Very close call yesterday!
 

As some of you have probably seen on tv, my town of Moscow, Ohio was hit by a tornado yesterday afternoon. The tornado crossed over the river from Kentucky about a mile from my home. Thankfully, we have a basement and we knew early in the day to prepare for the worst. Yesterday morning I was preparing our photography equipment and important papers to take downstairs, and decided that I just couldn't leave my brand new machine and all my fabric upstairs. I'm a new quilter, and just couldn't bear the thought of losing it all. So, I packed all of it up and hauled it down to the basement. Needless to say, I spent several scary minutes huddled over my kids, hoping the tornado would spare us, surrounded by fabric and UFO's! And today, I had to bring it all back upstairs again. The bright side is I can reorganize it all again! So, am I crazy that I bagged everything up and took it downstairs? Obviously, we has an usual amount of time to prepare. But it made me wonder if I'm the only one!

Katie, so glad you are OK. I don't think you would be alone in taking your machine and as much of your stash as you could move. I often wonder what I would take in case of a fire or something.

Reminds me of when I was a kid in northern Oklahoma. One year we had tornado warnings almost every night for a month and I always took my clarinet to the cellar with me! One night we were there until the wee hours of the morning with no "all clear" signel, but my dad decided he had had enough and we went back to the house and went to bed. The next morning we heard there had been 21 funnel clouds sighted overhead, but none touched the ground! Sure could have been a disaster. Having been in or near several of these, my prayers go up for all the people who have lost homes and loved ones.

I am so glad you are okay!! that is so incredibly scary I am sure. I don't think you are crazy at all!! If you had time, you may as well save it. :) I would have taken half my house down there!! LOL Now if you were running to get your machine as the tornado was knocking on your door .... well then you might be a bit crazy!! :) :) :)

Rachel

Thank God you are all okay. It is always wise to prepare if time allows. Saving what is important to you is always a good idea!

My only connection to these horrible last few days, have been watching it on TV.. I can't conceive! I just feel so bad for all the death and destruction.. I'd like to hear that ALL are OK..bernie in CA..

We had a scary night last night too. We had 22 minutes warning before the front was supposed to hit our area. Luckily my sewing area is in the basement so my machines and fabric are already down there. I grabbed the back up hard drives for my computers, my collection of family recipes, and a quilt my deceased DIL and I worked on shortly before her untimely death. I think I will hang it downstairs just in case we have a repeat of this weirdness. Last April was the first tornado on record for our area. Now this. As it turns out it was an uneventful episode. Thank Goodness! I didn't get to sleep until after 3:00 AM and feel like I have a hangover today. We have spent the day cleaning all the extra stored unnecessary items out of the basement. If I am going to have to be living down there at regular intervals I at least want it to be comfortable. Just like a man my DH slept through the whole thing. Ann in TN

Glad you are fine! My heart aches for those affected. Guess we all have our priorities as to what to save. Not sure what I'd save besides photos and important papers. I have so many sentimental things- Mom's hoosier cabinet, dad's military trunk, etc. Maybe I should resort my fabric by most loved so I can grab and go? NY was hit by so many storms last year, with massive floods and winds. It's unbelieveable what Mother Nature can do.

Not crazy. My sewing room is in the basement so I just packed up the emergency radio and my medications and went downstairs. Better to be prepared! We live in Louisville and it missed us, thankfully.

When we lived in a rural area and the fires were all around us, some of the first things I loaded in my pickup were two sewing machines. Luckily our home was saved but many others lost and two lives during the fire in 2005.

No, you are not crazy. Family first and then our other stuff. 2 years after we moved into our home we got struck by lightening upstairs. It Blew a 10 foot hole into the roof and poured rain into the room. Husband opened the front door just as it hit,[I was gone] and it was a fireball. He raced upstairs, yanked my sewing machines out of the way andsaved them. thank goodness. It was a mess, but we survived it.

I don't think that's weird --- at least you remembered your kids!!!!! LOL Glad all is okay.

I'd take insurance and other important documents, and irreplaceables, such as family pictures. Some drinking water and snacks and a first aid kit would be good in case you get trapped down there for a while. With plenty of time, I might take some UFO's or finished things that took me a lot of time to make, and maybe some small handwork to do while waiting. I figure the possibility of losing things that can be bought again is why we have insurance, but yes, of course if there's plenty of time, saving anything you want to, just so you don't have to go through a loss, makes perfect sense to me.

Our insurance company has a link on their site to an independent site that lets you archive pictures and descriptions of household belongings and valuables in case there is a loss. Taking the pictures and storing copies of them away from home - for example, online or at a trusted relative's house in another city - could be extremely helpful if you ever have to file a claim. Write down serial numbers, dates of purchase, what you paid, and other details. You could also make an inventory check-list, which your insurance company would likely provide.

I hope you have no more tornado scares!

just happy to hear that you and family are OK...the weather is really something right now...I feel for all of the people that are being affected by these tornadoes. I think that it may be time for me to start gathering my scraps and making a couple scrappy quilts for some of these survivors of the storms...

so glad you and your family and quilting are all safe and sound

Praise God you are ok
 

No you were right to take cover and take your baby with you. Just thankful you and your family are safe and sound.
Take care and enjoy each moment.<3

Always wondered what I would pack to take with me if evacuated due to a storm (I live along the coast). I do believe that I would have to have both sons with their trucks to cart away my sewing stash, etc......and of course, all pictures would have to go with me.

A friends once was evacuated and with her went her albums and important papers in a large garbage bag and her mink coat over her arm.....lololol

Very thankful you and your family are safe.

Just think of all the wonderful exercise you got going up and down those stairs for two days and you were blessed too to have been missed by the tornado, so all in all, it was a good day for you.

I don't think you are crazy. I couldn't take all my things but I can tell you I would have my machine in one hand, my old photos in a bag , and my dog under the other arm. If I had a lot of time I would take more but those would be my first grabs.

the safe place in my house is my "inventory" closet - the one with all the fabric. LOL

I am so glad you are safe, when warnings come it is for our benefit to prepare. I do not have a basement but if I did, my valuables would be there except for medicine and purse. (I am thinking) Jo

Just know that you took your most precious things to the basement, kids, sewing machine and fabrics.

So glad you are safe. I cannot imagine living with tornado threats. Or hurricane either.

I don't think you're crazy at all, I did the same thing!! I live in Louisville and we were given plenty of warning. I'm severely asthmatic so my medications and breathing machines were first. Then I took my lap top down because it has all my family pictures on it, plus my iPad. Next was my sewing machine and last were the ashes from my dog, Ellie, who was glued to my hip when she was alive. Our insurane papers, etc are already in the basement.

You did the right thing in right order. I don't have basement so safe place is my bathtub. Never had a tornado tochdown in my town but the siren went off in evening of last yr. I was in bed with cat & dog. No kids here. Grabbed my dog and called the cat. They thought I was crazy when I pulled back shower curtain and laid down in tub with them. boy was that scary. Moved here from Calif 6 yrs ago & didn't look for house with a basement because their had never been a tornado here. Now, I wish that I had a basement. Don't know what' scarier--tornado or earthquake. Oh, I I could have my Janome 11000SE would have been somewhere in that tub with us.!

I'm so glad you and your family are OK. We aren't subjected to tornadoes here, but we get floods from time to time, and last year was one of those times. I was ready to start hauling stuff out of my sewing room when the water started to recede.

think you did the right thing those storms are scarey glad you are safe

You did the right thing and do it again(hope never) but with your machine you may have had to sew things for people etc etc. I have been in those winds when on the road and it is not very much fun. - J.

So glad to hear you and your family are safe. Rose_P had an excellent suggestion with the family pictures. We are in a hurricane area and my mother and father traveled a lot. My mom always put the albums with baby pictures in them into a pillowcase. I live in a town nearby and was instructed to pick up the insurance papers and the baby books if there were hurricane warnings while they were gone. Not having any babies myself, my dog and my sewing machine will be going with me!

Thank the Lord you are ok

You're OK. Had you said "I spent several scary minutes huddled over my stash, then I'd be worried. Glad you weren't hit. I think if we had to leave, the Baby Lock would have to be rescued, so no - you are not alone.

I learned from our last tornado warning to keep some things in the basement for protection since sometime we get very little warning. Also when I was running to the stairs down, I remembered my purse and car keys and all the medicines I take daily. Never thought of those things at the last warning that sent us to the basement. Live and learn!

I have been praying for all the folks in these terrible tornadoes' path this year. Bless you all.

Prayers and hugs to all. And no you are not crazy, living in an apartment what would be the item I would grab first - fur baby and machines!

Glad you're ok. Those warnings are one reason I don't miss living in Illinois. We had close calls where I grew up.

Glad you're ok. Those warnings are one reason I don't miss living in Illinois. We had close calls where I grew up.

Glad to hear no one thinks im totally nuts! Yes, we got really lucky that we had such advance notice it would be bad. We had snacks, food, insurance info, birth certificates, photos, family Bibles, pets (save my big furry cat Nikon who didn't come inside but came back when it was over.), kids and quilty stuff down in the basement close to an hour before the worst of the storm came. If it had been at my door with no warning, it would've just been the kids and whatever pet we could find on the way downstairs!

We were finally able to go assist with some clean-up today. If you're interested in seeing some photos, they are here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...1&l=aad223f216

Of course, now the river is up and flooding, which happens every March in our town....we will just keep on keeping on, I guess!

Sounds like you at least had the kids safe first!!!! So then it is OK to save the sewing stuff!! :-) Actually, I thought the story line was going to be you discovered you wouldn't mind sewing in your basement. :-) Glad you were safe!