My Quip – The Amulet – A New Quilt in Progress

Good Day,

Supper last night – Thai cucumber, onion, bird chilies, and culantro salad, Sous vide teriyaki chicken with a teriyaki glaze reduction, garlic baby bok choy, and slivered broccoli with shitake mushrooms. I am still amazed each time I use the Sous vide contraption… And supper was good, and company was great.

Yes, we are working on a number of quilts concurrently… and it all depends upon deadlines and the type of mood Andy or I may be in. At times we like to walk away from one of our projects just to give ourselves a breather… and at times the work may become somewhat tedious. But all of our list of pending quilts and wall-hangings are works in progress… That is, until our Smith Brunhammer label is completed and attached to the back of a work.

This past January I wrote that we had started a new and original work inspired by a bracelet created by the artist Richard Tsosie. Our top, constructed of approximately 120 pieces, rectangles and squares of fabric, The Amulet, has been completed. The approximate and anticipated size of the completed quilt should be a Double-size quilt.

We have picked the back fabric, a light blue, and a variegated blue thread to complete the quilting. Our decision of how to attempt to quilt The Amulet has taken some time. The quilting we decided upon is a freeform meandering and continuous maze-like pattern. It seems to be the most complementary to the fabrics and design.

Once loaded and started we completed one pass of quilting and then stopped. We did not like the variegated blue thread on the light blue backing. And so, we have unloaded the quilt-wich and are picking all the initial quilting… to start over again. A new backing thread choice has been picked and a lesson has been learned.

Lesson learned… Work a sample quilt before attempting the final product… Hey we're still learning.

Enjoy, and stay tuned for updates on The Amulet.

Andy and Jim