I've been having hot flashes for a couple of years, too. Hope they go away soon. I sew linen clothing for myself because it seems to keep me cooler than cotton. I have many patterns from a company called Sewing Workshop that I like. I mostly make looser pants with a sleeveless top and then a shirt or unstructured jacket that I can take off. There is a local boutique that carries several lines of linen clothing such as Flax, Bryn Walker, Elizabeth Ashby, etc. They must get lots of business from my age group!
I moved my iron to my kitchen so I could stand at a higher counter. I never realized how much heat it generates. I think I'll leave it there, nobody eats at the bar counter anyway.
I have a goose-neck lamp on my sewing table with a curly-Q florescent bulb, which is cooler than an incandescent, but I'm going to look for the OTT bulb. I have to turn it off every time I get up to cool the room. I've been sewing lately in the master bedroom because it is cooler. I have a ceiling fan and a buzz fan to supplement the A/C. Our golden retriever loves it in there, she gets on the end of the bed with both fans pointing towards her and watches me sew. DH and DD complain about how cold I keep the thermostat, but it always seems hot and stuffy to me.