The flood threat seems to have passed!
On Father’s Day we took my parents for a drive down to the river to take a look first hand at the height of the river. The river had dropped substantially from when we last drove under the bridge a week and a half ago.
Perhaps life can get back to normal now–no more waiting on tender hooks to see what was going to happen.
These pictures were taken by my mother from under the bridge on Father’s Day during our drive.
Things have been relatively quiet on the quilting front in this house for the past couple of weeks. We have been in various stages of flood preparedness since early April. Many of my books, magazines, and totes of fabric have been removed from the basement and are scattered throughout the upstairs area–raising them to safety above the flood plain. I have managed to quilt a customer quilt and finish quilting one quilt of my own, but much of my free time has been spent focusing on the possibility of flooding. Many parts of British Columbia remain on various stages of high stream advisory, flood watch, or flood warning.
On Monday, the Fraser River plateaued at 6.0 metres on the Mission gauge. Although this indicates a reduced level of flood hazard, the water level is predicted to remain at close to 6.0 meters for at least the next few weeks. During this time, any period of hot weather or heavy rainfall could increase the water level beyond 6.0 metres.
The first disastrous flood in the Fraser Valley occurred in 1894. With no protection against the rising waters of the Fraser River, the Fraser Valley was inundated with water.
After the 1894 flood, a diking system was constructed throughout the Fraser Valley. The diking and drainage projects greatly improved the flood problems, but unfortunately over time, the dikes were allowed to fall into disrepair and became overgrown with brush and trees. With some dikes constructed of a wooden frame, they gave way in 1948 in several locations, marking the second disastrous flood.
In June 1894, the Fraser River flooded the Fraser Valley. The high water mark at Mission reached 8.9 meters.
1948 saw massive flooding in areas along the Fraser River. The high water mark at Mission rose to 7.2 meters.
In 1948, throughout the May 24 long weekend, the waters of the Fraser were rising steadily, but only a few thought any real danger lay ahead. Cool temperatures during March, April and early May had delayed the melting of the heavy snow pack that had accumulated over the winter season. Several days of hot weather and warm rains over the holiday weekend in late May hastened the thawing of the snow pack. Rivers and streams quickly swelled with spring runoff, reaching heights surpassed only in 1894.
Locally, we measure the level of the Fraser River downstream at the Mission bridge and we measure the flow of the water as it passes under the bridge at Hope. These two measuremets coupled with the level of snow pack remaining in the interior mountains helps to predict the likelihood of flooding near where we live.
Year Level at Mission (m) Flow at Hope (cms)
1894 8.9 n/a
1948 8.2 15,300
1972 7.4 13,000
1999 6.3 11,000
2007 Forecast 7.0-7.5 12,500
We are very dependent on the weather and river conditions in the north central area of our province. 60% of the snow pack remains in the mountains in the interior of the province. As this snow melts and finds its way down northern rivers to the Fraser River, the level of the Fraser River rises. What happens to the Fraser River in Prince George finds its way quickly to the Lower Mainland within 2 to 3 days.
We continue to watch the level of the river as it passes by our community. We remain equally focused on every word of the weather forecaster on TV as we watch for signs of significant weather changes–either prolonged periods of heat or rain. Flood forecasting has become a topic of conversation everywhere and it seems everyone is trying their hand at predicting just how high the river will rise this year and whether or not it will topple its banks and challenge the diking system that protects our community.
The following link leads to a page with video clips of the Fraser River. Scroll down to “Agassiz Rosedale Bridge” for a video clip of the river as it passes below the bridge that crosses the Fraser River between Rosedale and Agassiz. My DH and I stood in this various spot days ago and watched the mighty Fraser River both amaze and terrify us with its force and speed.
Last week was a week for gifts.
I received these cute potholders from Phyllis as a thank you for quilting the following quilt for my quilt guild’s We Care Committee. The quilt was far too large for the ladies to manage to quilt easily on their domestic machines. I told them that I wouldn’t mind doing the quilting for them. I returned the quilt to Phyllis (one of the We Care Committee coordinators) on Wednesday night at our guild meting. The piecer has the quilt back to put the binding on. Once the quilt is bound and labelled it will be donated to a new hospice starting up in our community.
I love anything with snowmen on it. I collect snowmen. I love snowmen! I thought to myself, what a wonderful gift. I asked Phyllis, how she knew her gift would be so perfect and she whispered to me, “I read your blog!”. What a perfect lead into my presentation on blogging that night!
This is the quilt that will be donated to our local hospice.
I have been tagged by Joyce at J’s Quilting Blog to tell you 7 things about myself you don’t already know. Here goes:
1. I don’t hand quilt–ever! I can’t get the precision and exactness of stitch length and stitch quality like I can when I quilt by machine. I gave up trying to hand quilt a very long time ago!
2. I love to collect things: chickens, thimbles, and pins from quilt shows that I have been to.
3. I quilt every day–or do something quilt related. I count reading quilt books and magazines as doing something quilt related as this is one source of inspiration. In the last year and a half I have also counted reading blogs as quilt related. The number of quilts and quilting projects started since I have started blogging is testament that this is definitely a source of inspiration for my work.
4. I love to travel with my quilting friends whether it be a small number in a car headed to a shop hop or a large number in a bus headed to a quilt show.
5. I love the old classic TV shows like Beverly Hillbillies, I Love Lucy, Hogan’s Heroes, etc.
6. I don’t usually follow a commercial pattern 100%. I usually find myself making modifications to either change the size, the border, etc.
7. I tend to keep more than I throw out. That is why I am currently undertaking a process to de clutter, reduce stuff, and only keep the essentials (at least essential according to my definition of essential. *LOL*)
There you have it–7 thing that you didn’t know about me. I am not going to tag specific people. If you enjoyed reading along and would like to play, consider yourself tagged!
The following is a continuation of my previous post. This is the second half of my presentation to my quilt guild on the subject of Blogs and Blogging.
WHY
Quilting has a very social component to it. Quilting is about expressing creativity but it is also something that brings people together. We have quilt guilds where we meet together in person like we are doing here tonight. There have been virtual quilt guilds on the Internet for years. My blog ring is like a virtual quilt guild.
I have a group of friends who share my interest in quilting that I can use as a resource at any time of the day or night. We share ideas, opinions, patters, etc. through our blogs, messages, and e-mails.
The blog ring that I belong to is called, Stash Quilts, and currently has 41 members from all parts of the world.
The following projects are just some of the things that I have been working on where inspiration came from my fellow bloggers.
My Halloween table topper was inspired by Doodlebug Gail of Quite Quilted.
My Gratitude Quilt was inspired by Jeanne of Spiral and the pattern was developed by and provide to us by Judy L of Sunshine Quilts as the November Hour a Day Project.
These are my string blocks pieced on used dryer sheets. I have also pieced string blocks using muslin as a foundation. Inspiration for these projects goes to many bloggers including Mary who is spearheading the HeartStrings Quilt Project/ and Patti of Quilting is my Passion.
Pam of My Creative Mind found this Building Blocks quilt pattern on Debbie Mumm’s site and shared it with us.
When I went to the Lynden Fair last summer and I saw a quilt that I wanted to make, it was Kim of a Peach in Stitches assisted with information on the pattern, known as BQ.
Lucy of Quilting With the Past was responsible for me making my double four patch quilt.
WHEN
The most dedicated bloggers post on a daily basis and regularly circle the “ring” to leave comments on the blogs of others. We have an understanding in our ring that we will commit to making at least one quilt-related post each month. Some bloggers work full time outside of the home like I do and do most of their posting and blog reading on the weekends.
WHERE
Blogger is a free program that allows you to create and maintain a blog in three easy steps:
1. Create an account.
2. Name your blog.
3. Choose a template.
My blog was created using blogger. There are other programs out there, but this one was simple to use and serves my purpose just fine.
Although it helps if you can read or understand HTML code, it is not a requirement of having a blog. If you understand HTML it is a little easier to add things to the side bar of your blog like a Weather Pixie, a clock, etc.
Some things to keep in mind:
If you plan on keeping your blog private, you will have to provide the address of your blog to those people who you want to read your blog. Goggling or searching the Internet will not produce a link to your blog.
If you have elected to make your blog public, remember to be careful what information you post. Consider anything posted to the Internet or your blog equivalent to posting on a public bulletin board. Consider carefully if you want your first and last name out there, the name of the city you live in, etc.
CONCLUSION
My blogging experience has opened up many new friendships. There is a small group of us who have been challenged by Linda J to make a snowman redwork/bluework/greenwork BOM snowman project this year.
I have made friendships with quilters over the past year and half without meeting them in person. I live for the day that we can get the opportunity to meet in person!
I have made friendships with quilters over the past year and a half without meeting in person. However, I live for the day that we can visit in person over a real cup of coffee, not just through a keyboard and the Internet!
