Saturday, June 24, 2017

Inner Border Finished

The diamond shapes are four different darks: two purple, one black, and one navy. I like the variation although I was hesitant at the beginning. But what else can you do when there's not enough of any one fabric?

First border on CCII

Here's a close-up of the navy. It's hand-dyed fabric from India and colorfast. When the commercial fabric is this dark, it usually causes me problems so this is a welcome change. The fabric has a more textured feel and drapes well. That made me think about the mercerization and other finishing processes on many commercial fabrics.

Navy hand-dyed Indian fabric

Of course, now it  needs another border. I plan to try some of the ideas I posted last month... After a short vacation.

SFO had a new exhibit after we passed security: Games of Chance. I don't gamble {don't enjoy it} but found this exhibit of the development of coin operated machines quite interesting.

The first automatic-payout, three-reel machine was invented in 1898 San Francisco by Charles Fey. Customers couldn't calculate the payout percentage because only three symbols of the Liberty Bell's 1000 combinations showed at a time. More advantage to the house.  Charles also added bell sounds to his machine, a move copied by almost every other manufacturer since.

Liberty Bells are permanently commemorated with a historic marker at Battery and Bush. I've seen the marker and laughed at what people memorialize.

Liberty Bell mechanical game

The exhibit continued with games involving dice under glass bells {which looked like something in a physics lab}, wheels made like bicycles,  and elaborate enameled machines.

War Eagle and Horn of Plenty
enameled slot machines
with a bicycle wheel of fortune machine

The exhibit culminated with life size one-armed bandits. Frank Polk carved the cowboy in the 1940s, possibly as a self portrait.

One-armed bandits from the 1940s-70s

Enjoy the day,  Ann

21 comments:

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

The different colors in the border adds a lot of interest. I really like what you have going so far and look forward to seeing the next border. I don't gamble either, I found your pictures interesting. Thanks for sharing this aspect of history.

LA Paylor said...

you are so bold with color... of course the different fabrics chosen make it richer than one fabric would have! More is better! The one armed bandits are hilarious! Thanks for including those!

Linda said...

Such a great quilt! Love the latest border strips. I agree, the variation of fabrics is super.

audrey said...

I really like your color variation in the border. It creates a good energy. Years ago, people made design decisions based on what fabric they had available so it's not anything new except to those of us spoiled with too much! Isn't it interesting how hesitant we are to go against the current 'norms' even though we consciously try to break out of the box in other ways all the time!

KaHolly said...

I'll bet that was an interesting exhibit! Loving the border. I know you'll decide on just the right one for the next round! It's coming together so nicely! XO

Monica said...

Love that border, with the high contrast and the improv piecing, it's really sharp. Somehow the contrast in the strings pops more too. Looking good!

Kaja said...

I like how the darker sides balance out the red stars, so my eye is not now drawn automatically to either but bounces from place to place and somehow ends up focused back on the strings.

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Love the different fabrics in your diamonds, looks great! I guess I'm reminded of Marti Mitchell's advice - "the more fabrics you use, the less important any one decision becoomes!"

Janie said...

Nice contrast, gives a lot of excitement.
And a little vacation time too, sounds fun Ann.

patty a. said...

That is a fun border! Good job! I can't wait to see what you will do for the next border.

Ann said...

Thanks, Shasta. Looking at it again, I'm glad their are tone variations on each side. Summer vacation is providing a good break.

Ann said...

How kind of you, as always. You're right. Those fabric changes add richness. It took your comment to see that.
I thought they were amusing, too. Can you imagine trying to rob or shake one?

Ann said...

Thanks, Linda. I thought it needed a small border here. It wasn't entirely convinced until done.

Ann said...

Good energy. Such a nice statement. I think my reply to the rest of your comment would take a whole post! So many points here.

Ann said...

I now try to plan extra time at SFO just so I can take time to look at their exhibits in details. They are small gems. Fantastically curated.

Ann said...

think it works because this border is relatively narrow. Using Sujata's directions made it easy.

Ann said...

Good point: the dark and brightest fabrics are not in the same place. I hadn't realized how well that would work until now.

Ann said...

What a good point. And I think we all worry too much about our fabric choices. We can leave them in the stash for years but worry about wasting them by cutting.

Ann said...

Vacation is fun. We've been out of cell range until today. It's relaxing to not be able
To use electronics sometimes.

Ann said...

How kind of you, Patty. Thanks.

Mystic Quilter said...

I seem to have missed a few posts from a number of quilters and this was one of them! Great border, complements perfectly.