By now you have probably heard that last Thursday a wildfire raced through a suburb of Boulder, destroying over 1000 homes. We are on the North side of town, and the Marshall Fire was on the South side of Boulder, taking out homes in Superior and Louisville. It happened so fast, we are still reeling from the shock. Many of us have not been able to sleep, even if we live far away from the fire. But 35K were evacuated and are just now returning to homes without heat. For those who lost everything, there are no words to describe the trauma. But for those of you who have gone through similar events, like floods, tornadoes or hurricanes, I am sure you can relate.
In the Saturday newsletter I linked to a blog post with information about how to help, or how to get help. If you want to learn more, I am sharing this link again.
At times like this it is tempting to dream of just hopping in the car and leaving on a roadtrip. That’s what my grandparents did after Grandpa retired. They had an Airstream Silver Bullet trailer in the 70s, and they drove all over the Western United States. That’s what I’ve been doing in my dreams lately – traveling to beautiful places that I miss. So I thought I’d give you some escapist travel images in this newsletter so we can dream together – about past and future travels.
We have had queries about a quilt drive, and yes we will announce this soon, but right now I am sure you understand those who have lost everything need more urgent basic needs. I have a call out to my contact at the Boulder Emergency Taskforce (who I’ve worked with during the pandemic, floods and previous fires) and have not heard a peep from her, so I know she is up to her eyeballs on the ground right now. If you feel the urge to make a quilt for a family who has lost their home, we suggest you make a bed size quilt. Whatever size you wish to make – Twin, Full or Queen – will be appreciated. Be sure to put a label with your name, date, and perhaps a message of support.
We are so grateful that none of our staff were affected by this event, but we do know many people who lost their homes. eQuilter has made a donation to the Boulder Wildfire Fund, and we invite you to do the same if you wish to help. I spoke to a fellow quilter this morning who has lost her home, her studio, her machine…everything. However she was still able to look for the silver lining, and counted herself more fortunate than others because she had a place to go.
Thank you for keeping our community in your thoughts and prayers at this time. We feel fortunate to be able to continue our work, and to be able to help those in need. After months of abnormal warm temperatures and drought, we are keenly aware of how Climate Change is causing these weather anomalies, and we ask you to keep this in mind as we venture into this New Year. Together we must speak up, and demand action and solutions to this destruction…for our children’s sake.
…sharing your love of fabric,
Luana and Paul
