A New Adventure

I am super excited!  My older brother is getting married (second marriage for both parties) and I know exactly what quilt to make for them as a wedding present.  A year ago I was introduced to Judy Niemeyer's quilts.  I loved the way that the circles would twist and how perfect the points of the stars were.  So I started to research other quilts like Judy's and I discovered the New York Beauty.

An example of Judy Niemeyer's work

A "New York Beauty" quilt has an old heritage.  The quilt originated in the southeastern states and wasn't given the name New York Beauty until the 1930's.  Before that time the quilt had many different names, Sunrise/Sunrise in the Pines, Rocky Mountain/Rocky Mountain Road/Rail Through The Mountains, and Crown of Thorns, to name a few.  The quilt became known as the "New York Beauty" because of various quilts that won awards at the 1933 Worlds Fair.

Mountain Mist New York Beauty, c. 1930

The traditional "New York Beauty" quilts look quite different from the current versions of the quilt.  In the 1990's Karen K Stone released a book that changed how the quilt blocks were positioned in the quilt.  The end result was how most modern quilters create a "New York Beauty" today.

One of my favorite New York Beauties.

I am a little intimidated by creating this quilt, but I am so excited to learn paper piecing.  I'll post more of what I learn and create in the next few months.  If you want to read more about the history of the New York Beauty go to the blog Wonkyworld.