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| The
Great Flood of 2011 |
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May 5, 2011 (the day the day before the river was
supposed to crest at 55.8 feet) (Flood stage is 39
feet) This is looking at the former site of the Executive
Inn with the convention center in the distance.
Click
for larger image.
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Flood gate just across the parking
lot from the National Quilt Museum at about noon on
May 5, 2011, the day the river is supposed to crest
at 55.8 feet.
Click for larger
image.
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May 5, 2011 (the day the day before the river is
supposed to crest at 55.8 feet)
This picture was taken from over the river, looking
toward downtown and lowertown Paducah. The parking
lot has 2 feet of water in it but the convention center
and expo center have been sand-bagged, and the levee
has been reinforced and sandbagged, so there is just
a little leaking, which pumps are keeping pace with
so far.
Click
for a larger image.
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April 27, 2011:
The river was already above flood stage on Easter
Sunday, the day after the pictures of the convention
center and Executive Inn site below (scroll down)
were taken, all of the quilts for the big AQS show
were in the Eisenhower room being judged. At 6pm
the city engineers came in and informed AQS that
they were installing the flood gates and closing
the convention center. Between that time and the
next morning AQS and the city worked out a plan
that saved the quilt show. They moved the large
quilts and vendors from the Expo center to the Vendors
dome on the other side of the flood wall, the wall
quilts, lectures and workshops to the gigantic First
Baptist Church, and the convention center vendors
to two empty big-box store fronts at Kentucky Oaks
mall. It was a feat of creativity and cooperation
for which all involved need to be congratulated!
May 2, 2011: At the 5pm press conference on the
Monday after the quilt show, (which those of us
who live next to the flood wall watched with our
hearts in our throats) they predicted a crest of
58.8 feet, making it higher than any flood since
the wall was constructed and too dangerous to continue
pumping inside the convention center. I started
moving my sewing machines to the second floor. On
Tuesday, the Army Corps of Engineers blew up a two-mile
length of the Mississippi River levee at Birds Point,
Missouri, (where the Ohio and Mississippi converge)
and another section the following day. You probably
saw this on the national news. This relieved the
pressure on the Ohio and Tennessee at Paducah and
reduced our projected crest to 55.8, which made
it possible to continue efforts to save the newly
renovated convention center. The levee that was
destroyed--called a plug fuse levee--was designed
to be destroyed in the event of a record flood.
Damage to the farmland and structures along the
Birds Point-New Madrid Spillway is estimated to
cost $317 million due to the intentional breach
of the levee. The fact that the Army Corps is intentionally
causing 1/3 of billion dollars in damage is evidence
of just how serious this flood is. The Birds Point
levee was demolished once before, during the historic
1937 flood (all time record river height of 60 feet).
The water will be high for some time to come, but
as of May 7 it started to go down.
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| Paducah
Quilt Show Week: 2011 |
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 Pictures
of the Bryerpatch Studio Shop
Click on pictures for larger
images.
Quilt Man pays a visit to the Bryerpatch Studio.
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A little rain and a big flood can't stop quilters from
having a good time. |
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Center
Gallery/Classroom
featuring Caryl's work, guest exhibit and one yard
cuts of Caryl fabric lines for Benartex. |
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Back
Gallery:
Art to Wear and Caryl's hand dyed quilts. |
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| Weekend
Before the Quilt Show |
Saturday,
April 26, 2011
This picture was taken from the parking lot at far end
of the Executive Inn location, showing the completely
cleared site with the Convention Center in the distance.
Click
for larger image. |
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Saturday, April 26, 2011
The new facade on the Convention Center where the
Executive Inn was attached. The new street level entrance
is next to the Eisenhower room where many of the quilt
show lectures are held.
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February 22, 2011
Finally the infamous Executive Inn has been reduced
to a pile of rubble (many piles actually). The last
of the main structure came down this morning. I'm
imagining something beautiful in it's place.
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I'm updating the documentation on all of my quilts.
It will take some time. Here are two that were updated
this week. Click on pictures for the whole story.
Blizzard
• 40" x 90" © 1989
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| Autumn
Perspective • 60" x 72" • ©
1984 |
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February
8, 2011: PROGRESS!!!
This is the last section of the Executive Inn to be
torn down (section 4 where the pool was). This is the
view out my bedroom window. I can see the trees in Illinois
across the river through the gap in the first two stories.
The highest point is were the big green neon E used
to stand. The workers are sorting the materials for
recycling, and the concrete will be used to build a
jetty for the new marina that will be build on the riverfront.
By the time the quilt show comes in April, the site
should be clear, and there will be much more room to
park. |
Click picture for larger image. Scroll down for more
of the story. |
| Every
New Years Day we have game day in the LowerTown Paducah
Art District. My friends Deb Lyons Merle Paschedag make
chile, this year joined by more chili from Michael and
Victoria Terra. Everyone brings their left-overs and
games, and we have a raucus good time. To the right
is a picture of the Scategories table (imagine it being
very loud). We're all artists and we all have opinions!!
(imagine lots of laughter and wildly creative answers).
We have outgrown private homes, so we now have it here
at the Bryerpatch Studio. I clear the gallery and set
up lots of tables. My newest quilt is hanging behind
the table next to the windows. Scroll down for more
about that. |
click for larger image
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New
Years Day, 2011
I sewed the hanging sleeve on Lepidopteran #2: Butterfly
& Chives on New Years morning and had it hanging
in the gallery for our LowerTown game day and chili
party later that afternoon. Click
here to see the whole story. |
Tuesday,
November 9, 2010
The official beginning of the exterior demolition on
the infamous Executive Inn in Paducah KY took place
at 4pm this afternoon. The site will be completely cleared
in 90-120 days, and available for a new hotel developer
to build something much nicer. Click on the picture
and see a larger view. If you have stayed at the Executive
Inn in the past, you will recognize the elevator lobby
in the parking area near the show room. |
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Tuesday, November 9, 2010
For the past year I have been saying that I would
cheer louder than anyone else in Paducah when the
big green neon E disappeared from the top of the Executive
Inn, since it was the primary view out my bedroom
window. The E was lowered this afternoon to loud cheering
from me. It will be auctioned off for charity this
weekend by the local TV station. I won't be bidding
on it. If I were going to have a letter in my yard,
it certainly would not be an E (symbol of a failing
grade). Click on the picture for a closer view.
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Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Here I am with my camera, looking very pleased by
the whole thing. Photo by Susan Edwards. Click picture
for larger image.
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Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Feathers in the Wind wins first
place in the small, abstract art quilt category
at the International Quilt Association Show at the
International Quilt Festival in Houston Texas. It
will be traveling to other Quilts Inc. shows in 2011.
Click
here or on the picture for more information.
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September,
2010
Checks & Balances
Large quilt (width 93" x height 65")
finished Labor Day weekend.
Click
here for the whole story. |
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April 2, 2010
The bubble has risen. Here is the new air-supported
Paducah vendors pavilion next to the convention and
expo center where the quilt show will be held this
month.
Click for
more information and larger pictures
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March 15, 2010
OK, so this doesn't look like much to anyone outside
Paducah, but this is concrete being delivered to the
site of the new Paducah
city pavilion, which will house vendors during
the big AQS
Quilt Show in April.
More of the
story and map of the location.
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| March
1-3 Machine
Quilting class at the Bryerpatch Studio in Paducah.
We had a blast!! |
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Dance
Class: February 2010
I really am trying to learn to fly, and it's getting
to be more fun all of the time. Here's a recent lesson
at our dance studio. |
| February
2010: Breaking ground for Paducah city pavilion |
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January
2009 Ice Storm |
| American
Quilters Society Show 2008 |
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