If there are any regular visitors to this blog they might be surprised that there is very little quilting or weaving or just general making going on here. The reason is the heat. Yes, the heat.

Before I elaborate, let me show you what’s waiting to be quilted:

I actually quilted about a half of this one before this current heat wave. I do not really want to change settings on my sewing machine, because I had some tension problems, so the machine is sitting unused until this one is quilted.

Then there is this one which was waiting for an appropriate backing. And then it got hot. so it’s waiting. I don’t even have a decent picture of the finished top (which is finished, just not sandwiched yet), just this bad instagram photo. I might have fallen out of love with this one. A little bit.

Another crappy pic, but at least of the finished top. I almost quilted this one in the spring but I had no idea how to quilt. I like straight lines, but I just wasn’t feeling it. So it waits.

Definitely don;t know how to quilt this one. This one might need some hand quilting.

You might this that’s it but I actually have one more, that I never photographed. It ended up quite big, so I was even thinking of just tying it. I should get off my butt right now and take a picture of it, but you know what – yes, it’s too freaking hot.

So what about all this whining about the heat? 90ish F is not that bad! No, it’s not if you are used to it, if you have air-conditioning, if it happens rarely, or when it’s supposed to happen like during Summer. But here in Southern California, especially on the West Side (read – near the ocean), we are not used to these temperatures; maybe a few days a year but not off and on for months. If you didn’t know, California is experiencing the worst drought on record, coupled with the hottest year to 18 months since late 19th century, when they started keeping records.

Our houses here on the West Side were not built for this kind of weather. Even the new homes usually do not have ac, because we really never needed it. A few days around Labor Day and we were done with the heat. Anybody can take that. But over the last year or so, it feels like the worst of the summer never ended. So, take a person like me, who does not take heat well, who defines nice weather as fog and or drizzle (or at least temps below 70 F) , and conditions like this – and you’ve got one very grumpy and uninspired person. OK, maybe not completely uninspired…

Our house was built in 1912, and then expanded in the 70s, with a two room addition to the back of the house, which faces south. For reasons I do not understand, they did not use insulation in the walls. So those two room would get quite cold in the winter and hot during those infrequent heat spells. The problem we are experiencing now is that the house never really cools down, even if we have a few cooler days. So why not installing an ac? Well, the house was gutted in the 70, but again it was built for the coastal weather. Windows are single pane, a few are glass shutters windows that never really close all the way, and we don;t really have many doors – except for the bedroom, it’s one open space. It would be very, very inefficient and expensive to have ac. So we survive with fans. But let me tell you, I have had enough of the heat, fans giving me a headache, sweating all the time. I did not sign up for this. If I wanted these temps, I would have stayed in Texas – at least I would have ac! I think I might be going heat crazy…

This past spring break we RV-ed through British Columbia, CA. And on a really bad, hot day, I think of all the greenery, rain and fog. That’s my kind of weather. That’s the weather that inspires me, lets me think… Heat is overrated, exhausting and seriously mind numbing. Sometimes I feel like I am a north-west girl trapped in the south.

So can you imagine sitting at a sewing table in this heat, holding a blanket over you? No, I didn’t think so. Also my sewing room is in the back of the house, it has no doors so I cannot cool it off at all. The quilts just have to wait. Weaving will have to wait. Posts about quilting or weaving will have to wait. Until the temps cool off. In the meantime, there will be photos, blackout words, and who knows what else.

Thanks for listening to the rant. Most people do not understand how one can not like sunny hot days, and enjoy fog and rain. But that;s just how I am…