In Their Eyes

Bone marrow tired. A smell tattooed to the membrane of your memory. Smiles from gracious and suffering homeowners. Overwhelming pride of community. Kindness and giggles. 

I took the kids down to a flood zone yesterday. We walked the streets handing out fruit and cookies and a welcome ear to clean up crews and homeowners. The girls were wildly entertained by toilets on the street and friendly with the firefighters. They gagged at the smell of each pile filling someone's lawn. Each pile filled with drywall and insulation, not to mention the childrens' toys and books, the clothes, the treasures, the furniture, the lives of people lived. They giggled as their boots got stuck in the muck. They happily gave away their favourite cookies and told people they wanted to help because we were lucky. And they took these pictures (except the last few, those were mine).

(This is the girls' favourite restaurant, Wurst. The lower floor and kitchen were horribly flooded and we were entertained by the restoration company who told us about the complete pig they had to haul out that day.)

(Cable for a suspension bridge that was ripped down and almost washed away.)

Thank you so much for the response, already to the Just One Slab drive and the quilt donations.

Just One Slab

Just a slab. One slab. Grab some scraps of fabric and sew them together.

I'm putting out a call to all my quilty friends out there. Maybe you can't spare the fabric or time or postage to send a whole quilt as we try to recover in Calgary and Southern Alberta. That's okay. But I bet you can make just one block. And the more of you that can make and send just one block, the more quilts we'll be able to donate. I will put all the blocks I get together into quilts. With an army of local long armers lined up to donate their time we will get some beds and hearts covered in no time.

Here are the basics:

Make a slab 15.5'' square. You can insert the white bit or not, that's your choice. Just aim to make your block in a single colour. Make as many as you like.

Our inspiration for these quilts is The Missing U quilt from Sunday Morning Quilts.

How do you make a slab? If you have the book, refer to the directions on pages 48-49. If you don't have the book let me summarize how to make a slab:

Take two pieces of fabric and sew them together. Do that a few more times. Then start sewing more pieces to those first pairs. Sew groups together. Add additional pieces of fabric as necessary to get up to your finished size. Start with small bits or big ones, it doesn't matter. Raid your scrap bins and go with what you've got.

Feel free to grab that top image and share it on your blogs/web-sites. Tell the world about how you made your slab. Link back to this post if you do.

When your block is done and you're ready to post it, send me a note and I will gladly send you my snail mail.

Thank-you so much for continuing to think of us here in Southern Alberta. Now that the emergency situation is behind us it is time to think about recovery. Quilts go a long way towards that.

*If you are interested in donating complete quilts or tops, make sure you check out this information.*

All Safe

Well, that was awfully silly of me. I should have told you all that we are safe and dry in my last update about the flood here in Calgary. We live well away from the rivers and our power stayed on, which meant our sump pump was able to do its thing. So no repeat of our 2005 flood at home. Phew.

It really is quite insane here in Calgary. Even far away from the flood zones the roads are quiet. So many businesses shut down because their staff are directly affected. And our incredibly awesome mayor tells us to do things and we listen. So when he tells us to stay home, we do. When he tells us to restrict water, we happily skip laundry, and when he tells you stay off the water, all but one canoe listens.

I've had emails about quilts for evacuees and those who have lost everything. Of course there are quilt drives! Here are two I know of so far:

Quilting For Calgary
My Sewing Room (Hell or High Water Quilt Initiative)

UPDATE: The groups have merged into one, Quilting For Calgary.

If you know of others, please let me know and I will share the details (I have a collection of my own stuff ready to go.)

Also, note that this flooding is not exclusive to Calgary. There are numerous communities around Southern Alberta affected, some so devastatingly so. An event like this in unparalleled in our city's history though and has most of the city in shock. But we're also resilient (we are Prairie folks, after all). The sense of community reaching across the community is incredible. From the city's numerous food trucks and restaurants coming together to feed evacuees, first responders, volunteers, and media to strangers offering their homes to strangers who may lose theirs. This isn't my home city, but I'm incredibly proud to call it my home now.

Oh Canada! Pattern Update

Thank you so much for the response to my Oh Canada! pattern. And thanks for all the orders. Your support is greatly appreciated and I'm thrilled that you all like the pattern.

Now for the sad news. If you ordered a printed pattern there will be a delay in delivery. Our city is being flooded right now thanks to a lot of rain and a ridiculous amount of spring run off in the nearby mountains. And my printer is in an evacuation zone. No word on any damages for them, but all my patterns were waiting for me to pick up this morning.

Thank you for your patience, I will contact all the people who ordered directly as well.

Think good thoughts, send prayers, and keep all of Southern Alberta (and British Columbia) in your hearts as we deal with the immediate waters and the devastating aftermath sure to come.