Sunday, May 29, 2016

Utah's National Parks and English Paper Piecing

I've just returned from a two week trip to see some National Parks in Utah and Arizona.
There were long car rides, so I took along my EPP stars.


I started with this star in Seattle.




We flew to Las Vegas and rented a car. 
We also went to the Neon Museum, a fun place to visit in LV.




The first park we visited was Zion National Park in Utah.  
Wow!  A very beautiful place.  




After that, we went to Bryce Canyon.
Another natural wonder!




Next stop was Moab, Utah, which is close to many of the parks 
AND they have great a quilt shop!





From there, we hiked Arches National Park.
Incredible! 




Then we headed to Navajo Nation.  
On our way, we stopped at "Newspaper Rock"
and saw these petroglyphs, all made before 1300, A.D.



In Monument Valley I spotted these Navajo rugs.



Then we saw ancient ruins of the Anasazi at Canyon De Shelly.



The finale of the trip was the Grand Canyon.
Amazing!
  


Here's the chunk of nine stars I'd made before, (on the left,)
along with the 18 stars I finished on the trip.
Now they'll be packed up and ready for the next travels.

Besides having a great time, I developed a true appreciation for our National Parks, 
the Navajo Nation
AND for English paper piecing!

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42 comments:

  1. BarbMay 29, 2016 at 12:58 PM

    You hiked up to Delicate Arch! Looks like there weren't a lot of people up there. Wasn't that beautiful? We hiked it for sunset so it was a bit hairy going down in the dark but we had headlamps and that helped. Arches is one of my favorite parks.

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  2. Karen in Breezy PointMay 29, 2016 at 1:14 PM

    So fun to watch your stars grow! I think I need to plan a road trip--such beautiful scenery. I had never heard of Newspaper Rock--very cool!

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  3. AnonymousMay 29, 2016 at 1:25 PM

    that is so cool to see your pics of your growing EPP stars in beautiful settings - and you in the last picture. :) hand sewing projects are so great! - portable - you can get lots done and feel that your hands are doing something useful. this, and your work, inspires me to put together a "travel" kit, even for things like local meetings. and maybe try EPP, which has always seemed so fiddly and intimidating.

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  4. janequiltsslowlyMay 29, 2016 at 3:07 PM

    Looks like an amazing trip. I love the travelogue with EPP. Your quilt will be a lovely souvenir of your travels. I really love the red background for your scrapy stars.

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  5. QuiltdivajulieMay 29, 2016 at 6:43 PM

    What incredible natural beauty in your photos. So much fun to see the progressive growth of your stars - and what an awesome photo of you at the Grand Canyon!

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  6. Jenny MMay 29, 2016 at 7:51 PM

    Amazing & beautiful locations! And beautiful work, so fun to see your piece growing & in the locations you visited. from Jenny in Australia

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  7. BéaMay 29, 2016 at 10:09 PM

    Thank you for sharing your amazing travel & work. XXX

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  8. BernapatchMay 29, 2016 at 11:17 PM

    I love it....The journey or the quilt , i do'nt know....

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  9. Kleine VingersMay 29, 2016 at 11:34 PM

    The quilt looks great and the parks and landscapes are amazing.
    greetings

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  10. The Cozy QuilterMay 30, 2016 at 4:07 AM

    I love to do a little stitching in the car too! Loved seeing your progress on the EPP and the beautiful places you visited as you sewed!

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  11. PatSloanMay 30, 2016 at 4:56 AM

    You are so cute! i was just in Moab for the Canyonland area on our way to Utah.. we drove from VA to UT!

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  12. Cheryl's Teapots2QuiltingMay 30, 2016 at 5:48 AM

    Fun and creative post. I liked seeing your EPP expand during your travels.

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  13. Ailsa (Cape Pincushion)May 30, 2016 at 5:54 AM

    Wow, what an amazing trip! And your star blocks looks so stunning.

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  14. Vicki May 30, 2016 at 6:10 AM

    I love this post!! Great pics and beautiful blocks. :)

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  15. Mary KeaslerMay 30, 2016 at 6:32 AM

    Beautiful photos with a beautiful lady and beautiful quilt in the making. Love that you are using red as your solid. Oh so Nifty!

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  16. NancyMay 30, 2016 at 7:12 AM

    Proof positive that traveling and quilting are a good combo! Beautiful photos and stars.

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  17. BruceMay 30, 2016 at 7:43 AM

    What a great trip! The quilt blocks in the pictures remind me of Flat Stanley, a travelling cartoon character my girls had fun with one summer when they were in school (many moons ago).

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  18. Quilteuse ForeverMay 30, 2016 at 8:37 AM

    Amazing trip, natural beauties of Utah and EPP-made starring beauties!
    Red is the new black with you!

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  19. MarieMay 30, 2016 at 8:48 AM

    And so it grows. What a lovely travel diary.

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  20. MonicaMay 30, 2016 at 12:54 PM

    LOL, fun post, LeeAnn!

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  21. PamMay 30, 2016 at 6:49 PM

    I'm totally impressed!! What a great way to document your trip and your stitching progress.

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  22. KyleMay 30, 2016 at 8:31 PM

    What a great way to tell your story. I found myself eager to look at the next photo first to see where you were and then to see how much your amazing quilt had grown.

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  23. Sujata ShahMay 30, 2016 at 11:46 PM

    What a marvelous journey you and your paper piecing have been on! I enjoyed your IG pictures! This is another stunner in the making!

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  24. BrendaMay 31, 2016 at 3:29 AM

    Great sights and great quilt in progress!

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  25. AnnMay 31, 2016 at 4:56 PM

    My sister is touring several of the same parks now. How clever of you to pose your stars with Park backgrounds. Beautiful.

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  26. smazoochieMay 31, 2016 at 5:38 PM

    How much fun, seeing your stars growing along your trip. I love the idea of having a 'road-trip' project.
    Thanks for sharing your photos of those beautiful sights!

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  27. MaritJune 1, 2016 at 3:18 AM

    Beautiful blocks in lovely landscapes! Fun to travel with you and follow the piecing progress. There will be so many beautiful memories made into this quilt.... Looks like wonderful days on the road!
    ; )

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  28. Bricolos du LundiJune 1, 2016 at 5:26 AM

    If I had known there were a nice quilt shop in Moab, I would have stopped during our family trip few years ago !! Too far from Paris now...
    Nice idea to show how your patchwork grows during your trip! You will always associate this quilt to your trip!

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  29. DebJune 1, 2016 at 8:45 AM

    I love that you showed your quilt progress in your photos. Very clever!

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  30. KajaJune 2, 2016 at 6:05 AM

    What a great trip - and I like your on location photos a lot. I wish I could quilt in the car!

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  31. Linda in NCJune 2, 2016 at 7:25 AM

    What a gorgeous quilt-on-the-way in gorgeous scenery! I love the idea of a travel project that will serve as a document of your various travels with no pressure to finish it in between - just fun on the road!

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  32. SharonJune 2, 2016 at 6:42 PM

    You sure got to see some great parts of the US. I think Utah is so spectacular, so many great places to see. Super cute EPP,

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  33. AnitaJune 5, 2016 at 12:46 PM

    So fun to read, thank you.

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  34. Cynthia@wabi-sabi-quiltsJune 6, 2016 at 6:11 PM

    I love this post - the geography, and seeing your piecing grow with it. That quilt will hold a lot of good traveling memories. I lived in UT for one year way back, but never made it to Bryce Canyon or Arches - they are on my bucket list!

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  35. JudithJune 7, 2016 at 3:33 AM

    I just read your post during my lunchbreak. My husband and I are planning a camper trip to the USA next year, great post! Plenty of good idea's, even including a quiltshop in Moab! Thanks, and your quilt? Just gorgeous.

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  36. Bonnie HullJune 8, 2016 at 10:27 AM

    Terrific travel-blog....and those petroglyphs...wow!

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  37. AnnemiekeJune 13, 2016 at 2:07 AM

    Beatiful trip this must have been! And I feel you get so much inspiration from it don't you?
    I love your stars!
    Groetjes
    Annemieke

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  38. BarbJune 14, 2016 at 6:38 AM

    what a great trip was fun to watch via IG

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  39. Judy MartinJune 15, 2016 at 12:28 PM

    That Newspaper Rock blows me away. Thank you for sharing your trip.
    The quilt you are stitching as the miles go by will hold many of the memories for you - the conversations, where you stopped to eat, etc.

    A wonderful post. xo

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  40. Quilter KathyJune 19, 2016 at 4:27 AM

    How fun to see the project grow as the trip progressed!

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  41. RachaeldaisyJune 19, 2016 at 5:17 PM

    Woohoo!! What an awesome trip of beautiful places and so wonderful to see your blocks grow along the way. What better souvenir could there be but your journey stitched into a quilt.

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  42. Selvage QuilterJune 23, 2016 at 6:51 AM

    All these fantastic locations look even better with your growing quilt in the foreground. Nice!

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