Found out my kids are not in Iowa now... have returned to Memphis. The in-laws' house got broken windows and flooded. Tons of trees lost to wind, too. So sad. Nobody hurt, tho.

Ice, I love those blocks. I used that pattern to make my mug rug in the August mug rug swap. A monkey wrench is so cute.

I just opened macybaby's quilt that I received last Friday. Not really sure what color or pattern to add yet. Glad I have some time to think it over.
I will be making masks this week for church.

My son is also in Cedar Rapids. I was there today. What a mess!!! No power means no stop lights, no gas, no stores, no restaurants, no one going to work, no nothing. They used a snow plow to clears tress out of the streets last night. Chain saws are heard everywhere. Lots of semi's are laying on their sides, roofs blown off, siding ripped off buildings, power poles snapped in half. The radio said the winds were equal to a Cat 2 hurricane.....in Iowa!!!!! I have lived here all my life and have never seen anything like this! Phone lines are down and we saw a cell phone tower crumpled up like a wad of paper. It is hard to see. I brought home their food in the freezer to store here until they get power. I took bottles of water and batteries for flashlights. Reports say 50 people went to the emergency room, mostly fractures and one head injury. This morning, there was one death when a tree fell on him. Gas stations are closed so people went to neighboring towns for gas. The lines were blocks long. They would fill up their car and then fill 4 to 6 gas cans. I heard that my town is out of gas. We are 40 miles away.

No, Waterloo didn't get the damage that Cedar Rapids did. Waterloo was on the very edge of the storm.

I hope I never see anything like this again.

Hi Mary, your package arrived safely. What a beautiful top! I will be the end of the week before mine goes out.

Thanks for letting me know.

What a description, Mary! Wow.

I live in Iowa also...didn't realize there were so many of us here or with family here! I was in Cedar Rapids when the storm went through. We got to a Walmart parking lot and my 82yo MIL refused to get out and go inside!! So we sat in my vehicle getting rocked back and forth and watching things blow by!! It took me 2hrs to get home after it was over (normally 30-35min)...like Mary said CR, Marion and some of the surrounding small towns are a mess!! Thankfully we just lost some branches in the yard and a couple trees in our timber. We were just without power for a little over 24 hrs and got gas in Anamosa last night before the "rush" started on that.

I actually did a little sewing before heading to town yesterday so was able to trim those today even without power!

Givio's center and I have power...
 

Hi all, the storm went through and we have 3 grids down, huge areas without power including my office. No internet, no phones, no power. I worked from home today and I am so blessed because I have air conditioning, avoiding the 85 degree humid weather outside, and I was able to watch a movie and sew. I finished Givio's border tonight, so I'll mail out on time. IceBlossom, look for some goodies! You are a PEACH, sending such a nice bit of fabric, and I'm also sending some goodies to Mona (you are a peach too, hugs, thanks for the fabric, I now have some yellow, orange and red!!). With a bit of persistence, Givio's border is done with a few days to spare. Hugs all, stay safe.

reba - I love what you did to the top. your dresdens compliment it so well!

It’s beautiful, Reba.