What do you craft in the hottest part of the year?

The heat is here! We have had heat advisories in our neck of the woods for the last few days, and we are scheduled to have more in the near future. 

So what should we craft? I can tell you that knitting and crocheting sounds much less appealing to me when it is hot outside. I need small, quick projects that don't require me holding warm materials on my lap! Here are some ideas:

1. Face masks

Yes, I am still making face masks. I work around 250+ people per day, and until my young child can be vaccinated, I will be masking. I've made three masks for my son, two for my spouse, and one for myself so far this month. Sitting at the sewing machine with a small project that doesn't drape onto my lap is no problem in the heat! Here is my preferred mask sewing pattern/tutorial: https://sewingtherapy.net/diy-mask-with-a-replaceable-filter/

2. Shape loom weaving

The shape looms I have been working with are quite small, very portable, and require few supplies, making this an easy project to work on in front of the TV (and under the ceiling fan). I currently have a small pile of looms from Casa Marengo Studio that I am working on weaving up as samples for her. Look at these cute little ornament looms! 

3. Cross stitch

Cross stitch is an excellent idea for this time of year. I prefer to make smaller cross stitch projects anyway, so maybe some ornaments, or cards, or other small seasonal things would work for you. I found quite the collection of free patterns here, and I really enjoy the back-to-school patterns that I found here on that site. Lots of cute teacher gifts!

4. Origami

How about a little paper folding to keep you cool? I loved origami as a child, and I still have fun breaking out the pretty papers once in awhile. I found a bunch of fun tutorials here. The same website (gathered.how) also has other papercrafting tutorials. 

So, what will it be? What craft is going to be doable while staying cool for you in these late summer months? Let me know in the comments, I would love to hear! 

Happy crafting!

July Wrap-Up

 Hello hello! It's been a wonderful summer so far, and as it's wrapping up, it's time to look at what I accomplished in July. Honestly, it wasn't a lot of crafting. It was a lot more resting, relaxing, having fun, and exploring! :-) Just as a summer ought to be. However, I did craft a bit:

I finished this cute cat weaving, which is a portrait of a friend's cat:

I finished up this set of three tapestry weavings, which were little exploration pieces, testing out new-to-me techniques:

I made this macramé paw print, pictured with the cat portraits that I gifted with it:

And, perhaps most impressively, I finished this complicated woven lace wall hanging:

That last one was quite the workout! 

As fall arrives and I get back in the swing of things, I have some different projects on the horizon. I've been asked to make samples for a shape-loom maker, so some weaving is in my future, plus I plan to finish up some works-in-progress. I have a brioche knit cowl, some woven towels, a baby quilt, and some sewn face masks to finish up, and I'm ready to have them done! 

I look forward to getting back into the swing of blogging this fall, and I hope to have many fun projects and tutorials to share. Remember, if you follow me on Twitter (@fuzzydorff), Facebook (@fuzzydorffcreations) or Instagram (fuzzydorffcreations), you'll see much more frequent updates and lots of progress photos. I hope to see you there!

Happy crafting!