CATEGORIES

Christmas Memories

SCRAPS DELIGHT

All-Time Favorite Scarf

Holiday Countdown

Ski Party

Grab a package of bright precut strips and a coordinating solid fabric and you are ready to sew.

Rags to Riches

Challenge yourself with this skinny-strip piecing for a gorgeous finished quilt.

Flurries

Make this stunning quilt in a day when you use precut strips.

Snow Rubies

A simple block takes on new life when placed on point and paired with a classic red and white combination.

Soothing Blues Pillow

Simple embroidered lines, inspired by Japanese sashiko embroidery, are worked on the white strips in four shades of blue floss to create a soothing feel.

Star Snowman Mini Wall Hanging

Simple piecing, fusible appliqué and folded prairie points are featured in this whimsical wall hanging.

Multitasking-Magic Table Mats

Put the finishing touch on your holiday table with a bit of magic. One set will never be enough. Quilted table mats are also a great gift idea.

Diamond Rainbow

Rainbow diamonds dance across this quilt set in gray solid for a modern vibe.

Christmas Gift Envelopes

These festive felt envelopes create a clever wrapping for gift cards and other small holiday presents.

All About Quilt Backings

Your quilt back can look as nice as the front of it with these easy tips.

Palatki Red Cliffs Ancient Painters' Palette

In the shadow of the famous red cliffs of Sedona, the ancient ruins of Palatki remain silent for nearly 700 years. The Palatki Red Cliffs is a designated World Heritage archaeological site that contains cliff dwellings, pictographs, and petroglyphs created by the Sinagua people of the Ancestral Puebloans.

Turning to the “Other” Tourmaline Crystals

COMPLEX, PLENTIFUL, AND AFFORDABLE

What New Things Are You Learning?

For many within the rockhounding community, the answer to our headline could be a combination of several technological applications. During a conversation with a reader recently, the kind gentleman from Tennessee shared with me details about his experience setting up a virtual meeting for his mineral club, and how at the young age of 74, he was selected to “figure it out,” because he was a former teacher. As he said to me, “Teaching is one thing. Technology is something altogether different.”

Something New at Biggs Junction

EXPLORING A NEW DEPOSIT DISCOVERY IN NORTH CENTRAL OREGON

Mexican Purple Passion Agate

Mexico has long been a source of brilliant colored banded and lace agates, but, for the last couple of years, one agate, in particular, has generated a lot of attention: Purple Passion!

NEVADA'S CARLIN TREND

AMERICA’S GREATEST GOLD-MINING DISTRICT

Claim to Copper Fame

BUTTE, MONTANA’S COLORFUL HISTORY OF BECOMING “THE RICHEST HILL ON EARTH”

CASTANEA CORALS

Finding Fossils from a Silurian Coral Reef

CAPTIVATING FIND AT THE CARVER AGATE FIELD

GEOLOGICAL MYSTERY DRAWS INTEREST

10 Fascinating Facts About Opal

The name “opal” is the subject of long-standing debate. Some accounts cite the origin of the name to be the Latin word opalus, while other reports state it hails from the Greek word opallios.

Pennsylvania's Pequea Silver Mines

Lancaster County’s Hub of Geological History and Modern Recreation

Removing a Bezel Set Stone

On numerous forums, I frequently see questions about how to remove a stone from a bezel setting.

Staying Connected and Inspired

In its July-August newsletter, Flatirons Facets, the Flatirons Mineral Club of Boulder County, Colorado, shared examples of how their club members are staying connected and enjoying their shared rockhounding and lapidary interests in today’s socially distant world.

SYNTHETIC DIAMONDS

Evolution of a Laboratory Produced and Highly Debated Gemstone

THE LYMAN MUSEUM

Taking in the Splendor and Intriguing History of One of the Top 10 Best Mineral Collections

Rock Walk Uncovers Agate With a Unique Face

I have been retired for several years and since I moved from Iowa to Minnesota, I have enjoyed searching the gravel roads and rocky farm fields for agates and interesting rocks.

Nisyros' Volcanic Caldera

The Greek island of Nisyros lies in the middle of the Aegean Sea.

GEOLOGY 101 - The “Sailing Stones” of Death Valley: How a Mystery was Resolved

It was a mystery long in resolving, namely, the “sailing stones” of California’s Death Valley National Park. Sometimes called “walking rocks,” these are boulders as heavy as 100 pounds with one as large as 700 pounds. So, what was the mystery?