Criminal Intent

Pattern Source

This block is Pattern #74, Dove and Lyre, from Elly Sienkiewicz's book The Best of Baltimore Beauties Part II.

Block Title

The week before I started this block my sister Kathy and I discovered that we each have a fascination with the acting ability of Vincent d'Onofrio, star of Law and Order: Criminal Intent. Kathy's been a fan a long time, but I only recently discovered the show in reruns, so I had missed most of the episodes. Kathy was kind enough to share her DVD collection with me, so while I sewed this block I watched seasons 1 and 3 of Criminal Intent (all 40+ episodes!).

This Leg of the Journey – Completed February 2006

Teddy selected this block at the same time he selected the Cornucopia block. I think he has a lot more faith in my ability than I do! Teddy picked out the fabric for the lyre and strings at a local quilt shop. He wanted it to be golden, probably reminiscent of the golden harp in Stephen Sondheim's musical Into the Woods, a play Teddy crewed on last summer. When Teddy went up north skiing with a buddy for four days, I decided to spend the long weekend making it. It took all four days (and long hours spent watching Vincent d'Onofrio emote!), but I completed it the day Teddy returned. It turned out better than I imagined.

Lesson Learned

The smallest amount of gold metallic thread can make a block come alive (lyre strings). This is the first block on which I used embroidery, another skill that's pretty much foreign to me (bird and leaf enhancement). Happily, Elly's books provide good instructions, so after a wee bit of trial and error, I think I got the hang of it!