I'm safe, having a good time and excited

I drove to Austin yesterday. OMG!! With as many exclamation points as you would like to add! The drive was the absolute worse I've made since we were coming home from vacation in 1990. To say it was raining would be a major understatement. I couldn't see anything but a watery view of the headlights in front of me. We were going about 35 mph on the freeway. I would have pulled off but I was too afraid of pulling off to a flooded access rooff ramp, an unknown area or any other unseen water hazard. I had no idea where I was other than almost to San Antonio. I just kept going praying that the watery red lights of the little red car in front of me didn't pull off the freeway. Those lights were my lifeline. I was so scared that I felt like I was going to throw up. I just couldnt' see anything. The closer we got to the bypass 410, the more worried I became about how I would drive up the ramp while not being able to see anything. I decided that no matter how slow I went, the cars behind me would judt have to deal with it. Luckily the entire group in front of me took the 410 ramp and we all continued on. By that point we were driving just a bit faster so the rain must have slowed just a bit. The rain finally let up near New Braunfels, after about 1 1/2 hours of driving. I stopped, gratefully used the potty, bought a diet coke, took a deep breath and continued on my way. It rained the rest of the way, hard at times but nothing like the deluge I'd just been through. Oh, did I mention that when the rain first began, I missed an accident by about 30 secs. They weren't even all out of their cars yet as we went past. While watching the news last night we saw a story of a couple here in Austin that got stuck in a low water crossing (why they call it a low water crossing instead of high water crossing is beyond me). The rescue workers were able to get ahold of the elderly couple and put a life jacket on the woman but not the man. While trying to pull them to safety, they were washed away. The woman survived but they found the man today. It is so, so, so sad. I mean, they had them in their hands! Then the news has shown them over and over being washed away and only the woman popping up. Sad, sad, sad. This is the reason I didn't pull off the freeway. Since moving to Texas, I have learned a healthy respect for Mother Nature, rain, wind, and the power of water. I don't mind if I have a dull and boring ride back home. I won't even mind if I feel like the time is passing backwards it's going so slow.

Exciting news, happier, much less scary and depressing.....not quilty but exciting. It seems my cousin that lives in Ontario comes to Austin every year for the South by Southwest music event. I don't think I've seen him in over 20 years. Well, long story short we are meeting for coffee in the morning. I'm so excited.

On a quilty note....well, I don't have a quilty note! I'm doing so good on not shopping that I drove past a quilt shop today and didn't stop in. I bought Ms. A curtains instead of going into Joanns! (it was probably alot cheaper)

Tea towels

I have stuff. Lots of stuff. Fabric and floss, batting and wool felt.... I have patterns and books galore. In an effort to bust stash, all of these things are equal. So, my goal for this year is to create seasonal wallhangings, placemats, table runners, tea towels and all the other home dec goodies including quilts, that prompted me to buy this abundance of books and patterns in the first place. I have 12 tea towels to "cover." Because I nearly always make home dec items in 3's (one for me, one for Mrs. S and one for Ms. A) I will only show one of each. The flag and flower pot are one of a kinds. I'm the only one getting these. I am in no hurry to finish these towels. They are all fused and ready to be blanket stitched. A friend of mine hosted a one day retreat last week and has decided to have them on a regular basis. So the towels will be my project when I sew at her house. I learned a valuable lesson from another friend about sewing something difficult, measuring or cutting, especially late at night on a retreat. That lesson....DON"T! She mistakenly cut her blocks down to the wrong size and ended up with a twin sized quilt instead of queen! Since I've decided to only work on these towels when sewing out of the house, I feel no stress to finish them.

I don't really like angels, but this was too cute to leave in the book. Most of my projects come from the Art to Heart books (I'd include a link but Ihad a link, and a completed post, but blogger or my server lost it when I tried to add a picture. I've been having trouble all day so I won't risk it!)I just love these silly books. I didn't realize this, but on the website, you can buy all the cute buttons she uses.

This is by far my favorite towel.

It was a beehive with a cherry vine and cherries. I modified the pattern so that I could make an apple

tree. Apples and Honey are symbols for the holiday of Rosh Hashana. There are very few Jewish holiday patterns. Some of the patterns out there are to literal while the few others just don't appeal to me I didn't want a honey pot and an apple sitting next to it. Too obvious. This fits my house and my style.

On a proud note.... in order to finish a birthday banner for my brother, I needed to get Heat N'Bond. I went to Joanns, looked at the 40% off quilting books, the remnent fabrics, the magazines....I walked out with Heat n' Bond only! Yaaayyyy Meeee!