eQuilter Blog

Do you remember the first time you saw Yoda use The Force to beat the bad guys in a Star Wars movie? I do! I was in a movie theater, and the packed audience broke out in applause and cheering. Now, for a new generation we have Baby Yoda as a budding hero. (Also known as Grogu)

Knowing how our Mandalorian and Grogu prints sold out during the 2019-2023 series, I wanted to let you know we still have some collectible yardage of 6 Mandalorian/Grogu designs. Maybe snag some now before the movie comes out and your grandkids are begging for a Grogu quilt.

Sometimes we feel small and powerless, and we need a reminder of that Shakespeare quote… “Though she be little, she is fierce.”

From Rocky Raccoon to Mighty Mouse, pop culture is full of tiny heroes who wield surprisingly great power. This little Mouse Wizard is reminding me of all the other movie characters who are diminutive but surprise us with their strength…like Dobby, Baby Groot, Stitch, Baby Jack in the Incredibles, and Ant Man.

Personally, I loved the stories of Stuart Little – written by E.B. White, illustrated by Garth Williams. This 1945 children’s novel about a tiny, unlikely hero…is timeless. Fortunately there is also a 1999 Stuart Little movie, with the perfectly cast Michael J. Fox as the little mouse’s voice.

But what about the little girl heroes?
We need to see more of these female stories for our daughters. Ruby Bridges, Anne Frank, Malala, and Greta Thunberg are admired for their courage. As a girl I loved the books about Pippi Longstocking. I suspect my Swedish grandmother introduced my mother to these stories. Author Astrid Lindgren explained that “Pippi represents my own childish longing for a person who has power but does not abuse it.” Although she is the self-proclaimed “strongest girl in the world”, Pippi often uses nonviolence to solve conflicts, via guile and creativity, to protect other children from bullying. That’s my kinda gal!

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

Sharing your passion for fabric…
Luana & Paul

Travel/Lecture Dates:
May 16 – New England Quilt Museum, Soul Stories Artist Reception & Lecture
June 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.

I think that today – Mothers Day – has more meaning to all of our eQuilter customers than almost any other holiday. Why? Because so many of us learned our beloved craft from our mothers or grandmothers. And in addition, we have taught our children, or grandchildren, to sit with us and share the joy of stitching. The pride and satisfaction that comes from making and gifting our first quilt, is something we never forget. The love and generosity flows from a mother’s heart into every stitch of those quilts.

If you are thinking of a last minute gift for your own mother, or perhaps someone who is a new mother, we remind you that an emailed eQuilter.com Gift Certificate will be instantly received by the recipient!

I hope you saw my blog on Wednesday. You’ll find a link to attend my lecture at the New England Quilt Museum next weekend. If you can’t make the artist reception, I hope you can see the Soul Stories exhibit while it is there. The exhibit will be traveling to the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham UK this summer also!

Sharing your passion for fabrics….
Luana and Paul

Subscribe to my artist blog here.

Travel/Lecture Dates:
May 16 – New England Quilt Museum, Soul Stories Artist Reception
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.

As I mentioned in my last couple emails, I was at the Alegre Retreat in SW Colorado all last week, and Thursday I drove over to Moab and Arches National Park for the day. What an amazing and inspirational experience! I did speak to a woman park ranger about the federal funding cuts to the National Park system, and she told me they are just barely hanging on. I urge all of you to support and visit at least one National Park in the next several months, and experience the wonder of these sacred places. They deserve to be protected and cherished.

This is one of my favorite photos. It is of a 350 foot tall rock tower know as the Three Gossips. To the right of them is Sheep Rock. If it looks familiar, it was shown briefly in the opening scene credits of the 1989 film ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’. (The John Williams theme song is my morning alarm.)

I had a glorious day to visit the park and take photos. About 25 years ago I took my kids to the park. When I realized that Gateway Colorado was just over the border from Utah, I figured it was time to go back! There is nothing like spending time in Nature to get your heart and soul re-aligned. I got my creative mojo back in high gear, and this week I am finishing the piece I started at the retreat.

For those of you near Lowell Massachusetts, please note that a week from Saturday, on May 16, I will be attending an Artist Reception for the Soul Stories exhibit at the New England Quilt Museum. You can RSVP for our 1 pm lecture on their website. About a dozen of the artists will be in attendance!

On Friday June 5th I will be in Houston giving a lecture on Art & Activism, for World Environment Day. Information is on the top of my personal Facebook page now, including a QR code to RSVP.

Subscribe to my artist website and blog for more updates on future events!

We just got a nice heavy wet Spring Snowstorm and the kids are having a Snow Day off from school today. We need the moisture here!

Sharing your passion for fabric…
Luana & Paul

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

Travel/Lecture Dates:
May 16 – New England Quilt Museum, Soul Stories Artist Reception
June 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.

I am writing to you this week from southwest Colorado, on the last day of the Alegre Art Retreat in beautiful Gateway. I’ve spent a wonderful week with many brilliant artists and members of the textile art community. And … I made a lot of progress on a new piece! So I am feeling productive.

Thursday I drove over to Moab in Utah, and spent some time in Arches National Park. Many years ago I participated in the National Parks quilt project, and my quilt was for Arches National Park. The exhibit traveled for several years, and there was a companion book. So while I was here, I just HAD to pop over to visit Arches. It was 2.5 hours to Moab, then a short drive to the entrance of the National Park. Once I was inside I had the most amazing experience. It was busy, but everyone was polite and happy. Lately when I am out and about, people are grumpy and stressed, but my day in the park was like being in a parallel dimension where everybody smiled and took turns. Why? Because everyone was so ecstatic about being in such an other-worldly and beautiful landscape. Our National Parks are priceless, and I urge you to support our public lands, and visit at least one National Park in the next few months. The park ranger told me they are just barely hanging on, after all the funding cuts. I have a Senior annual pass which I got at Rocky Mountain National Park, but it also worked at Arches. They are very affordable. Support your National Parks!

Our daughter Sophie Quinn spent several hours in her college parking lot Thursday evening, rescuing an 8 week old orange kitten who was stuck inside the chassis of a car. She took the kitten to an emergency vet because it was shivering and starving. The owners of the car decided they wanted to keep the kitten so it worked out for everyone because Sophie Quinn already has a cat. But I am proud of her that she did the right thing and rescued that tiny baby who was lost and alone. Probably would not have survived the night otherwise.

Sharing your passion for fabrics….
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.

Today I am writing to you from Southwest Colorado, near the Utah border. I am attending the Alegre Art Retreat run by Katie Pasquini Masopust. I met Katie over 20 years ago, when I took her class at Art Quilt Tahoe. Most of the attendees are in classes, but I am in independent study. I started a new piece last week and I am hoping to get it mostly done while I am here.

Yesterday our guest speaker was Kaye England, who many of you will recognize as one of the Matriarchs of the quilt industry. I have not seen Kaye for many years, but I used to say hi at Quilt Market, and we took some trips together. We traveled to Switzerland, China and Italy together, with Bernina Ambassador group, and Beth Hayes/McCalls tour groups.

We are in a drought in Colorado, but we’ve had blessed rain the last few days. Here in the red rock canyon of Gateway, the rain has brought an explosion of pink, yellow and orange-red cactus flowers. Springtime here brings a wide palette of greens, from the yellow-green of new leaves, to the pale silver-green of sage. When the rain stops and the monumental stone cathedrals glow against the electric blue sky, it takes one’s breath away. The starry skies dazzle across the velvet black curtain of midnight. This is what we love about the Southwest … the colors of sky, earth and nature … nurture and energize us as we dream of our next creative adventures.

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 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.

The last few days I have been enjoying the SAQA virtual conference, with presenters from all over Asia. It is wonderful to see so many familiar faces and beautiful quilts from Japan, Taiwan and Korea. You may recall that last year I traveled to the Kyoto Quilt Festival and Taiwan Quilt Festival as a featured artist and speaker. The friendships I formed over many years at the Tokyo Quilt Festival (sadly, now defunct) were renewed with many smiles and hugs.

For those of you who enjoyed the conference segment about Kawaii by Teresa Duryea Wong and Naomi Ichikawa, we do still have a few copies of their book in stock. You may recall that a year ago I spent Girls Day with Naomi in Kyoto.

In addition, fans of Japanese quilting may want to snag a copy of the new issue of Quilts Japan that just arrived in the warehouse this last week.

The latest issue of Quiltfolk features Houston Texas quilters, with Japanese-American artist Kumiko Frydl’s miniature butterfly quilt on the cover. It is one of my favorite issues so far!

My favorite fabrics this week?
The Sloth and Penguin in the Wild Animals category!

I will be at the Alegre Art Retreat in SW Colorado this coming week, starting a new piece and seeing many old friends…and I know I’ll be seeing many eQuilter friends and customers there also!

Sharing your passion for fabrics….
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.