eQuilter Blog

Once again, I must share the loss of a great friend, mentor, and longtime industry leader. Harvey Kaufman left us on February 23, and I’d like to share what was on the Robert Kaufman social media pages about the man I called “Uncle Harvey”:

Harvey was the youngest of the Robert Kaufman children and joined his brothers, Saul and Alvin, in building what would become Robert Kaufman Co., Inc. For more than six decades, he poured himself into the company – not simply into growing a business, but into building relationships. He was a natural salesman in the fullest sense of the word: he celebrated the highs, steadied himself and others through the lows, and never lost his belief in people.

He built our sales force across the United States and around the world. He was the driving force behind the creation and expansion of Kona Cotton. But if you asked Harvey what mattered most, it would not have been a product line or a milestone – it would have been the people around the table.

He mentored the Kaufman generation that followed his and guided countless employees and sales professionals over the years. Many careers were shaped by his encouragement, his candor, and his faith in what others could achieve.

At his retirement celebration in December 2024, he said words that now feel like a blessing to all of us:

“It’s been a wonderful journey for me and I’m so filled with gratitude because of who you are, what I have contributed to each one of you, and more importantly what you have contributed to me. You can work for over 60 years to build something, but the building of it isn’t so much; it is truly what’s sitting at the table tonight. I love all of you and I wish you nothing but continued success.”

Sharing your passion for fabric…
Luana & Paul

* The photo in the lower right is from Quilt Market in November 2003, when Sophie was still a baby.

Subscribe to my artist website and blog!
www.luanarubin.com

Travel/Lecture Dates:
Apr 26 – May 1 – Alegre Retreat, Gateway CO
May 16 – New England Quilt Museum, Soul Stories Artist Reception
May 18-26 – Montpellier, France
June 4-5 – Featured Speaker – World Environment Day – Houston
July 28 – Aug 2 – Festival of Quilts – Birmingham UK
Nov 12-15 – Intl Quilt Festival – Houston

Visit eQuilter’s Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok pages for Color and Design ideas.

See Luana’s Flickr Photo Pages for travel images, comment on our blog, or follow us on Facebook.

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

We have lost another great leader in our industry – my friend and mentor – Harvey Kaufman. I will write more about him in my e-newsletter next Wednesday morning. For now, all of us at eQuilter send our deepest condolences to the Kaufman family.

I just got off the phone with a non-profit group in Houston, who has asked me to be the keynote speaker on World Environment Day. The topic will be “Art and Activism”. I will let you know the details in case you are interested in attending.

There is a lot of discussion online this week about the quilts that had powerful messages at QuiltCon. Some have complained that they were political quilts. However most of us look at them as statements about moral or ethical topics, like human rights, social justice, etc.

One thing I know for sure, is that quilts are an expression of love and caring, and they bring us together in more ways than we can count. I had several meetings with friends and industry leaders at QuiltCon, and the constant theme was how can we support each other and help the quilting world to move forward. And I know that YOU are a part of that also. Thank you.

Luana and Paul

Subscribe to my artist blog here.

Travel/Lecture Dates:
Apr 26 – May 1 – Alegre Retreat, Gateway CO
May 16 – New England Quilt Museum, Soul Stories Artist Reception
May 18-26 – Montpellier, France
June 4-5 – Featured Speaker – World Environment Day – Houston
July 28 – Aug 2 – Festival of Quilts – Birmingham UK
Nov 12-15 – Intl Quilt Festival – Houston



Visit eQuilter’s Instagram and Pinterest pages for Color and Design ideas.

See Luana’s Artist Blog, Flickr Photo Pages for travel images, comment on our blog, or follow us on Facebook.

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

Having just returned from QuiltCon in Raleigh North Carolina, I’d like to share the winner of the Viewers Choice Award…an absolutely gorgeous portrait.

“Frances” by Jeanne Eileen Garcia
Handwork Category
Denver Metro Modern Quilt Guild

Artist Statement:
“Despite my occasional eye-rolling as a child at comparisons to my mother – in likeness, tone, or attitude – I’ve always valued that connection, like a little echo carried in me. Hand-piecing and quilting this portrait created space to consider her influence and how her traits and choices shape my own. The quilt’s front presents her likeness, the back holds notes and reflections from the process. Together they form both a portrait and a record of thought.”

Congratulations to Jeanne!

I am editing photos and have uploaded this quilt and detail shots in this album – more photos to come soon.

We just sold out of the new QuiltCon Magazine yesterday (!) but more is on the way. You can check back later this week on this page, or contact Customer Service and they will let you know when it is back in stock. Soon!

I got some fun news a few days ago. I have 3 quilts already scheduled for Semi-Quincentennial exhibits at the New England Quilt Museum and Virginia Quilt Museum for this year’s July 4th – 250 year celebration exhibits. I picked up a flyer for the VA exhibit while at QuiltCon, and my Assateague Pony quilt is featured there. Yay!

Just found out my 4th Semi-Quin quilt will be at the Texas Quilt Museum in “My America…What It Means To Me” this summer, and in Houston this Fall. Yay! This is the Wolf quilt with the American Flag that is currently hanging in the Denver Capital Building, in the Speaker of the House’s office.

I hope you are also finishing up at least one quilt to document the Semi-Quincentennial this year. There are many ways to interpret and document what is happening in America, and whatever you make will be studied and appreciated in the future. Be sure to put a descriptive label on the back also!

Sharing your passion for fabric…
Luana & Paul

Subscribe to my artist website and blog!
www.luanarubin.com

Travel/Lecture Dates:
Apr 26 – May 1 – Alegre Retreat, Gateway CO
May 16 – New England Quilt Museum, Soul Stories Artist Reception
May 18-26 – Montpellier, France
June 4-5 – Featured Speaker – World Environment Day – Houston
July 28 – Aug 2 – Festival of Quilts – Birmingham UK
Nov 12-15 – Intl Quilt Festival – Houston

Visit eQuilter’s Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok pages for Color and Design ideas.

See Luana’s Flickr Photo Pages for travel images, comment on our blog, or follow us on Facebook.

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

Today I am writing to you before I get on the plane, having spent 3 days at QuiltCon, and as usual, I am tracking how ‘Modern Quilting’ is changing and growing. I will feature a quilt and write about the show in the Weds morning e-newsletter.

One thing I can say is that there is more overlap with what I consider contemporary or art quilts.

The quilt I wanted to buy did not win an award and was not for sale.

Unfortunately I was given wrong information about the quilt exhibit location(s) so I completely missed seeing and photographing the community quilts, so I hope those of you who did photograph those quilts, will share them online. As we arrived we were told all the quilts were on the lower floor. The community (guild challenge) quilts were evidently on another floor and we did not see signs. So sorry about that. But I will report on the quilts in the main exhibit. I was not the only one who was looking for the community quilts, and did not see them. It was a topic of discussion in my 3 meetings yesterday. If you are at the show Sunday, I hope you see those quilts!

As usual, there were many quilts with a message about current events. I am especially interested in activist quilts, and fiber art with a message. Those quilts often had a crowd clustered around them, with many taking photos and sparking discussion. QuiltCon is known for including these types of quilts, and it is my favorite thing about this show.

Love and hugs from all of us at eQuilter.com!

Luana and Paul

Subscribe to my artist blog here.

Travel/Lecture Dates:
Apr 26 – May 1 – Alegre Retreat, Gateway CO
May 16 – New England Quilt Museum, Soul Stories Artist Reception
May 18-26 – Montpellier, France
July 29 – Aug 2 – Birmingham UK – Festival of Quilts


Visit eQuilter’s Instagram and Pinterest pages for Color and Design ideas.

See Luana’s Artist Blog, Flickr Photo Pages for travel images, comment on our blog, or follow us on Facebook.

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

A few days ago I learned that a dear friend and longtime mentor of mine, has died. My blog today is an appreciation for Connie Amaden-Crawford, who I met in 1980 as a fashion design student at FIDM in Los Angeles. She was my draping and patternmaking teacher. She was tough and exacting and the other students were afraid of her. But…I was her straight A student, and I learned decades later that she was responsible for my full scholarship which was a blessing to me. Honestly, I don’t know where I would be without Connie mentoring me as a young woman. She was a gift bestowed on me by the Universe, and when I asked how I could possibly repay her, she was just tell me….to pass it on.

Her love for teaching extended through the rest of her professional life. I am sure many of you took classes with her. Her specialty was helping women to make patterns and garments that were custom-fit to their bodies, no matter what size or shape. And…she had a Bernina machine which was her pride and joy. She wouldn’t let me touch it though…ha. I finally got my own Bernina 25 years later.

She wrote the textbooks on draping and patternmaking that were used by the fashion design schools. She was a licensed designer for McCall’s Pattern Company for the Butterick Label. She wrote articles for countless sewing magazines, and was a guest speaker on HGTV and the ABC series “Home”.

I wish for every ambitious creative young person to have such a mentor. And for those of you further along in your sewing and quilting careers, I urge you to look for opportunities to mentor those special young people who cross your path.

Our teacher-student relationship extended to a long friendship across the miles and decades, and we had a deep appreciation for each other as creative professional women. Her generosity made all the difference when I was trying to figure out who I would be in the world.

Thank you Connie. I will never forget you.

Sharing your passion for fabric…
Luana & Paul

* The 2004 photo above is of Connie and myself, when she came to see my garment in the Bernina Fashion Show in Houston.

Subscribe to my artist website and blog!
www.luanarubin.com

Travel/Lecture Dates:
Feb 18-21 – QuiltCon – Raleigh NC
Apr 26 – May 1 – Alegre Retreat, Gateway CO
May 16 – New England Quilt Museum, Soul Stories Artist Reception
May 18-26 – Montpellier, France

Visit eQuilter’s Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok pages for Color and Design ideas.

See Luana’s Flickr Photo Pages for travel images, comment on our blog, or follow us on Facebook.

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.