Well it wasn't all fun but it did turn out Wonderfully!
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - 63" x 62"
(it's a rainy day here, so the colors are a little funny)
I didn't have the heart to kick coco off, as I just came home from a 5 day trip. She helped with the entire photo session.
I am especially happy with how my partial fans look on the border. It is a good reminder that you can use any portion of a stencil.
I used 2 fabrics on the back: A Gold Dragon, which was great because I watched 4 seasons of Game of Thrones while working on this quilt and an Asian Toile' which I adore
I still need to stitch my little sparrow above my label.
back Asian Toile' details
Here you can see the texture of the quilting.
This quilt gave me all sorts of problems. After binding, washing and blocking I found I had missed several fan arcs - grrrrrrr.
In order to quilt it properly I had to un-stitch the binding on the back and the front. I used a single binding.
I held it off to the side while I started and stopped the quilting stitching.
When finished I just pinned and re-stitched to the front and hand stitched (again) to the back.
Here are 2 dresses that I'm sending to Columbia with Lori.
I made several little goodie bags with "girly stuff".
I will be kicking off my lecture/teaching year with a visit to the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild Sept. 15-17th. Find info on their Facebook page here or their Website here. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone!
xo
I am feeling so lucky to have had an opportunity to purchase an early quilt of Gwen Marstons'. While this wasn't my 1st or 2nd choice, once I received it, I knew it was the right one for me.
Gwen's Chintz Quilt (hand quilted by Gwenny)
What can I say, it had me at "pink"
I love the urn fabric and all the pretty chintz prints.
The blue centers are unusual choice and I love it.
The Backing
Coco is showing her admiration.
While doing a little blog housework, I noticed that my stat counter was reaching 1 million!
This was very exciting because I do not monetize my blog, seek sponsors or use readership in anyway except to inspire. Comments and making blog friends have always been my rewards.
Thank you everyone. I know that Fun With Barb is a very small corner of the Blogging world, but I really appreciate having readership.
What beautiful weather we are having! Perfect for outdoor sewing. Yay - I'm finishing the binding on my OBW.
Here is a peek at how I ended up quilting the center section (ignore those pesky blue markings!)
Here was the best shot I got of the partial eclipse in CT. You can see the image on the window of the house. It is a reflection from my iphone camera lens.
It was a fun eclipse week and I have loved seeing all the images of this wonder of our world.
I'm feeling so lucky, I think I'll buy a Lottery Ticket today~
xo
Will there be a swap this year? What is the theme? How can I get in on the fun? I've had many inquiries and here some answers.
Hint for the next swap:
The timing for the next swap is going to be Jan-March 2018.
My fall schedule includes lectures, trunk shows, workshops, a quilt show and a Seminar this fall so I'll be announcing the swap in January and the blocks will be due in March.
Please participate in the survey on the right sidebar. It may have an impact on the number of swappers for each group.
Can't find it on a phone or ipad? if you scroll all the way to the end of my web page, you'll see "View Web Version". click the link and you'll see my complete page.
After jumping off the cruise ship, I jumped in the car to visit the Mary Schafer exhibit in PA.
This was my favorite, hands down.
I also love this one. Mary added the borders and quilted this lovely pyramid quilt.
A very quaint sampler quilt.
Not a Mary Schafer quilt, but part of the PA exhibit and my favorite color combination.
This was Pauline's favorite. It was very fun to study it the pattern and placement of fabrics.
Among the quilts, beautiful doll houses were on display. I love the step stools for small visitors :)
Gwen Marston has lovingly written two books about her friend Mary.
I may not Bingo in real life, but my friend, Diane, sent me these winning vintage button bingo cards. I love them!
yay! I finished basting my OBW quilt and today will be day 4 of quilting. My machine is humming along again after it was cleaned.
I'll leave you with this sweet photo. When I clean and wash Timothy's big enclosure, he spends the day in his travel crate. Mr. Starbuck makes a very good babysitter.
Hope you get a peek at the eclipse next Monday and please take my swap survey. I'll leave it up for about a month.
My sewing machine is on Vacation too. A great tip is to get in your annual cleaning while you are away. Thanks, Norma, for reminding me.
My Etsy shop is reopened and I'm offering a 20% discount through August. Use coupon code: SUMMERFUN at checkout.
We took a cruise from NJ to Bermuda. Due to a recent job change, our son wasn't able to come so Sigourney's mom, Olga, joined us. We had a great time. As you can see it didn't bother Mr. Fun one bit to have 4 women in his party.
Here is King's Wharf as were leaving. This is untouched photo. The water really is this blue.
I love this mother/daughter photo.
The Martini Bar. It has a chilled snowy surface (very Winterfell). The bar tenders juggled and did fun cocktail tricks.
A view from my favorite quiet spot. Everyone knows this is where I'm likely to be in the afternoon listening to a book and stitching when its not too windy.
In Bermuda Hanna and I rented pedal bikes. I have some advice. DON'T!! It was a billion degrees with lots of hills and no sidewalks.
We pretended we were on the Amazing Race. We found this secluded beach to rest and regroup. haha Where's the fast pass?
Rich and the other girls rented scooters. They admitted it was a bit terrifying, but very fun. Hanna took her first ride.
The ship had a fabulous therapeutic mineral salt water pool which we all loved.
We give these two first time cruisers A+ They got into the groove of things right away.
We visited Elbow Beach - gorgeous.
The Sand really is pink and feels like powdered sugar. YUM
It was my first time at a Silent Disco. It was fabulous. Everyone wears headphones and listens to 1 of 3 channels playing different songs.
I really loved it - but then again I love everything Disco Related!
Somewhere under the rainbow......in Bermuda
It's always a little jarring to re-enter reality. Don't know what to have for dinner? I do Public Service Announcement: This is the BEST summer dinner ever. mic drop......
