On the Go Again

This past week has allowed virtually no time for sewing.  It was spent unpacking, doing laundry, catching up on regular chores and then preparing for a quilt retreat which should be in progress when this posts.

I managed to finish 30 thrift blocks while we were in Wisconsin.  That brings my total to 260.  If I can complete a total of 384, I can make a quilt 48 x 64 inches before a border.  This will be one of the two projects going on retreat with me. 

 

My second project will be one using Kaffe Collective fabrics.  Those blocks finish at 12 inches.  That’s about as removed from 2-inch thrift blocks made of 1800s reproduction fabrics I can manage, and should provide some relief if I get tired of paper piecing. 

Usually, I take a handwork project as well.  I will be removing paper foundations in lieu of that.

Things are still green here as a result of the recent floods, but summer time has definitely arrived.  I believe the number of deaths from those floods stands at 135 with 37 of those being children.  The volunteer fire chief from our county remains as one of those unaccounted for. I am sorry for ending on such a sad note, but this last paragraph is mostly for my own records.

 

Home from Wisconsin, and a Visit with Wanda

 We arrived home yesterday following a 12-day trip to see family in Wisconsin.  The travel was arduous.  On the way there we were caught by a severe thunder storm in Oklahoma City that included hail.  A second severe storm surprised us while we were at dinner one night.  After we got back to the hotel, we learned that there had been tornados to the west of us.  And, on the way home we had to outrun another storm that was bearing down on our path.  It was a busy time with family celebrations and reconnecting with some we had not seen in many years.  There were bittersweet moments as well.

 

I finally found a quilt barn on a highway where we could pause for a picture.  These barns are very different from the ones I’m familiar with in our cattle ranching area.

 

I was ecstatic when on our return we were able to make a brief stopover in Sandwich to visit with Wanda.  We only had a couple of hours before we had to be on our way and Wanda and I made the most of it.  First, we explored her sewing spaces and I got to see some of her work in person.  Then some fabric negotiations took place…

 

My stash of green fabrics got a boost.

 

She let me have two pieces from her giveaway pile.  I was especially happy to get these examples of her crooked cornerstone series.  I’ve been tempted to try this technique and she talked me through her process.  Not shown are numerous cuts from her collection of solids.

 

Then we sat down at her work table and I got to play in her bin of Kaffe scraps.  Wanda knows a lot about the Kaffe Collective and its history. 

This visit was the fastest two hours of the entire trip, and I am so glad hubby was willing to make the pause in our travels.

 

During our first night home, this handsome fellow posed for me outside our fence. 

 

Our dogs were ecstatic to see us and I think our grandson was relieved that his house and dog watching duties were over.  It’s good to be home.

 

Hello...

...from lush, green Wisconsin where we are visiting family.  

Stitching as been on a catch as catch can basis since we settled into our hotel.  But, my sewing station is set up.

Progress is happening.

    

We quilters are EVERYWHERE!  This picture was taken at a tourist rest stop in Iowa.

I've also seen several lovely barn quilts, but it's hard to get a picture from a moving car.

I really enjoyed my visit to the Lake Michigan shoreline.

Mesoscale Convective Complex, AKA Rain Bomb

"Texas is a land of perennial drought, broken by the occasional devastating flood." - State Meteorologist, National Weather Service, 1927

This post has nothing to do with quilting.  Instead, it is for personal cathartic and record keeping purposes. 

First, heartfelt thanks to my blog friends for checking to see if we are okay.  We were very fortunate.  It was scary, but we came through it largely unscathed.  Those a few miles from us in any direction were not nearly so fortunate, as reported in the national news.  

 A mesoscale convective complex, is a large, organized cluster of thunderstorms that form over a wide area and can last for many hours.  In 2007 we were at Ground Zero in such a rain event.  Water rose all the way to our house foundation, but not into our house.  On that occasion I believe we accumulated something like 19 inches of rain.  This time, our back yard gauge received about seven inches over a three-day period.  I can still remember, in 2007, walking by one of our community ponds after the water receded and seeing dead fish along the shore.  Perhaps the force of the downpour or the change in water temperature was too much for them.  

This time, Ground Zero was to our southwest in an area close to the Guadalupe River and populated by several church campgrounds.  The combination of rain and flash flooding did the unthinkable.  As I write this, the death count stands at 80 as the search continues for those still unaccounted.

 This is typical of the notifications we received every two hours Saturday.

We carefully monitored weather radar all day and could see we were on the fringe of the worst.  However, the chief of our local volunteer fire department was swept away while attempting an emergency rescue.  Even in our less impacted area low water crossings washed away, homes flooded, lives lost.

There is one blessing.  The lakes and aquifers that sustain our households were approaching dangerously low levels.  This should have a positive impact there.  I don’t feel like celebrating, though.

Earlier in the week I did some quilting and began preparations for our upcoming trip to Wisconsin.  One of Bob’s brothers is having serious health issues and his sister will be celebrating their 50^th anniversary.  Thankfully, our grandson has kindly agreed to house and dog sit while we are gone, so our house will be occupied and the mutts get to stay in familiar space.

I cannot end this post without at least one positive note.  Butterflies have discovered our Greg’s Mist Flowers.