
One of the great joys of being a quilter today, is that there is something for everyone. Remember the bad old days when traditional quilters and art quilters argued about what was a quilt? Thank goodness those days have passed. Now we are free to explore myriad genres of quilt-making and textile art without too much fear of judgment. The idea of making a quilt for the sake of ‘Making’ has returned, and it makes me very happy.
One thing that unites most quilters is our love of COLOR. The last few days I’ve sat in on the workshops of two very different quilt artists. Over the weekend I was in Barbara Beasley’s animal portrait workshop, making brilliant fabric collages with fusible applique. This week we are hosting Jacqueline de Jonge whose intricate piecing techniques are enlivened with pure saturated jewel-tones.
Both of these quilt artists set their work apart by their use of color (among other things) and they help us to think about quilt-making in a whole new way. What a joy to be able to attend both workshops within the same week!
eQuilter has been around for 20 years now, and our target demographic has always been the contemporary quilter who is not afraid of color. You know we are known for our digital panels and novelty prints, but you should also be aware of our carefully curated collections of contemporary blenders, and our luscious categories of batiks and hand-dyes…all carefully chosen with YOU in mind.
I figure I look at 150,000 fabrics a year, and choose to buy about 14,000 of those. As head buyer, I look for those especially creative and artistic fabrics that will catch your eye and inspire your next project. These 2 artists featured above are an example of how a tonal print or brilliant batik can breathe new excitement into this magical art and craft we call quilting.
The upper part of the image shows Jacqueline de Jonge’s new quilt pattern “Happiness 2.0” which will be released at Quilt Market, and the 3 lively animal portraits on the bottom row are by Barbara Beasley.
sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul
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eQuilter Classroom:
Nov 11 – Charity Sewing Day – Veterans Day
March 6-8 – MJ Kinman – New Exclusive Pattern & Class for eQuilter
April 13-15 2020 – Susan Carlson
June 1-5 2020 – Paula Nadelstern
Luana’s Travel Calendar:
Oct 16-22 – Winnipeg & Churchill, Manitoba Canada
Oct 25-31 – Quilt Market & Festival – Houston
Nov 13-17 – Color Marketing Group – Tuscon AZ
Jan 24-29, 2020 – Tokyo Quilt Festival – 1 day with Lisa Walton’s Japan Tour
Feb 19-22 – QuiltCon in Austin TX