Too Hot to Quilt...Heading for the Mountains

Yesterday the temps here in central North Carolina reached 102, and it is supposed to be hotter today. My thermometer is reading 105 at 12:30PM. Charlie says that if there are no pressing issues at work for tomorrow, we can head for the mountains tonight. It is usually fifteen degrees cooler up there, and we can always jump in the creek. Or maybe the new pond, if it is not too muddy! I have already watered the plants and walked the dog- not a pleasant walk in the heat on the day of our curbside garbage pick-up!

Here is the new mountain pond, which is partially filled.


Last night I made some progress on cutting away the batting for the trapunto motifs on the green quilt. I use Quilters' Dream Poly for this step, as it is a dense white batting that will not seep through the stitching when I wash out the Vanish thread and marks. The instructions for this process are all in Karen McTavish's book, The Secrets of Elemental Quilting.





The front view is on the left, and the back on the right. I still need to trim these up a bit and do most of the small flowers in the outer white border.