Caught in the Cat-Griz Traffic

I stopped to get Robin around 8 am yesterday morning. We decided to leave a little bit later than usual because of the heavy fog—freezing fog can turn roads into skating rinks—and although it burned off quickly, we hit heavy traffic on the way down. About halfway to Missoula, I figured out why. Yesterday was the annual Cat-Griz game between Montana State and the University of Montana, and it was being held in Missoula. That actually boded well for us once we got there, because 25,000 people were in the stadium watching the game and the rest of the city was empty.

[The husband asked me if The Diva behaved on this trip. I am still getting random warning lights that come on and go off, but the car runs fine. We are going to try a cheap fix, suggested by Kevin when I called him last week, which is to replace the gas cap. Apparently, the gasket on the gas cap can develop tiny cracks which prevent it from getting a good seal. That makes the emissions control system think that something is wrong. We’ll see. The husband ordered a new cap and it should be here this week.]

Robin and I started out at Michaels to kill time and carry out product research. Kalispell has a small store; Missoula’s is much bigger, although neither of them is carrying fabric as the ones in Seattle do. We wandered around but didn’t see anything noteworthy.

Our next stop was the sewing machine store, where I paid for and picked up the Janome 3000 coverstitch (stock picture from the Janome website for reference).

This machine was my gift to myself for having done so well at the craft co-op sale. I have not yet unboxed it. I probably won’t until after Thanksgiving. I also got an 18mm rotary cutter. It’s tiny. I prefer to use a rotary cutter when I cut knits, and this is going to be great for getting around tight spots.

We went to Kohls so Robin could return a pair of pants, then headed to Joann Fabrics. They had issued a rare 60% off one regular-price item coupon, good this weekend. Robin used it on a bolt of Pellon Easy-Pattern for tracing patterns. I truly couldn’t find anything I needed that wasn’t already on sale. I did get two more lengths of knit fabric—my wardrobe is woefully short on winter tops at the moment—and two pieces from the remnant rack, but that was it.

We also visited Vicki’s Quilts Down Under and had the place mostly to ourselves. Robin was looking for Halloween fabrics to make more items for next year’s sale. She sold out of almost all of her fall and Halloween inventory at the sale and needs to replenish her stock. I succumbed and bought some Grunge. Vicki was very interested in the craft co-op and asked lots of questions about the sale and what items sold best.

The trip home included a visit to the Amish store, of course, where Robin did some shopping and I got a generous dish of strawberry ice cream. As we were leaving, Robin suggested that we stop at the quilt store in Polson. Polson is a small town on the southwest “corner” of Flathead Lake. If one drives down the west side of the lake, the store is on the way. However, because of where I live, I almost always drive down the east side of the lake and bypass the town of Polson itself. Going to that quilt store would require that a) I remember that it’s there and b) I take a short detour. I think I’ve been there twice in the past 10 years.

We both did a bit more shopping at that quilt store. I discovered that my friend Valeri’s sister works there, so I introduced myself and we chatted while she cut fabric for us.

While I was out bopping around western Montana, the husband was here setting up his new hydraulic press that was delivered on Friday. I’ve been teasing him that he needs a bigger shop. I am glad, though, that he is investing in some equipment that will let him transition into other kinds of work when he decides he has had enough of concrete.

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I can’t believe that it is almost December. I feel like November got away from me. It is time to sit down and revisit the sewing to-do list and try to bring things under control again. I moved one of the basted quilts to the Q20 and have been working on it here and there as I have a few minutes. I know I get a lot done, but when I’m in the middle of it, sometimes it feels like all I am doing is treading water. The Poppins bag should be finished tonight and I can cross that one off the list.