of zebra when we found them. They are looking at lunch, a small herd of Wildebeest (Gnu) in the distance. Lions never pass up the chance for a meal… they did give a half hearted chase of the Wildebeests…. but they were full and it was too much work, so they faded off into the long grasses, for nap I’m sure!

and

Three of the young adults… do you see the onlooker hoping for a scrap? The grass is over 2 feet tall where it hasn’t been crushed. Oh the onlooker is a vulture. There were also quite a few of those hanging about…. waiting for the leftovers. They are not as pretty as the lions… trust me!

More Later- Beth