Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Missouri River flooding and other quilty stuff...

 You might have heard on the news about the flooding in our area. We live in Council Bluffs, IA, and it is getting pretty bad around here. We have a levee system that is supposed to protect us from flooding, but with the river rising because of water being released at Gavins Point Dam, a lot of people are worried about the levee breaking. This is a picture I took last Friday down by the Pedestrian Bridge. Those cement "noodles" are supposed to be on dry ground. They are slowly disappearing. You can still see the top row as of yesterday. We live on the west end of town, so if the levee breaks, we could have problems. Luckily we don't live in our basement, it is used for storage, but I have been uncertain whether to bring things up or wait and see what happens. I brought up some fabric I had down there....important things first. People around here are starting to be in panic mode, not sure what to do. They say the water level will be high all summer.
 I had some strips left from cutting diamonds, so sewed those together the other day. I might use them for some kind of strippy border for it. If not, I can use them for stringpiecing.
 I started quilting a Stack and Whack quilt my mom made on Monday. I hope she likes this pattern.
 I decided to use a turquoise variegated thread for the stitching, so it will show up on the black background.
 I had a problem with the bobbin so had to take out a 2 foot area, but luckily a friend called about then, so I was able to talk and unsew. It helped the time go faster.

I sewed all day yesterday with friends, so hope to get some more quilting done today. I will post some pix tomorrow of what we worked on....I have the Circle and Spin I am making my daughter almost put together, after about an hour (or 2) of debating about block placement. It is very busy and colorful, so I hope she likes it. 
Would be nice to just sleep the day away, wouldn't it?

5 comments:

Miss Hillbilly said...

Fabric first...that's what I would have done too!!

Barb said...

Wow, that would be a source of worry. Hope it stays put....

Love the quilting you are doing on that quilt.

Vivian said...

Please -- assume the worst, and move what's most important to you, just in case. We live on top of a hill, in a house with a dry basement for +30 years, and in 2008, our city flooded and many of us with dry basements got water in (ground was just too saturated with rain). We were lucky and didn't lose much.
The adrenaline makes a person lift and carry things quickly, believe me!
Stay safe.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Vivian. In 08 we were supposed to get maybe a foot higher, I came home to 4 feet in my living room! Don't procrastinate. Get things out ofthat basement and if nothing else, SORT!!!!! You're in our thoughts, water is so hard to deal with, and the thought of all summer is frightening. Dee in IA

Judi said...

Jean Love the quilting on your mom's quilt. Please stay safe and take all the warnings seriously,maybe move some of your most cherished things up.