Still alive, not much quilting

Dropping in to say I'm still here, but not doing much quilting. This is on the longarm but I've not touched it for at least two weeks. Lots of ideas, but the courses I'm taking fill every minute. Good stuff (Masters in Theology) but when I do have a minute, I want to rest my brain and body and just veg. 

I do take time to read most of the blogs that I follow and am excited as usual over the creativity displayed! PBPWMGIFY!

Blackberry Quilt

This top is from a kit called Blackberry Throw using Batavian Batiks. It is for someone who wanted a purple quilt, but I'm noticing that purple is hard to photograph! Also, I put the blocks together a bit different from the pattern. The backing and batting are ready to sandwich and I've designed a feathery quilting motif. Problem? Time. Anyone have a solution for that?

Busting my buttons...

Finally, Kali's quilt is finished, framed, labeled... even showed off. Tuesday, when I drove up to my home from the framer, some neighbors were out and about, so they came over and admired while it was still in shrink wrap. One wanted a photo to send to his mother, who is another quilter. I was very excited! 

On Wednesday, I took it to guild and was blessed to show it to more than 150 of my peers. One woman told me she was in the framing store this week and took notice of this quilt. She took pictures of the process and promised to send them to me. How cool is that! Another told me even the quilting made the tree look full of cherries. To top it off, the guest speaker surprised me with an invitation to exhibit it in a show on the west coast. That is astonishing. I'm pumped.

I'm also thankful to God for my granddaughter who challenged me to make this... and she says I can take it wherever, and "If you need any more challenges, I'm here to offer them..." What a blessing she is to me!

Now I need to get to work. More quilts on the go... 

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.