Our Fourth of July started off with a bang from an earthquake yesterday midmorning--the epicenter was 180+ miles northwest of us in Ridgecrest but the house was swaying and rocking pretty well. I was in my sewing room when my husband yelled "Earthquake!" just as I realized one was happening. It lasted a good long time, the curtains on the sliding glass door swayed on and on. We did not have any noticeable aftershocks of the 6.4 earthquake yesterday, though they were occurring, per the news. Then this evening a second one hit harder. I was in the powder room handwashing a tablerunner and held onto the sink until the swaying stopped, then joined my husband in the living/dining room where the chandelier and hallway lights were swinging. No damage, but it was unnerving. We soon learned it was a 7.1 magnitude quake, meaning the 6.4 yesterday was a foreshock, and tonight's was the real shock. The basketball game in Las Vegas my husband was watching was postponed, and we saw a replay of the crowds at the Dodger Stadium reacting to the shaking. The players didn't notice anything.
Aside from this excitement, Independence Day was pretty low key. I made cookies, then sewed binding on the tablerunner while sitting out on the patio, love doing that. I purchased a box of binding clips with a 50% off coupon at JoAnns and they are so handy. Later we watched a movie and had a simple dinner. As soon as dusk was dark enough, there was plenty of firecracker noise in the neighborhood, despite fireworks being illegal in all but one city in our county! Our daughter posted that they had a peakaboo view from their new house of the City's fireworks program at the College.
Simple quilting with the walking foot. The HSTs were made from charm squares. I won a huge stack of Dimples charm squares years ago at Superbuzzy and still have many left. Can you find all five trapezoids I formed in the quilt?
Drat that stray thread! For backing I used this newly purchased Cotton + Steel fabric I bought at the Picking Daisies shop in San Luis Obispo on the shop hop a few weeks ago. The binding is an aqua solid I had in stash.
I hand-bound the tablerunner and hope my niece and her new husband will enjoy it. The wedding is quite a drive away, almost 3 hours by car taking about 10 different freeways. If you have used Google Maps, you'll know that distances are given for different transportation methods, including walking. Google helpfully noted that a person could walk the 152 miles in 2 days. What??? This ridiculous estimate sent me down a rabbit hole, where I learned that the average man can walk 4 miles an hour. Well, maybe if they didn't stop to rest, eat, sleep, eliminate, or talk to anyone it might be possible to walk that distance. Not exactly realistic, Google, especially through Los Angeles! We look forward to visiting with many folks we don't see often and helping the couple celebrate their union. Fingers crossed that the estimate of only a 5% chance of a larger size earthquake occurring is true!
6 comments:
How scary! I have only felt a tremor in NJ years ago and a tiny one in Illinois. I'm glad you and your home were okay.
cute runner!
We didn't hear any fireworks on the 4th but at 11 last night someone a street over lit off two. Not funny with fire prevention so much on our minds. And the Ridgecrest earthquake is making some of us (me!) a bit nervous. Hopefully, it will only be a blip on the screen except for those near the center that are probably dealing with some problems. I haven't had any clear news but hope there was not much damage or injury.
I'm sewing away on string blocks for a Bonnie Hunter quilt from the classes I was able to take. Very fun way to spend the holiday. Your table runner is lovely and will be a fun gift for the new couple. Safe travels to the wedding...hopefully by car :-)
Your table runner is very cute, love the backing fabric. I don't get earthquakes here in the Sacramento area like I did in the SF bay area - so glad. I've always said I prefer earthquakes to tornados although we get those here also. Stay safe.
Your runner is beautiful! And what a perfect backing fabric.
I wondered about you when we heard the breaking news of the bigger quake last night. Scary!
One daughter and her family were in Mesquite for the night, on their way to vacation in Southern Cal. They felt it. And on Monday our oldest son heads to LA on business and our youngest son heads to Anaheim for a conference for his work. My kids have great timing, and they hope for the "only 5% risk", too!
Good to know that you are safe and suffered nothing more than a good shake.
Your latest finish is pretty, I love the colours and I'm sure the recipients will cherish it.
My sister in law was pretty upset about that second earthquake. I talked to her just a few minutes after it had ended. And I gave her advice from me living in earthquake country.
Get the pet carrying cases ready in case you have to evacuate.
Keep shoes by your bed at night so that they can be worn through broken glass.
Keep a good supply of water on hand in case of broken water lines.
Keep the cars filled at all times in case you need to get away and go far.
From experience these were some of the most important issues I've had.
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