26 April : Leavenworth Yard Sale (updated)

A garage saler's dream, this little event happens twice a year, where practically the entire fort is on yard sale status. Drive into just about any neighborhood and at least every other house has something out in their yard for sale. I was on the lookout for a dining room table and chairs, but there weren't many good ones left by the time we (BB's godmother E and I) arrived on the scene, i.e. 30+ minutes after the official opening time. There were plenty of kids' clothes and toys to be had though. I tell you I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to second-hand clothing so I only bought a pristine condition pink dress (two sizes too big) for G. I also snagged a faded Radio Flyer tricycle with the parent push handle – that's AhPoh in the pictures and video clip – and some mugs and glasses.

Afterwards, E drove me around Leavenworth, having lunch at a TexMex restaurant, going to a local tea shop, shopping the deals at a Polish pottery store – I got a sugar and creamer set in a discontinued pattern for 50% off –, and viewing the amazing creations at the quilting shop next door to that. At the latter, they had a laser guided quilting machine for the really big projects...like the one I still haven't finished. For those of you who haven't heard this one yet, back in grad school, I dusted off the ol' sewing machine, got a wild hair and decided I wanted to make a quilt, one of those things on my life's to-do list. I shopped around and found one of those block-of-the-month sets – for a king size quilt. (I figure if I'm going to sew a quilt, I might as well go out and do it right.) But it wasn't until I was pregnant with G and looking for a job that I found the time to actually start sewing the thing. Once I finished the top piece, I got to reading the directions for finishing my quilt and realized I bit off way more than I could chew. (There's certain nuances to piecing the layers together so that it's all centered, even, and not bunchy; there are at least 10 different patterns to be quilted onto the top, which requires penciling the designs on in sections; and I'm afraid my machine can't handle the super thick cotton layer that I bought to pad the quilt.) So the thing's been sitting incomplete these last 3-4 years. LOL! I've hauled it across the United States twice: from DC to Alaska, and now from Alaska to KCMO. In each place I've considered paying someone to finish it for me, and now I'm considering this machine in Leavenworth. I was told you can rent the thing for $15/hour and they'll teach you how to use it. I guess now it's just a matter of finding the time to do it – I wonder how many more years that's going to take. :)

Addendum: I see I can pay an experienced machine quilter (at the above store) to finish my quilt for me at a rate of $0.015 per square inch. I forget the exact dimensions of my quilt, but I'll bet I'm looking at least $100 to finish. It really could be worth it.