All the buzz about Bill Volckening’s soon-to-be-released book New York Beauty, Quilts from the Volckening Collection, published by Quiltmania in France, has inspired me to revisit the New York Beauty blocks I started making seven or eight years ago.
Here is one of my blocks . . .
. . . and another:
The designs for these blocks and 28 more are from the book New York Beauty: Traditional Blocks with Contemporary Variations, self-published by Karen K. Stone in 1995 (out of print now, I believe.) It contains paper foundations and freezer paper templates meant to be removed from the book. If the quiltmaker makes all 30 blocks shown in the book, there won’t be much left of the book!
I made 18 different blocks before putting the project aside. Just now I randomly stuck them up on my design wall:
Judging from some of the fabrics I see, this is one of my oldest UFOs. My collection of black, white, grey, and red fabrics has grown substantially since I last worked on this project!
I think it’s time to get back on track with my New York Beauty, don’t you?
Wow! You are so close to finishing this quilt. What an achievement. I love it.
You could even bring it to a “sew with Dawn” class this weekend! lol
They look amazing, and I love the red, white and black color scheme. Will you set them like Karen Stone’s first NY Beauty?
No, I have a very different setting in mind. Maybe I’ll wait till your book comes out to see if there’s another setting I like even better!
I can’t wait to see how you finish your quilt! It will be beautiful however you set the blocks!
What an inspiration you are! Definitely finish this quilt!
New York Beauties have been on my bucket list for a while, and will get done this year–I hope. I think the complexity makes them so attractive. Your placement and color scheme makes me think of looking up at the Statue of Liberty and an Ayn Rand novel cover, and made me do some quick research. Willywonkyquilts has an interesting history lesson.
Thank you for sharing.
Julie @ Pink Doxies
While you must be very satisfied finishing a UFO (and one so wonderful), I am wondering how many new UFOs you will create in the process. 😉
What a great start, and definitely worth pulling out and finishing. Red/black/white/gray combination is stunning!