Agate is a type of fine grain quartz. Layers upon layers of different mineral compounds forming a large stone overtime. From reading, it appears this stone's largely identified by it's stripes rather than color. From ancient times to present day, the stone is often carved into artwork, jewelry or practical items such as mortars and pestles.
The Hebrew word for Agate is Shebuw. Some Bible scholars believe this stone represented the tribe of Simeon. In ancient times, Agate was the birthstone for May but has been replaced with emerald in the modern world.
When I was choosing fabrics for Agate, I decided to go with colors and tones that weren't going to be in any other blocks. In the end, I used more muted colors rather than different colors.
Even thought I have a variety of colors, I still tried to have some kind of uniformity. To achieve this, I focused on the tan and peach as my main two fabrics and added in the deep green, yellow, purple and blue. It took awhile to figure out what fabrics I really did like.
For the other large pieces, corner and side pieces, I decided to use one of each secondary colors. The little triangles I used peach. The tan and peach served as neutrals in the block.
When I went to assemble this "stone," it took awhile for me to feel like it was just right. In the end, I attempted to angle each piece opposite of each other. After I figured out the main pieces, the small rectangles went into place fairly easy.
All in all I am happy with the outcome of the block.
