In Santa Fe, I have extended lettuce and greens until late July by planting time and varieties. I found shade netting worked OK but not great, and the taste wasn't as good. I think heavily mulched soil is more effective than shade. Plants are very keyed into day length as well as soil warmth, and these two are what mostly causes bolting in lettuce. The best heat tolerant, long-day tolerant lettuces are the Batavians, and my favorite is Nevada, but I've been having trouble finding the seeds now. Red Grenoble is similar. This is a semi-heading lettuce that really stands up to heat...even those 90+ degree days in June and early July, before the rain (ha...what rain.) Romaines also do well in the heat. I like Little Gem and Rosalita. Plant summer lettuces around the average last frost date for your area, so you are too late this year. I also find Red Deer Tongue to be very heat tolerant. Some Butterheads are heat tolerant. I learned to extend my lettuce season from the "The Cook's Garden" catalog. Sow cutting lettuces weekly as soon as the ground can be worked. Sow spring lettuces (deer tongue, some butter lettuces) in early spring. Sow summer lettuces around the last frost date. For germination in warm weather, sow the seeds, cover with good layer of straw, water well. Check daily for germination and remove straw once most seeds have sprouted, or the seedlings get leggy fast. Don't forget about sowing for fall lettuces, too. I usually put my fall lettuces in mid August (probably late August or early Sept for ABQ, and cutting lettuces in early September. Also, don't forget about escarole and chard for summer greens (need cooking.) I gave up long ago on spring and fall broccoli and cauliflower. The spring is too hot, too dry, too windy and the sun is too intense. I only plant them for fall...I set seedlings out around the 4th of July. Probably late July would work in ABQ. Hope this helps.

I've done both. I started out buying fabric I love and then looking for coordinating / complimentary pieces to go with the inspiration piece. More and more I'm leaning towards collections which I accent with pieces from my stash. I'm beginning to feel like a fabric holic...me stash continues to grow! However, when I'm ready to sew...I look at the stash and find I have most of what I need...it's a fun treasure hunt! The reason I've gravitated to collections is two fold: I'm not inclined to drive much on the weekends to fabric shop...I spend too much time in the car during the week, so weekend are downtime for me, I don't want to drive much. As a result, I order fabric on line and it's easy to go with a collection accented with whatever else I may have on hand. (It's also fun to come home from work and find a brown paper package tied up in a string! with my name on it!) Secondly, I've discovered a real difference in fabric quality, and now find myself drawn towards certain brands or manufacturers that the local Joanne's doesn't carry. A few other reasons come to mind...I have favorite on line shops and tend to purchase from a select few...there's always a sale bin so I tend not to pay full or regular price. Once you become an on line customer, there are sometimes specials sent via email...love those...yes, I'm a sucker for good discount...LOL I feel like I could write on and on...but that's enough!! V.

MeMo - I'm going to make the Mandarin Jacket that loads on the same page. I've been eyeing that particular pattern for a while, and when I saw that it was half price if you bought some fabric too, they got me :-) I also tend to stay away from dry clean only fabrics - now that I no longer work outside my home I really hardly ever wear anything but jeans and teeshirts, but my stepdaughter is getting married this summer, and I've been on the lookout for something to wear. So I'm going to bite the bullet and make the jacket - haven't decided yet if I'll do pants or a skirt to go with it. I'm more comfortable in pants, but it is a wedding, and for that reason alone I think a skirt might be more appropriate. In any event, I think I'll do the bottom piece out of white linen. Thanks for the interest - that's a great site if you're looking for inspiration, by the way. They sponsor what they call a SWAP (sewing with a plan) contest every year, and the entrants' photos for the last year or two are posted. It makes me feel kind of out of my league, but inspirational, nonetheless :-) Anyway - this is new territory, and if anybody else has some advice about dry cleaning before cutting, I'd appreciate the help. Becky Lompoc, CA

I found info on hood installations for ducts exactly that size. It says that you purchase duct transitions and angles at most plumbing supply stores. I also saw something on Vent A Hood that says it's made for a what I believe is your duct size. Sorry in advance if this is something you already checked out Here is a link that might be useful: duct info.