A New Sewing Machine, But Not for Me

Robin texted me on Wednesday and said she needed to go to Missoula to pick up her new sewing machine, and would I like to go with her? I said I would love to. I also offered to drive because I know my way around Missoula. She is more comfortable exploring with me at the wheel.

I picked her up at 8:30 yesterday morning and we headed south. Our first stop was in Polson, MT, at a small quilt store called All In Stitches. The owner recently announced her intention to retire and close the store. All stock was 25% off. Robin found quite a few pieces of fabric to go with current projects. I have enough quilting fabric and did not buy anything.

We continued on to Missoula. Robin’s new machine, a small Janome that she can carry to classes, was waiting for her at A Clean Stitch. This is a wonderful store. It outgrew its original space, in the same strip mall, and moved to a much larger space a few months ago. I wish I had remembered to take pictures. The store is clean and inviting. They are dealers for Bernina and Janome machines, carry the full line of Accuquilt supplies, and are a Wonderfil retailer. I had fun shopping while Robin got to check out her new machine. I was hoping they would have the new Amanda Murphy quilting rulers—for petals and leaves—but those haven’t come in yet. I bought two storage boxes for my Accuquilt dies and a couple of spools of decorative Wonderfil thread.

These are Razzle and Dazzle, two 8wt rayon threads to use in my serger. I have a project in mind for a class next spring.

We hit up the WalMart remnant rack. I am trying not to buy black fabric or clothing, but I found a four-yard chunk of the most interesting black fabric. It looks like ponte on one side and microfleece on the other. I haven’t quite decided what to do with it. I think it would make great leggings or possibly a Toaster sweater.

Robin suggested lunch at The Montana Club. We each had the daily special, which was an excellent plate of fish and chips with a cup of clam chowder.

After lunch, we stopped at Joann Fabrics—meh—then made our way downtown to The Confident Stitch:

This is a small independent fabric store that carries a lot of deadstock and other wonderful apparel fabric. What I love most is that the owner has the same Winter coloring that I do and the inventory reflects that. I treated myself to a couple of yards of a rayon woven in a turquoise aboriginal print, a few yards of a lightweight twill in a pretty pink color—to be made into something for next spring—and a couple of yards of a royal blue French terry.

I also picked up two patterns. One is the Camber Dress by Merchant and Mills:

It doesn’t look like much in the photo, but I think it will be lovely when it’s made up. The back has an interesting yoke detail. We’re going to be broiling here for the foreseeable future and I am all about the cool and comfortable dresses.

I also picked up the Grainline Uniform Tunic:

It’s another unassuming style, but the sleeveless variations look cool and comfortable (and long enough).

We headed for home with a stop, of course, at the Amish store in St. Ignatius to do some shopping and enjoy a cup of ice cream. I bought two bags of cauliflower because one of the items on today’s to-do list is canning up a batch of jardinière vegetables. I also got more ClearJel. Susan said her Duchess of Oldenburg tree will be ready to pick soon and those apples will become this year’s batch of pie filling. I have three Duchess seedlings that Susan grafted for me, but it will be a few years yet before those trees are producing.

We had a long day. As expected, traffic was heavy. I used my horn liberally. I wish people would read and pay attention to the signs that say “Slower Traffic Move Right” and not park themselves in the left-hand lane. I think that the husband and I are going to have date night tonight. He needs to pick up a flashlight that he sent in for repairs and I need to get a few supplies at Home Depot for one of my classes at Self-Reliance Festival in October.