Bye for now

 Yesterday we went to a couple of open homes.  This home had the most amazing views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains beyond.

We took time out for a meal together. My grandson,Jackson, on the left, David in the middle and my daughter in law, Lisa, on the right.

We had planned to do a ferry trip yesterday but that did not happen so we are going to try again today.

With that it will be time to say goodbye to my Seattle family as I fly out tomorrow (Monday Seattle time) and I arrive back in New Zealand on Wednesday.

Thank you for coming along with me on my travels.  Heaps of good things for me to treasure in my memories.

Antique Malls

Found in a home decor shop in Snohomish.  It looks like the cushion centre is made from a very old vintage quilt and it has been revived very cleverly by putting on a fresh border and gathered trim with modern quilt fabric.

Sunbonnet Sue seems to find her way into quite a few secondhand stores.  The blocks are in good condition and I like the addition of embroidery stitches so Sue’s clothing.  The binding was faded and fraying but the rest was good. 

 A collection of Zane Grey westerns.  My brothers have probably read most of these, in fact I think I probably read quite a few of them myself.

Quilting Mayhem

Being in the vicinity of Snohomish it seemed appropriate to do a return visit to Quilting Mayhem.

This time I ventured upstairs to the sewing machine department and I was blown away by what was available in the way of quilting supplies.  This image captures just some of the quilting rulers available for purchase.

Long arm quilting machines in every size imaginable including this one with a very loooooooong frame.

There was also a setup for long arm quilting in action.  For US$15 an hour you can hire a machine to do your own quilting.  I asked this lady if she would mind me watching her and she said she was a first timer.  Looked pretty good to me.

I returned to the downstairs area with fabric, fabric and more fabric.

When I was there previously I noted they had a fabric scrap bin.  For US$5.99 you could fill your own bag.  At the time there was hardly any fabric, but, oh me, oh my, this time there was.  Somehow a scrap bag appeared and I found myself filling it.  I justified it on the grounds that I had made a couple of appliqué blocks and this fabric would complement them so well.

 For the Tula Pink fans - they had lots and lots of her fabrics.

Revisiting Snohomish

When Linda and I travel we try to make the most of opportunities that come our way because chances are we may never return.

Yesterday, however, I decided to do a return visit to Snohomish.  I went their initially to visit Quilting Mayhem but the township had a bit of character of yesteryear - none of the skyscrapers of downtown Seattle.

The township was founded in 1859 and parts of it put me in mind of the Norman Rockwell illustrations in the American magazine Saturday Evening Post (if you are old enough to remember this publication).

I was fortunate enough to encounter another day with clear blue skies.  However I could see on the drive to Snohomish that there was fresh snow on the mountains and there was a definite chill in the air.

A Day at the Shopping Mall

What is the significance of an empty coffee mug?  It is an indication that this was one of the nicest flat whites I have encountered on my travels.  Truly worth savouring.

Yesterday dawned cool, crisp with lovely clear blue skies.  It was enjoyable to take the morning commute with David into downtown Seattle so I could wander the shopping mall while he was at work.

 I had been looking for a cardigan and if I had seen one that I really, really likes I would have bought it.  This cardigan had so much bling it really didn’t fit my brief, even though my cousin, Helen, probably would have loved it.

Spotted in the Lego store.  My daughter-in-law, Lisa, loves doing Lego projects and she has this one as a work in progress at the moment.

Although I spend a pleasant time at the shopping mall they did not benefit from an economic boost from me except in the food department.  I bought a regular flat white and small savoury scone for NZ$16 and then a bottle of water with a small stir fry meal was NZ$23 - all up $39.00.  On the whole I have found food and groceries to be costly but probably because of our poor exchange rate with the USA at the moment.

A Bit More Real Estate

 One of the endearing things. About Seattle is the green, green, green of all the trees, the Douglas Fir amongst the most common.  David and Lisa used to live in Dallas, Texas which was hot, flat and very few trees.  When they moved to Seattle it was a welcome change.

The property we looked at on Saturday had views but you had to accept that the trees were there too.

 A very nicely appointed house set on 3 levels. Built in 1979 but freshly renovated throughout.  Probably a much bigger house than the family really need but it was certainly a pleasure to view it.

Apart from that I do enjoy being out and about and seeing different parts of Seattle along the way.

If you would like a further in depth look at the property this link might work for you:-

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Bellevue/411-W-Lake-Sammamish-Pkwy-NE-98008/home/503805

The Cricut Machine

 My daughter-in-law, Lisa, has long been interested in the Cricut machine.  Initially it was made as a scrapbooking aid but it has been extended to include working with fabrics so that opens up a whole new world.

Cricut have also developed a small weighted hot press which is super for ironing out creases in fabrics and for bonding fusible webbing.  The one Lisa owns is 9” x 9” but she tells me there is also a larger 12” x 12” press as well.

 Thanks to Fiona in our quilting group I was able to bring the image from our last raffle block of the year to use as an example.  Even lashed out and bought some fabric here so we could complete.

A few lessons in the hows of peel and stick appliqué and I have a couple of blocks to bring home.  Wasn’t sure what to do with them at first but then I realised they could be nice bright centres for the baby quilts I have been making lately.