The Open Road

I went to Washington state last week. Having both kids living reasonably close is great, but it is also a huge temptation to pick up and take off to visit them. And having adult children means that visits have to be coordinated between their travel and work schedules (and mine) so I want to take advantage of times that we can all get together. I likely won’t see DD#2 again until the fall. I might see DD#1 again in July if I can get to Spokane when she is there for a weekend conference.

I went for a visit last week mostly to help DD#1 get her garden planted. Of course, the weather was lovely the week before I went and it’s going to be nice again this week, but last week was cold and rainy. We did not let that deter us. I left after church on the 12th and spent the night in Spokane, mostly because snow was forecast over Lookout Pass for Monday morning and I wanted to avoid it. I arrived at their house on the Olympic Peninsula just after lunch on Monday. We spent Tuesday shopping for plants and other garden supplies in the rain. Wednesday was clear but still cold. Fortunately, the house they purchased last fall came with a nice little greenhouse, so DD#1 and I spent time in there planting baskets and tomatoes in containers. Finally, on Thursday, it was sunny and warm(er). We put in lettuce, carrots, kale, chard, cabbage, herbs, and strawberries and called it good.

I left on Friday morning and headed back to Seattle. My route took me past Sherry’s Cozy Quilts in Poulsbo, so of course I stopped in. I was greeted so warmly when I walked in that I decided I would buy something just because. Store owners should never underestimate how important it is to acknowledge customers. I was in the yarn store next door to this quilt store on a previous trip and was completely ignored from the moment I set foot inside. I have no desire to go back.

[The Pacific Northwest Shop Hop is currently underway, but I’m not participating this time. Maybe next year.]

Sherry’s is not a large store but it is well stocked. I came out with some chicken fabric and a couple of yards of a Tim Holtz print.

Esther’s Fabrics is not far from the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal and I had a few minutes to spare, so I popped in to see what they had. This gorgeous rayon Figo fabric—Full Moon by Clara McAllister—is destined to be a top. (The photos were hastily snapped this morning, sorry.)

I need to start thinking about what I am going to make to wear to Bernina University.

Of course, no trip to Seattle would be complete without a visit to Pacific Fabrics, and it’s just a quick five-minute drive from the downtown ferry terminal. I am trying to curb my fabric purchases until I use some of my stash, so all I bought was a yard of this Cotton + Steel canvas.

Technically, these are blueberries, but we will pretend that they are actually huckleberries. 😊 I want to make a Noodlehead Oxbow Tote with this.

I also bought a couple of patterns. I think I will save those for tomorrow’s post.

DD#2 and her fiancé and I went out to dinner on Friday and discussed wedding plans. Her colors are going to be brown and cream with lots of greenery. She knows her mother cannot wear brown without looking like a corpse, so I got her approval to wear green. (I will be leaning toward some kind of deep emerald green.) Now I can start working on my mother-of-the-bride dress.

We made a trip to IKEA on Saturday morning because DD#2 was looking for a dresser and some other items. I bought more lint rollers. The IKEA lint rollers are my favorites and I use them constantly in my sewing room.

On Saturday afternoon, the kids and I went to a Mariners game. The Mariners played the Texans and won and we had a good time.

The one fly in the ointment on this trip was that the Airbnb where I usually stay was already booked, so I had to reserve a different one. It was billed as a “tiny house,” which didn’t set off any alarm bells as I have stayed in tiny house Airbnbs in the past. However, this was a literal 10' x 10' box with a small bathroom, only accessible from an alley behind a house. There was a Murphy bed that pulled down and took up most of the space. I had to keep my suitcase under the sink in the bathroom because that was the only place large enough for it.

Many places in Seattle are designed for no cars or only small cars, so I always have to be careful about getting an Airbnb with a parking spot large enough for my Jeep. I was able to park it but was concerned about getting in and out of there, so I relied on the kids to drive me around. It was not one of my better Airbnb experiences. I was planning to stay in Seattle all weekend and drive home today, but I ended up leaving a day early. Also, this is a busy week for me and having today at home is going to add some much-needed slack to the schedule.