Thelma and Louise and Louise

A couple of years ago, I had the bright idea that a group of us should have a “retreat” in Spokane. Theoretically, we would use our retreat time to work on sewing projects, but in reality, we all knew that we would be shopping at fabric stores and thrift stores, eating out, and relaxing with adult beverages. We couldn’t make the scheduling work, but I never abandoned the idea. Several weeks ago, I put it to Sunnie and Robin again and they enthusiastically agreed. We set a date for mid-July, and I found an Airbnb to rent.

The three of us left Wednesday morning. There are two ways to get to Spokane. Usually, I drive south, pick up I-90, and travel over two mountain passes and through Coeur d’Alene. The northern route takes a bit longer—even though the two routes only differ in length by a few miles—because the roads are narrower and pass through several towns. That route, though, features some fun antique and vintage shops. I haven’t been that way in over a year. We had plenty of time, so I pointed the Jeep in that direction.

Sunnie is a nationally-known artist and likes to visit thrift stores to find frames for her paintings. Robin and I always check out the sewing areas to see if there are any treasures to be had. We stopped at a couple of stores in Bonners Ferry where Sunnie bought two frames. In Sandpoint, Idaho, we tried to have lunch at one restaurant, but they were horribly short-staffed and ignored their seated customers for more than half an hour in favor of filling all their take-out orders. (No one cooks anymore.) Sunnie complained politely and we got our drinks for free—I had a wonderful huckleberry lemonade—before we left and moved on to another restaurant.

We made our way down to Coeur d’Alene, where we stopped at Joanns and also at Becky’s Sewing Center. Becky’s is the Bernina dealer in that area. Robin is very organized and brings her projects with her to match fabrics. I fly by the seat of my pants and purchase whatever strikes my fancy. I bought a yard of orange Grunge. If it works for the project I have in mind, that will be wonderful. Otherwise, I will add it to my Grunge collection.

Because it was getting late in the day, I decided we would wait until Thursday to visit The Quilting Bee in Spokane Valley even though it was on the way to the Airbnb. A person really needs to be fresh while shopping there—hopefully with a list—or it is too easy to get overwhelmed. We checked in to the Airbnb (lovely), had a so-so dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant, and turned in.

On Thursday morning, after a breakfast of scrambled eggs and sausage cooked by yours truly, we headed out. It was early enough that I knew most stores wouldn’t be open, so I took Sunnie and Robin on a tour of downtown Spokane before heading over to The Quilting Bee.

Robin was able to find most of what she needed there. Sunnie took a shopping cart and disappeared, and when next I saw her, the cart was full of bolts of rabbit fabric:

Sunnie doesn’t sew. She is, however, skilled at talking those of us who do sew into making things for her. (She is generous in her compensation.) Robin agreed to make placemats and a table runner for Sunnie with some of the fabric.

I bought two fat quarter bundles of fabric from Tim Holtz’s new line “Laboratory.” Do I have a plan for them? No, but I love Tim Holtz fabric.

After The Quilting Bee, we stopped in at Value Village. This is a Washington state chain of thrift stores and one of the places where I find Janome sewing machines to use when I teach at the community center. I think I squealed loudly when Robin and I walked over to the electronics section, because there on a shelf was this beauty:

This model—which is still available—retails for $399. The price on it was $13.99. I grabbed it and put it in the cart. Do I need another serger? No, but at that price, I can pass it on to some young person who shows up in one of my serger classes and can’t afford a new machine.

Sunnie snagged a full, uncut bolt of Alexander Henry fabric at that same store and gifted it to me. The fabric is beige with vintage cowboy faces on it. We think it would make fun aprons to sell at market.

The thrill of the hunt is what keeps us going. We hit another couple of thrift stores, but didn’t find anything as fun. We relaxed for a bit in the late afternoon before having dinner at Luna. My girls discovered Luna when they were in Spokane and it has been a favorite restaurant ever since. Our meal there was lovely.

We left yesterday morning and meandered home via the I-90 route. I was surprised—and delighted—that traffic was light even thought it was a Friday in mid-July. We didn’t get stuck behind a single RV.

I enjoyed having a few days away. Now I have to get back to gardening and lawn maintenance. I hope we can do this again next summer. Sunnie and Robin both want to go back to Sandpoint to explore a bit more.