The Great Flood. Or as I fondly call it #floodpocalypse

My week started off great, with almost an entire day of sewing on a gray, then rainy, Monday.  I decided to work on some 'filler blocks' for my DAMQG "That DAM Quiltalong" quilt.  We've been making two blocks a month. The wonderful Marie has planned & guided our blocks, picking out 2 a month,  and then finding instructions or a tutorial online to guide us.  She even did a couple tutorials herself, compelte with beautiful photos!  She wanted a little time off over the summer, so in the spring, we had one larger block assignment and then instructions to work on 'fillers'.

The quilt will be a sampler, put together in an improv or modern way, maybe in the style of the Gypsy Wife quilt by Jen Kingwell of Amitie Textiles in Australia (although we are not using her pattern, will merely be inspired by the look).

So Monday I got to work.   These cute churn dash blocks will finish at 6"

These Economy blocks were paper-pieced, which was great, and we could pick from 4 different sizes---I made 4", but might have to go back and make some of the littlest ones, 2").  Frankly the 2" blocks scared me a little, but hey, that's what paper piecing is for!

Then came some of these super cute blocks called Cross Stitch Blocks, from Pile O'Fabrics Blog & tutorial.  I made 2 sizes, the 4" and the 2".  They were lots of fun!

The photos above don't show perspective really well, so here they are together--I now have FORTY filler blocks ready for my sampler quilt top!  It was a good day---nothing more fun than being in the studio, sewing.....listening to music, kitty visiting me a bit & hanging out. A good way to spend a rainy day!

I still have to do the other block we were 'assigned' in the spring and will get to it soon.  It's Wandering Foot and pretty big---15"??  The original pattern was even larger, but ours is sized down a bit.

BUT THEN.  Around noon.  The rain began.  It DIDN'T STOP.  In fact, by 5pm it started POURING.  The pouring DIDN'T STOP.  Husband barely got home at 7pm, the streets were starting to flood.  We ate a delicious white chicken enchilada dinner (The Pioneer Woman Cooks), with homemade guac, drinking some of Atwater Bewery's finest, Dirty Blond (hints of orange &  coriander) by candelight, snug at home.  But started feeling worried.  The water began to creep up over the curb, then over grass by the street.....then over the sidewalk....and creeping up towards the house, up the drive, over the grass!  I think it was 9pm or later by the time it stopped.

 Meanwhile, it began to come up the drains into the basement.  Throw down the enchilada fork, drop the beer, head downstairs and start moving boxes UP, setting up tables on which to set things.  For a little while, it stayed at one end.  But then covering the entire basement floor.  We had about 4" total (some of it 'dirty'--ugh).  Many in our area had far more than we did.  Helicopters flew over the area all week, as Gov. Snyder toured.  Freeways were closed in some parts for 2-3 days.  An I-75 overpass washed out.  Many cars & people stranded on the freeways or out whereever they were at the time.  TOTAL DISASTER.

Thank God, we personally lost nothing truly important.  Water heater, washer, dryer & furnace ok.  All my sewing things, safe upstairs in my studio, except my older Bernina 1090, but she was the first thing evacuated upstairs.  Our priorities are straight!!  Some sewing supplies (batting etc) downstairs, as well as yarn & fiber for spinning, but all in plastic boxes 5 feet off the ground.

That said, here is our trash pile of wet, sodden, smelly, stuff, after a couple days pulling stuff out of the basement.

The poor trash company employees have so much to pick up, as our county was hit very hard.  Odd thing is how one house got water, and the one next to it, little or nothing.

But that was the end of sewing for the week.  Instead, rubber gloves & disinfectant..  Out shopping trying to buy a shop vac (score!!), mops (just barely---you can't hardly find them now) and anti-mold treatments (Amazon Prime comes thru, but have to wait a few days for that).  Then, the search for plastic storage boxes and more shelving to get things up, off the floor.  A few stores have some of this left, most do not.  Again, Amazon Prime membership comes thru!!!  But have to wait a couple days for that.

Two more days maybe, of 'on hands and knees' on the floor, inch by inch.  Get things re-boxed, put away.  Then.  I SOLEMNLY swear.  I will begin to go thru the entire contents of my basement, and get rid of things, pretending we are getting ready to move into our stylish loft condo downtown somewhere.  It will have a LARGE WELL LIT studio for me........