There is something very gracious and soothing about this lovely floral still life by Canadian designer Deb Edwards. It is from the Covent Garden collection, but it also reminds us of the 17th Century Dutch Floral Paintings that still stop us in our tracks in the great art museums of the world. These luscious flower arrangements capture the blossoms in their fullest state of sumptuous blowsy ripeness, symbolizing prosperity and abundance.
Order the pattern as configured, or customize it to your liking with any of our thousands of fabrics. Just place your desired fabrics in your Wish List, and these fabrics will appear in the Fabric Selector below the pattern.
Many thanks to all of you who have supported our eQuilter charity program. This week we have donated $1000 so far to Texas disaster relief and food bank organizations in Austin, San Antonio, Dallas and Houston. Our hearts go out to our friends in Texas and other Southern states who are suffering due to the ice storm.
At the same time, we have QuiltCon running this weekend. From the reports I’ve heard from attendees, it has been powerfully inspiring for those of us missing in-person events. If you have not checked it out yet, I urge you to register and have a look around…especially to view the quilts!
Here is link to the Winning Quilts, but of course there are many more quilts to view online. eQuilter is a Gold sponsor for this event, including the cash prizes for 2 categories you will see listed on this page. Congratulations to all the winners, and indeed we send our congrats and our gratitude to everyone who submitted a quilt to this virtual event.
I happen to know that at least one of the QuiltCon management team is now a climate refugee because of the storm. She had to evacuate to her mother’s house so she could have power to help run this virtual event. I am also aware of Quilt Inc staff (who run the Houston show) who have had frozen burst pipes and flooding. As power comes on and our quilter friends in Texas come back online, I am seeing so many reports of our friends going a week without power and heat, dealing with frozen pipes, no food or running water, etc. It is all over the news, and folks, they are not exaggerating.
If you have friends in these states hit by the ice storm, be sure to check in with them. Paul and I both have family in Texas, and we are grateful that they are ok and had minimal damage. We hope all of our friends down there are making it through this event in safety and health.
with hope for the future, Luana and Paul
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Why do we love the Mona Lisa so much? Is it her calm enigmatic smile? Is it her reputation as the most priceless artwork ever created? Is it her status as an iconic female image recognized universally across the cyber-verse? Yes to all!
To make this 54″ x 62″ quilt design, you will start with the 36″ x 44″ high resolution digital-printed reproduction of this celebrated portrait. Then piece 5 more collection coordinates (Da Vinci Portrait Sketches plus 4 colors of the Crackled Veneer) to create the elegant frame.
Order the pattern as configured, or customize it to your liking with any of our thousands of fabrics. Just place your desired fabrics in your Wish List, and these fabrics will appear in the Fabric Selector below the pattern.
Like many of you, I don’t know how we would have gotten through the last year without our beloved pets. In our case, we have 2 golden retrievers and 3 rescue cats. We have 4 humans living in the house and 5 animals. When our oldest son comes to visit, we have a spare for him. He comes over for kitty therapy.
The dogs haven’t had a bath for months, because of the pandemic. As I write this email, they are lying asleep at my feet. (stinky, but cute.) When I get up to go to another room, they will get up and follow me. It is good to be part of a pack.
We know now (because scientists had to research what we already knew) that petting dogs or cats lowers our blood pressure. It is a lot like quilting – it is a kind of meditative therapy that brings you into the moment so your troubles disappear. So if you have pets in your sewing room, that is a double dose of calming therapeutics, right?
Throughout the pandemic ‘self care’ has been kind of a buzz word. If you pause to have a hot beverage, then you are engaging in Self Care. So if you have a dog, a cat, a cup of coffee, a chocolate bar, a bottle of wine, a sewing machine and a stash of really good fabric all in one room, what do you have?
Paradise my friends. You’ll never need to go out again.
Just keep telling yourself this until the pandemic is over. Ha.
Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it….
with hope for the future… Luana and Paul
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Spring is just around the corner, and the Flower Fairies and Garden Gnomes are busy waking up the dormant bulbs and sleepy seeds in your winter garden.
To make this 51″ x 65″ quilt design, you will use 7 fabrics from this collection: Start with the 24″ x 44″ central panel, then piece 2 florals and 3 blenders, and finish by making a border with the Gnome stripe.
Whether you make this as a lap quilt, a garden picnic quilt, or a wall hanging….this quilt is sure to encourage delightful giggles and dreams of magical little people.
Order the pattern as configured, or customize it to your liking with any of our thousands of fabrics. Just place your desired fabrics in your Wish List, and these fabrics will appear in the Fabric Selector below the pattern.
Now that our industry is starting to emerge from the totally immersive Facemask-Sewing era, we are starting to see some new trends emerging. Finally!
I just got off Zoom with the Canadian Quilt Association, giving a presentation about quilt trends. For those of us in the deepest part of Winter, we are definitely looking for some energizing joyous ideas and images to propel us into creativity, as we hopefully start to emerge from the pandemic.
COLOR is a big part of that thirsting for visual inspiration, and you’ll see that exressed in the collections we are bringing to you this month. We are introducing the colorful patterns of Australian quilt designer Kim McLean this week, whose vibrant quilts are made with Kaffe Fassett fabrics. There is an intense group of Kim McLean fans who hang out on the Kaffe Facebook page, sharing their love of these complex detailed patterns.
This weekend we are getting some bone-chilling temps – high of 10 degrees and lows of -10 degrees. Brrr! Good time to stay indoors, sip hot tea, and QUILT!
Next weekend on Feb 21 eQuilter is sponsoring an online showing of the award-winning documentary film “The Condor and the Eagle” for friends and customers of eQuilter. The film is being presented by donation only, so it is available to everyone to view.
Kathy Price, the director of Mission of Love (one of our 7 charities) will join me on a discussion panel afterwards, along with 2 of the indigenous protagonists from the film. We do hope to raise funds for Mission of Love, Earthworks, and the filmmakers.
This is something that is very near and dear to my heart…for the indigenous communities, waterways and wilderness being poisoned by extractive industries. The first time I saw the film I was blown away, and I am so grateful we can share this with you. Feel free to share the documentary link with others.
Online Lecture Calendar: Feb 18-22 – Virtual QuiltCon. eQuilter is a Gold sponsor.Feb 18-22 – Virtual QuiltCon. eQuilter is a Gold sponsor.
Feb 21 – The Condor & The Eagle – Film Screening for eQuilter customers and friends. REGISTER HERE.
Early March – SAQA Color Interview with Martha Sielman
March 13 – Rocky Mountain Quilt Association – online lecture
Just in time for Valentines Day, this week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern celebrates a famous love story…of the Little Mermaid who loved a man so much she was willing to give up her life in the sea. The Disney version of the story has a happy satisfying ending, and this colorful quilt design captures a moment of bliss for Ariel meeting the Prince before she has bargained away her voice for a pair of legs.
The focus of this 58″ x 51″ jewel-toned quilt is the digital-printed artwork on the 36″ x 44″ panel. It is set in a pieced border like a faceted gemstone, using Stars and Sunset Skies, and 3 Hoffman Hand-Dyes, to complete this scenic fairytale quilt.
The sunset sky, coral reef, castle on the cliff, and sailing ship bring in different elements from the beloved Hans Christian Anderson tale…with that sweet Disney twist! We just have one question…which song do you hear in your head when you look at this quilt? (We’re thinking the romantic calypso ballad…”Kiss the Girl”)
Order the pattern as configured, or customize it to your liking with any of our thousands of fabrics. Just place your desired fabrics in your Wish List, and these fabrics will appear in the Fabric Selector below the pattern.
I think we could all use a vacation right about now. Let’s imagine we are going to Paris for Valentine’s Day…to the Pont des Arts next to the Louvre. Lovers have been attaching padlocks to this pedestrian bridge, engraving locks with their beloved’s name, then tossing the key into the Seine River below …as a romantic gesture. Because this tradition was started by tourists, not the French, workers come by periodically to cut off the locks. The weight of 700,000 locks almost collapsed the graceful metal bridge in 2014. As of 2015, over a million locks had been placed there, weighing about 45 tons! [Wikipedia] That’s a whole lotta love!
This is kind of what happens to some people who have been staying at home working online, home-schooling kids, and riding out the pandemic with their partners or families. There is such a thing as…too much of a good thing. No matter how much we love our family, being stuck inside together for a year has been a challenge for many. However I know many a quilter who escapes to their sewing lair for some creative ‘alone time’…emerging happy and refreshed after hours spent with a needle and thread. Can you relate?
Fortunately for Paul and I, we are so busy at the office during the day, we don’t see much of each other so we don’t get tired of each other. We are one of those rare couples who can work together and still enjoy coming home to catch up on the day’s events. We are coming up on our 22nd eQuilter anniversary in a month, and we’ve been together since we met in 1994, so I think it’s going to last.
Just a reminder to our local quilters that you can still tuck some of our imported artisan chocolate bars into a curbside pickup order this week for Valentines Day…or if you live farther afield, you can drop hints for an eQuilter Gift Certificate to your favorite fabric enabler. They can be sent by email!
eQuilter is sponsoring a free (by donation) screening of the award-winning documentary ‘The Condor and The Eagle’ on Feb 21, and I will join the discussion panel afterwards. Please see details and registration at the links below. I’d appreciate if you’d share this documentary screening with others!
My Zoom power point lecture for Canadian Quilt Association is this Saturday afternoon, and tickets are now available for non-members to purchase online. Come join us for a review of quilt shows and International Quilt Trends!
If you are a member of the Canadian Quilters Association, registration is now open for you to sign up for my Zoom power point lecture on Feb 13. Non-members can register starting Feb 8.
We have a major online quilt festival happening soon – now is the time to register for Virtual QuiltCon! I am so excited to see all the quilts that the Modern Quilters have made during the pandemic. (eQuilter is a GOLD sponsor for the event.)
Many of you will remember that when Sophie was in middle school, she and several students and teachers became very ill in their school building, which set me on a journey of learning about toxic chemicals that damage humans and other living things. This led me to make the “Rocky Mountain Poison” quilt that was in the “Water is Life” show that premiered at the UN in Geneva. Later, this quilt was used to raise funds for Earthworks, and then it was acquired by the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln Nebraska.
So this long journey has now led me to sponsor an online showing of the award-winning documentary film “The Condor and the Eagle” for friends and customers of eQuilter. The film is being presented by donation only, so it is available to everyone to view. Kathy Price, the director of Mission of Love (one of our 7 charities) will join me on a discussion panel afterwards, along with 2 of the indigenous protagonists from the film. We do hope to raise funds for Mission of Love, Earthworks, and the filmmakers.
SEE LINKS BELOW for more information and registration for these events. Please do join us for the documentary film in 2 weeks. This is something that is very near and dear to my heart…for the indigenous communities, waterways and wilderness being poisoned by extractive industries. The first time I saw the film I was blown away, and I am so grateful we can share this with you.
Feb 13 – Canadian Quilters Association – “Intl Quilt Trends” – registration open now to CQA members – and tickets for Non-Members are open NOW (as of Feb 8) at this new link:
On a crystal clear night somewhere in the North Woods, a full moon shines on a mountain stream. The lunar glow shines on the fresh snow, and the sound of the rushing water is pierced by the howl of a wolf calling out to its pack in the forest.
To make this frosty 59″ x 72″ quilt design, you will start with the central 28″ x 44″ scenic panel. Piece triangles to make ‘mountain’ shapes, using 6 coordinates to create the borders. This evocative quilt captures a beautiful moment in a wild place that will bring the howl of the wolf to your cozy lair.
Make the backing with Flannel to make this coverlet quilt extra cozy, or use silver metallic thread to make it sparkle for a wall hanging. (Don’t forget the Metallica needles and Sewers Aid for machine sewing with Metallic Threads!)
Order the pattern as configured, or customize it to your liking with any of our thousands of fabrics. Just place your desired fabrics in your Wish List, and these fabrics will appear in the Fabric Selector below the pattern.
