I think we are in the dog days...

Of summer that is.  All this week school is getting out early because of predicted highs in the 90's.  Stepping outside at 10:30 this am showed me that it was already almost 90 and made me glad for air conditioning.

I am also thankful that quilting is an in door activity so I can enjoy said air conditioning!

Hopefully if you are also experiencing this heat, you have a way to stay cool and comfortable.

I know our quilting tips are a little unconventional - we don't necessarily talk about piecing tips, but we do hope you enjoy them anyway.  Today we are going to talk a little about hydration.  We are long-armers here at the shop.  I know that doesn't seem like much of a title, and really it isn't.  It's more a partial description of what we are.  While we are at the machine we do what we like to call the side to side shuffle while we are moving back and forth over a quilt.  It doesn't sound like much exercise does it?  We couple our shuffle with moving our arms in various configurations pushing a machine around and probably stick out our tongues and squint our eyes and make all manner of silly faces.  While it may not sound like much, it is physical work and it is the type of physical work you can get caught up in and not realize that you have been doing it for hours.  This is why hydration is important.  We are doing work, thinking and moving.  It is important to remember that while this is not a replacement for Zumba, it is still physical work for our bodies and we work and think better when we stay hydrated.

This point was driven home to use when we attended Machine Quilters Showcase and took some hands on classes.  The teachers in those hands on classes made sure that they had water coolers in the back of the room and would occasionally call out to the class that we had been quilting for 1/2 hour and if we hadn't made our way back to the water cooler, we needed to get ourselves a drink.

When the weather is hot like this, it is easy to think about hydration.  We tend to forget about it when we are in our sewing spaces working our little hearts out on our latest project.  It is important to not only have water while we are working at the long-arm, but also to have it in our sewing spaces.  Most importantly, we need to remember to drink it.

Hope your summer has been treating you well!  Don't forget to drink your water!