Amethyst, Onyx, and Topaz

The working title for this piece was "Amethyst Crystals", but as I was finishing the binding on it, my love of semi-precious stones led me to think of stones in more of the colors of the quilt. Hence, the new name.

After tying off the thread on the last stitch of the binding, I placed it on my kitchen island while I went for my phone to take photos. That is when I noticed the matching colors in the gorgeous bouquet of flowers my daughter had given me. She works part-time for a neighborhood florist, and for Christmas she gifted me a "Bouquet of the month". This was the beauty she brought me in January. She knows how much I love these colors together.

The top of this quilt was finished 2 1/2 years ago, based on the Pam Buda pattern called Haunted Maze. I started it in a class she taught for Village Dry Goods in July 2023, and completed the top the following month. It became buried in a pile of small flimsies. I finally pulled it out last fall and started the quilting, doing stitch-in-the-ditch on my domestic sewing machine. When I got to the border, I switched to my Sweet 16 quilting machine, but tension issues would not resolve. So it was back to my DSM for some straight stitch quilting in the border. I had planned on something swirly, but I don't like to FMQ on my DSM, so this is what I settled on, and I'm okay with it.

An "almost finish" is my Circa 1880 quilt (another Pam Buda pattern). I had it quilted by my longarm quilter. I thought I would do it myself, and even practiced the Baptist Fans on another quilt to make sure I could handle it. But my shoulder didn't love all the pushing around of the quilt for those sweeping arcs, so I let the expert handle it--and she did it so well. It has been 6 years to the month since I had the top assembled and bordered. It is about time it got quilted!

When it came to the border quilting design, I didn't want it to look modern or fancy. In searching vintage and classic quilting patterns, I came across this book.

Can you see the design quilted on the border of the cover quilt? It is just diagonal lines, and I liked it right away.

Here it is up close.

I am very pleased with how this border design turned out for the Circa 1880 quilt, and I can't wait to get it bound and actually use it on our bed.

The stencil used for the Baptist Fan quilting is from Barb Vedder's Etsy shop. She designed it herself! You can find it HERE. My longarm quilter also quilted my Schoolhouse quilt using this stencil (hopefully I can share that in my next post), and she really liked it, so now I have ordered one for her.

That is the end of the quilty content. The orchids in the kitchen windows are blooming, which always brightens cold, winter days.

These keep blooming until spring flowers are starting to open, so I really don't care that they usually don't bloom again until winter returns. They are at their best when I need it the most.

The sunset was stunning a couple of nights ago. It was another one of those nights when the sunset was flaming in the west, but casting a beautiful glow onto the east.

Western Sky:

Eastern Sky:

Walking north from my home, I could turn to my left or my right for glorious color. It was magical!

Getting this post written in February was something I was determined to do, and I am just squeaking this under the wire. 

I hope that in this time of chaos and division, you are finding some calm and peace with needle and thread, good books, music, nature, family and friends--whatever soothes and comforts. Find the beauty and the good where you can, and create it, if you can't!

Until next time,

Be creative, and be kind!

Janet O.