Sewing in Seattle

I am back from barnstorming the Pacific Northwest. I had an excellent trip and a wonderful birthday. Let’s start the recap:

I left here the morning of Friday, November 18. The weather was clear and I had zero problems getting over the passes, probably because I had packed as if I were going to Siberia, including two coats, two pairs of boots, and all my cold-weather car supplies. I planned to spend the night in Spokane and arrived just after lunch. That gave me a few hours to hit up the Walmart remnant racks and see what the Joann Fabrics stores looked like.

The first half-dozen chunks of fabric I bought at Walmart were all navy blue. Some are destined to be used as muslins and some for actual garments. I need a bit more navy in my wardrobe, so this was not an unwelcome development. One chunk is a navy-and-white striped rayon blend sweater knit that will become a Harper Cardigan. I think it will look great with jeans and a white T-shirt.

The Spokane Joann stores aren’t much better than ours. Their remnant racks were 75% off and mostly empty. I did pick up two bolts of Pellon Easy Pattern at 50% off. That is what I use for tracing and I am almost out.

Spokane is a sad place these days. The hotel I usually stay at—a major chain—had all sorts of problems. Equipment doesn’t work and it’s obvious they are trying to cut corners to save money. Everything seems to take longer. Simple tasks like filling my car with fuel have become major productions because pumps don’t work, etc.

I left Spokane early Saturday morning and headed to Seattle. I always stop in Moses Lake, which is about halfway, because Moses Lake has a Walmart and a Joann Fabrics. That Joanns is fairly new and still a nice store, although I didn’t buy anything there this time.

I arrived in Seattle mid-afternoon. My first stop was DD#2’s apartment, where I dropped off a bunch of items I had brought for her. She and I went over to check in to my Airbnb.

I hit the lottery with this AirBnb rental. The price was great, but the location was even better. It was a quick ten-minute drive from DD#2’s apartment, easy to get to, with off-street parking. (That’s huge in Seattle.) This Airbnb was one unit in a small apartment building that looked like it had been built in the 1960s or 1970s. In keeping with the style of the building, the unit was decorated in mid-century modern furnishings, some of which were obviously original. Everything was clean and cozy, and the view was spectacular:

The evening view was even lovelier:

We had stellar weather all week. I think it might have drizzled once or twice but that was it.

DD#2 and I headed to the Seattle neighborhood of Ballard for dinner and a stop at a little store called Monster so I could pick up the other four Robert Mahar anatomical embroidery kits. I bought the first one there last year. DD#2 also got an embroidery kit. She’s been doing counted cross-stitch but finds it a bit tedious, so she thought she might try regular embroidery.

I spotted some yarn bombing in Ballard:

I took my little Janome sewing machine with me so I could work on some piecing. This was my sewing area for the week:

We did a Costco run on Sunday and DD#2 made dinner for me at her apartment.

On Monday, I took DD#2’s VW Jetta back to the dealer in Ballard for an oil change and scheduled maintenance. While I was there, I test drove an Atlas. I am still casually looking for a new car and the Atlas was on my list. I liked it very much, although I am struggling with the idea that I will have to give up a car that gets 40 mpg for one that gets 24. (Getting another wagon or SUV is a non-negotiable item on my list of desirables.) I thought we were worried about climate change? You would think I would be able to purchase another diesel vehicle that gets excellent mileage. The fact that I can’t unless I move to Europe makes zero sense to me, like many things these days.

After returning DD#2’s car and retrieving the BMW, I went to the Acura dealer to test drive an MDX. I did not like it as much as the Atlas. I cannot stand the fact that the instrument clusters in these new vehicles are as complicated as the cockpit of a 747. Things are designed badly from a user standpoint and that makes me nuts.

[For the record, the BMW performed flawlessly on this trip, despite the fact that it has 150,000 miles on it and the fact that I drove to Seattle and back with the check engine light illuminated. One of the emission system sensors went bad a few weeks ago. The husband ordered the replacement part and will fix it now that I am back home. He basically has rebuilt that car piece by piece over the past five years. I think I am just going to continue to drive it until I no longer can, because I see no benefit to me in getting another vehicle. All that will get me is an increase in fuel costs and a monthly car payment.]

My private sewing class was on Tuesday morning, so I’ll save that recap for tomorrow’s post.