Some days you just want to smell the flowers, listen to the babbling brook, cross the footbridge and sit in a pew to pray or meditate.This week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern leads you into a lovely peaceful scene where you can rest and reflect on what is most important in life.
This candelit chapel is glowing with a warm light. The colors of the sky and golden windows are reflected in the gentle stream. Cherry blossoms, Hydrangeas, Snapdragons and Daisies fill this scene with color. We’ve set more Hydrangeas in the border, pieced with a Stonehenge texture, and a Hoffman Hand-Dye.
To make this 51″ x 68″ quilt design, you will start with a 24″ x 44″ panel, and then add the coordinates. This would be a much appreciated holiday gift, with the promise of Spring flowers bringing joy to the Winter months.
To make this 55″ x 55″ quilt design, you will use one large central scenic panel, and two coordinating block panels. Add in gold metallic Dragonflies and Lilypad coordinates, and a Twilight Blue Hand-Dye, and you will be entering the magical time after dusk when the moon is a sparkling reflection on gently rippling waters.
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.
Don’t forget to “Fall Back” and put your clocks back tonight, so you can sleep an extra hour. I don’t know about you, but I could sure use that extra hour.
Tomorrow is celebrated as The Day of the Dead (Dia de Muertos) in Mexico. It is a beautiful celebration to pray for and to remember friends and family members who have died. People go to cemeteries to be with the souls of the departed and build private altars containing the favorite foods and beverages, as well as photos and memorabilia, of the departed. The intent is to encourage visits by the souls, so the souls will hear the prayers and the comments of the living directed to them. (Wikipedia)
Over the years I have been exposed to more of the traditions, artwork, and colors of this celebration. The Marigolds, the Sugar Skulls, the Papel Picado (paper cutouts) and bottles of Tequila are left as offerings, and these have all been expressed through fabric designs over the years. You can see what we still have in stock in our collections now – Day of the Dead – Frida Kahlo and Latinx Culture.
You may recall that one of the exhibits eQuilter sponsored in Houston last year, was the Altar Offerings exhibit curated by Jane Tenorio-Coscarelli. In this year of great loss caused by the pandemic, I imagine many of you are making these types of memorial quilts. Every stitch is a prayer.
Wishing you a peaceful and hopeful Election Day.
with Hope for the Future, Luana and Paul
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To make this 52″ x 68″ quilt design, you will use the central digital-printed panel, plus 7 ‘Venice’ coordinates, and a cream hand-dye. It will be difficult to cut up this gorgeous fabric, but the results are worth it! Don’t forget to add in some matching threads and maybe a chocolate bar or two, which are also selling out like crazy!
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.
Have you ever been in such a magical place out in Nature, that you just *know* there must be elves, fairies or gnomes around you? Have you ever put your hands on the trunk of a tree that is older than your great-grandparents, and seems to vibrate with a quiet wisdom?
Have you ever been in the Stockholm Airport, and seen rows and rows of Tomte Gnome souvenirs, begging to be taken home? Somehow there is a connection between these 2 things…
Backtracking a bit, one of the places I’ve been that seemed very magical, was the mountains and ancient forests of New Zealand. After all, that’s where Peter Jackson filmed The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Even the city parks with their huge ancestral trees seem to glisten with enchantment. This photo is from the Botanic Gardens in Christchurch, and this is a tree I have sat beneath on both of my visits to New Zealand. This wide trunk held a tree with such vigorously spreading branches, that it felt like I was under the roof of a house when I sat on that Victorian park bench.
Quilters have always loved fairy fabrics, and the Tolkien books and movies have inspired elf fabric, but this year has been The Year of the Gnome. Did the Tomte Gnomes escape from Sweden and populate the countryside in North America? Tomtes (or Nisse in Norway) are solitary, mischievous sprites, protecting farms, barns, animals and children from harm. They all seem to have tall pointy hats and long white beards. Tomte is also the Swedish name for Santa Claus.
Gnomes have sparked the imagination of children for generations. Remember the 1967 move “The Gnome Mobile”? No? Maybe you remember “Gnomeo & Juliet” from 2011.
At the Rubin House we’ve been collecting ridiculous gnome lawn ornaments for several years. First we got the classic garden gnomes, then we progressed into Star Trek Gnomes, who now guard our front door. (Kirk Gnome & Spock Gnome) If a family member won’t say what they want for Christmas, guess what they are getting? When guests arrive the kids used to groan and roll their eyes over the Guardian Gnomes, which always put a special twinkle in my eye during the holidays.
Back by popular demand, the ‘Timber Gnomies‘ collection is back in stock this week. As always, we hope this brings you a smile today.
with hope for the future… Luana and Paul
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As we approach our very important US election, this week’s Exclusive Free Quilt Pattern is a celebration of the rights that Americans hold so dear, which includes the right to VOTE!
This 57″ x 65″ quilt design features a digital panel with a collage of patriotic images, including “The Declaration of Independence” by John Trumbull. The 24″ x 44″ central panel also includes the Preamble to the Constitution, an American Eagle, and a rippling American Flag as a backdrop. This wall hanging is a beautiful display of patriotism, and would also be deeply appreciated as a Quilts of Valor gift.
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.
This week I am feeling grateful for fabric and chocolate to get me through 2020.
Thanks to our friends and customers who have called and written to express concern about the fires in Boulder and around Colorado. As of this weekend we are getting a respite, as a big snowstorm is on its way. These explosive firestorms have been quite shocking, because they have spread very quickly. The air quality has been bad for awhile now, with smoke from the West coast, the Southwest, and now we have huge plumes of smoke from our own Colorado forest fires in the mountains. We know many of our quilter friends and our family friends who have had to evacuate from the numerous fires. I just heard that a mountain quilt guild lost its shed where they stored all their sewing supplies for their charity quilt program. My beloved Rocky Ridge Music Center (where I went to summer music camp in the 70s, and my kids have gone over the last 15 years) was under mandatory evacuation as of early this morning.
As a result of these layers of stress, I decided this week to bring back an old eQuilter tradition – offering a curated selection of premium imported Chocolate Bars in the cold weather season. I mean, what better to get you through the fires, the hurricanes, the pandemic, and the election? (when quilting is not quite enough)
If you follow me on my personal Facebook page you may know that I’ve been doing ‘research’ in a local bookstore’s online Chocolate Club (as part of my own pandemic self-care) and so have been introduced to the fine art of chocolate tasting which is like wine tasting. You don’t just bite into the chocolate. No, you open the wrapper, inhale the various levels of fragrance, then you snap off a small piece and let it slowly melt in your mouth. Then you discuss the different layers of tasting notes that unfold, right down to the ‘aftertaste’ when it has all melted away. It is what I call my Chocolate Meditation. It does not work with cheap grocery store chocolate. I have one square of premium imported chocolate after work or after dinner, and then I can go sew or draw or write, with a clear head.
Over the years we’ve had a few giggles about the things our customers order with their chocolate. My favorite customer order was 10 chocolate bars and 1 spool of thread. Don’t worry, we won’t tell! But please do not order if you live in a warm climate. It will melt in the package. And that would be a terrible waste of good chocolate. Not to mention what it does to the spool of thread. Ha.
They are predicting a foot of snow in the high country where the fires are burning, so fingers and toes are crossed here. This storm is coming down from the North, so thanks Canada!
Many thanks to the ladies at Create Whimsy, who published this profile interview about my creative life.
with Hope for the Future, Luana and Paul
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Here is a lovely profile article on Create Whimsy, if you’d like to read more about my life history and creative evolution. Thanks to the ladies at Create Whimsy for giving me a place to tell my story! They included ALL of the photos I sent to them, so there’s lots of fun stuff to look at, in addition to the interview article. Enjoy! – Luana
This one’s for all of you who have rescued dogs and puppies during this crazy pandemic. Your first Christmas with your canine companion is on the horizon! We’re celebrating the holiday season with a litter of adorable Golden puppies perched in the back of an old Red Truck, and it looks like a family has just gone out to cut a fresh Christmas Tree, after sledding in the fresh powder snow.
Our 55″ x 55″ quilt design features the fantastic detailed artwork of Jason Kirk, and the 28″ x 44″ panel is fill of delightful details like a wreath with ribbon bows, and lots of snuggly tartan plaid blankets to keep those cute pups warm. We’ve added 4 print coordinates and a Hoffman Hand-Dye to make this beautiful wall hanging that is sure to bring a big smile to your favorite dog lover.
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.
