Help for High River...

No quilting for this week. My hubby had meetings in Calgary so I went with him and drove out to High River for a couple of days to help my sister get organized after her flood-damaged basement dried out. She has many orders for her art prints and needed to get back to work, even though the basement is just concrete without walls. She had three feet of water... many people had far more. More than 200 homes have to be bull-dozed. 

We took a big box of quilts for the High River Quilt project. The delivery point had a large room filled with hundreds of quilts donated to restore "some sense of normalcy" to the flood victims, thousands of them. They will take bed quilts, table toppers, wall hangings, anything. If you have something to give, click here for more information. There is a shipping address for USA and one for Canada. This flood has changed the lives of many people. Some of them escaped only with what they were wearing. They lost their home, vehicles, records, everything. 

On a happier note, thousands of people have stepped up to help, including commitments by organizations such as Samaritan's Purse to rebuilt basements for three years, at no charge. My sister's church was brand new, 3M lovely building. It was destroyed. Another denomination has given the pastors' office space, a time slot for their worship services and the two congregations have combined their children's programs, only one example of the unity this flood has brought to Christians in their small city. 

I really am quilting every day... but all of them are surprises for friends so I cannot post pictures. Sigh. Don't give up on me!

Top is nearly finished...

This top is a large wall hanging, about 48 x 72, and for a nameless relative who I hope is not reading my blog! Anyway, the basics are done. It still needs a fence at the bottom of the lighthouse and a few other details, like bushes, maybe a few critters in the rocks. I'll put lots of grass and details in with thread as well.

 

The cherry tree on the right is now ready to be framed. I'll post a photo when that part is done and before my GD gets it. 

FLOOD Report: My sister got into her home to view the damage a week ago last Monday. She said it was "a mess" and was glad that the water wasn't too deep. Wednesday, she was allowed back in to clean up. (The reasons for this are long - like sink holes under the water, some open sewers, electricity still on in places, etc. with officials trying to keep people safe.) She lost her furnace, hot water tank, a pool table, two freezers, her frig (spoiled food) and some of her original art, plus many prints. Garage also had a foot of mud on the floor. A crew came in and by Friday (3 days later) it was "clean and sanitized" with power and water but no gas. She figures it will be months to repair/replace everything. Some folks have no family/friends to help, but there has been a huge outpouring of support. People are driving miles to go there and deliver supplies and food. A nearby Hutterite colony has fed hundreds of evacuees 3 meals a day for several weeks. Janet says there are so many God-things happening that she often weeps for joy... even in the overwhelming amount of need.

Floods

I've not posted, or quilted much. My sister and hubby, two of their sons and families live in the totally flooded town of High River, Alberta, population 13,000. After a long wait (dangers under all that water), they were allowed into the mess yesterday. She just told me that today is her "day to cry" as she realizes the extent of their losses and struggles putting precious parts of their life into trash bins. 

My heart aches for her and so many others. We've been told that even the newscasts have not shown the worst of it. The flood waters are still being pumped out of the northeast part of the city that had homes totally covered. Most do not have any utilities. Some businesses are trying to reopen. It is a smelly dirty mess with raw sewage in the water. Cars, boats, other things like sinkholes add to the cleanup and some are perils. A large portion of the homes need to be gutted, some bulldozed. A few escaped the flood but humidity has taken a toll.

If you pray, please remember the population of High River, and if that is too big to think about, pray for Janet and Lyle. 

Slow Going

My last post said "each day" but that was far too ambitious. Since then, a heavy course load has kept me at the computer instead of the sewing machine. Here is what it looks like now:

That dark piece is a camera trick - it will also lighten up when I quilt it as there will be some vegetation there. This one keeps calling me, but then there are those deadlines...

Lighthouse Progress

The lighthouse is progressing. I put the details on the very top, but need to add some windows. The quilting will add more detail. Each day, the bottom part gets another layer of rocks, grass, etc. Again, the quilting will add more definition. This one is great fun. It is 48" wide and about 72" high. (Just noticed the puckering in the sky... about a five-minute fix, sigh.)

Also, I've got 11-12 patterns now for a "Hobbit" quilt. It is foundation paper-pieced in 7" squares, but I've decided to do those with tiny pieces in 11" blocks. That size will work with the smaller ones if I use 1" sashing. This will be fun and I've a boy in the family that says he will "sleep under it for the rest of his life." The patterns are available through Regina Grewe.
 

Cherry Tree Progress and Lighthouse Start

It is raining here today and we are glad. Our part of the world has been dry and dusty, with wildfires threatening several towns. 

Kali's Cherry Tree: So far the tree is nearly quilted. This was taken with overhead lights so is not as 'pink' as the picture on the right. It is densely stitched with a curly, loopy ribbon design. My hubby says it looks even more "like a bird could fly through it" which makes me happy! Next to quilt will be the grass and sky. This one has been my favorite for a long time, but when it is finished, it will be framed and given to our darling granddaughter. She is a very mature 20 year old who plans to treat it as a heirloom. That helps me to let it go!
 

Close-up of quilting on Japanese Cherry Tree

No name yet: This lighthouse is a new project (and I hope my DIL is not peeking). She knows it is started but does not know the subject matter, etc. The area below the 'floating" lighthouse will be rocks, grass and a cliff, so there is much piecing left to do. I also will be stitching lines for glass and railing etc. at the top of the lighthouse and putting at least one window in it. 

The sky is in strips using several "sky" fabrics, as is the water. I'm really happy with both so hope I can find just the right fabric for rocks and rugged-looking bottom part. The rocks are more like exposed layers of mountain and will come up over some of this water, especially near the lighthouse. They will extend to the bottom of the paper pattern it is pinned to. It is 48" x 72" and will go high on a living room wall stairway, very open to view from the loving room and the loft above it. 

Beginning of lighthouse quilt

Happy quilting...