The ferry ride to Bainbridge Island was delightful. It is a short (by Alaska standards) 25 minute cruise. ;-) Our plan was to relax and spend two nights in Bainbridge ... there are three outstanding places we wanted to visit on the island!
Our first stop Thursday morning was the studio of
McKenna Ryan! Both Valerie and I are big fans of her quilt designs and have done several of her quilt patterns. Valerie has done more than I have ... so not only is she the "Hand Appliqué Guru" ... she is also the "McKenna Ryan Queen" ... yep, a woman of many talents! ;-)
The studio is beautiful ... inside and out! All the samples inside are originals ... patterns and kits are available ... and so are fat quarters and some yardage! I cannot begin to describe how inspiring it is to walk into a building with all of her designs on display ... heart stopping!
There were baskets of fabric odds and ends ... customers can fill a bag! How fun! Yep ... a bit of dillydally heaven! Considering the treasures we found ... the chunk of change we left ... ;-) ... we qualify as McKenna's "new best friends"! We found out that she will be moving her studio to Portland in the near future ... so I've already put this studio on the agenda for the Oregon Shop Hop in 2015!
Our next stop was
Churchmouse Yarns & Teas! We both love and appreciate their patterns! Our local yarn shop,
The Net Loft, carries their designs ... so that made an actual visit all the more special!
After a lovely lunch of fresh, organic and locally grown greens and vegetables, we were ready to visit the local quilt shop in Bainbridge,
Esther's Fabrics. I love how they had fabric samples displayed outside the shop entrance ... it really gave a taste of the atmosphere in the shop! We found it full of unusual fabrics, unique patterns and notions, and extremely wonderful staff! What a winning combination!
This quilt was hand pieced and hand quilted by one of their local customers.
The quilter had collected most of the star fabrics while traveling in France. It was amazing! The staff told us that the quilter who made it was currently traveling on vacation, but would get the pattern information for us! The customer service at Esther's Fabrics was excellent. You left feeling as though you had made friends ... just wonderful!
There is so much to see and do on Bainbridge Island ... it is a lovely place.
The view of the Seattle skyline from the island ... gosh, a person could get used to this! I would love to visit the island again ... I definitely want Mr. DD to come along ... he would enjoy it too!
Do what you love. Visit new places. Do dillydally!
Mrs. DillyDally
Oh! I love the star pattern. When you have info on it, will you please pass it along to me? Yarns and Teas, the perfect combination! The scenery is beautiful.
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Great fun! That is a beautiful view of Seattle!
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