Saturday, August 4, 2012

New York beauty quilt; Madame Butterfly; Pics from a car

This week I've been working on an original sewing pattern.  It's a cute little pouch with a lot of potential, but I'm having a hard time getting it just right.  This evening I've started my fourth prototype, but I think I need a break!

Besides working on the pattern, I've been listening to the aria from Madame Butterfly on a loop... that should tell you pretty clearly where I'm at mood wise!





Last week I started a paper pieced new york beauty block.  I have admired this quilt pattern for years; there is a fabulous example in one of my fav quilt books, America's Beautiful Quilts, by Zaro Weil.



New York Beauty, circa 1920
I love the scalloped border!


When I saw that Jeni (author of one of my favorite blogs) participated in a new york beauty quilt along this past spring, I knew I wanted to make one like hers! 



I'd never tried paper piecing, which was remarkably painless.  I couldn't find the fabric I wanted to finish this block up, so for now it's in four pieces. 



Now for pics from my vacation to the bay area, all shot from the car.

Been a long time since I've been on a road where the trees touch overhead

High above the bay, an alpine ravine

This place was one of my favorites, there was a great peace about it


All of a sudden a lake


Getting back into desert


This was an amazing sight
See the railroad track goes into the hillside, just like in a cartoon!

The golden color of the grass was fantastic, it reminded me of a Van Gogh palette

This looks like an old picture in my Nanny's photo album

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