I did, indeed, learn a lesson from the Landscapes book. In the back of the book, there are two viewfinders…one is a 6 x 8 inches, and the other one is 2 x 3 inches. Although the photo above looks like it is the larger one, it is not.
The book suggests looking at common objects through the view finder. So I grabbed some seashells I have lying around, and took the time to look at them. And you know what? I love what I saw (see). The above seashell pattern provides inspiration for a piece of fabric art…if I can find the right grays, pinks, and blue-gray shades. Here are some other ones I liked:
The author also suggested that we examine some fabric that we like through the viewfinder, so here is a not-too-exciting shot: 
I notice the pattern on this blue fabric in more detail than I see when I hold a large piece of the fabric.
Then I used the larger viewfinder to examine a landscape I sewed. This was an interesting experience because before I used the viewfinder, I thought the landscape was not good enough. But by using the viewfinder, I could find the good parts of the landscape. And I like this!
We had a family friend who was an artist. He
used that trick to find his subject to paint. He said it made the painting more interesting to take one part of a view, one subject. I never thought of applying it to fabric endeavors. What a great idea!