Growing up, my family observed the Jewish Shabbat from sundown Friday until Saturday night.  Every week on Friday night, my mother made a special dinner,  then summonsed my sisters and me to ritually light candles to usher in the day of rest.  Besides going to services, I could do little else on Saturdays—not homework, not shopping or going out with friends, not working on my craft projects, watching TV, or playing the radio. I read a great deal.  I generally liked the slowing down and rest of those Saturdays, but as I headed into my teens, the restrictions began to chafe, and the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday evening—called Havdallah, marking the end of the Sabbath observance—was impatiently anticipated.  I remember sitting at the window at sunset, soaking in the peace of Shabbat and of the encroaching edge of twilight, while simultaneously willing three stars to appear.  This quilt captures that moment’s mix of peace and anticipation.

I used multiple printing and stenciling techniques to create the sun, tree, and foreground in this quilt, which I embellished with dye pens, dye crayons, and stitching.