Time Flies

Message from Luana:

Sophie and I have been spending a lot of time together lately. This weekend we are in the warehouse processing orders (just like old times in the basement of our house!) because of our big yearend sale. This last week Sophie got her drivers license, after many hours of me in the passenger seat as she practiced with her driving permit. In a couple weeks she will be coming to the Tokyo Quilt Festival for the first time. She is preparing for her college auditions which will be February. She is graduating from high school in mid-May (the same weekend as Spring Market) and before we know it, she’ll be moving out of the house into a college dorm in August. So many of you have shared in our story of adopting Sophie and watching her grow up in our family business. Can you believe she is almost grown up and out of the house??

This week we are hosting the Boulder Handweavers Guild, and we will have a wool felting class happening in the classroom, making a sculptural felt hat. We are also happy to be hosting more classes for CQC and FRCQ (our state guild and regional art quilt guild) in 2020. Our beautiful new classroom is set up for sewing, painting, dyeing and general textile merry-making…and we are bringing in national teachers for more eQuilter workshops in the next several months. It is very exciting for us!

Our extra 9000 sq ft in our new warehouse has been rented out, and construction is starting for our new tenants. If you come to visit us in the next few months there will be lots of activity on the East side of the building.

I received an update from Kathy Price at Mission of Love about their projects for the next few months. She writes:


March 11; Mission of Love will be going to Tecpán, Guatemala to build a home for the orphans, place safe electricity and make addition for a disabled man and his family, and start a Maya Traditional School for language and weaving. Two Denton airlifts have been approved and just waiting for the Department of Defense to notify me that the C5 cargo planes will be available to deliver our Mission of Love humanitarian aid already inspected and ready to be transferred to the Youngstown, Ohio Air Base. 30,000 of corn also has been donated and will be given to the Maya in need of food. Continuous support will be given to the sick cancer children at the House of God, Guatemala City.

Doctor Rick Scheetz is planning to be well enough to lead a surgery team to continue our cleft lip / pallet surgeries in March at Metropolitan Hospital with Doctor Edgar Moran.

We have a Denton airlift going to the Mesquite Indians of Honduras, via Norma Love Foundation.  

In April we will be going to the Pine Ridge Native American Indian Reservation to build a home for Percy White Plume and his family.  We will be sending two 53 foot trailers of construction material and humanitarian aid also.  This aid will assist in furnishing a foster care home, directed and founded by Barbara Dull Knife.

So our year will once again be filled with lots of humanitarian aid being distributed to Honduras, Guatemala and Pine Ridge Native American Indian Reservation.  

God willing, all will be accomplished and the promises that were made will be fulfilled.  

With love and gratitude,

Kathy Price

Director, Mission of Love

eQuilter Classroom:
Jan 15-16 – Dawn Edwards – Nuno Felt Hats
March 6-8 – MJ Kinman – “Unicorn Rainbow” & “Elizabeth Diamond” Gemstone Workshop
April 13-15 2020 – Susan Carlson
June 1-5 2020 – Paula Nadelstern – Kaleidoscopes & Quilts

Luana’s Travel Calendar:

Jan 24-29, 2020 – Tokyo Quilt Festival – 1 day with Lisa Walton’s Japan Tour
Feb 19-22 – QuiltCon in Austin TX
Mar 18-27 – Wilderness Congress – Jaipur India
June 17-21 – Quilt Canada – Edmonton
June 26-27 – Intl Quilt Museum – Lincoln NE
July 29 – Aug 2 – “Love Your Mother” Gallery in Birmingham UK

Travel and Classroom Dates:

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Free eQuilter Pattern – Backyard Songbirds

Welcome to our Backyard Summer Fantasy!

These freshly washed quilts are flapping in the breeze, drying in the morning sun and attracting colorful songbirds from the nearby grove of trees. Don’t you wish you were here?

In this 51″ x 51″ exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern, we’ve combined Songbirds prints from Elizabeth Studio and Timeless Treasures, with 3 different Stonehenge textures from Northcott. You can almost hear the twittering of the birds, and the rustling of the leaves.

This cheerful quilt design is sure to bring a smile on a rainy day. These bright fabrics are fun to sew with, while we are waiting for the first signs of Spring. Enjoy!

… featuring the ‘Beautiful Birds’ collection by Tracy Lizotte for Elizabeth’s Studio, and ‘Birds On Quilts‘ by Timeless Treasures.

Don’t miss the popular ‘Dragon Fire‘ and ‘Wild Tiger Eyes‘ quilt patterns!

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.

Click Here for a Video Tutorial of the Free Pattern Designer.
Download Instructions for the pattern at the bottom of the pattern designer page.

Luana and Paul Rubin

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The Magical Unicorn Rainbow Diamond

Long ago and far away there was a magical land where Unicorns danced and played under the sparkling colors of the Unicorn Rainbow. This was not the kind of rainbow you’ve seen with the ROYGBIV colors….no this was a magical rainbow with turquoise, lavender, aquamarine and orchid pink and mint green. As the rainbow appeared the sparkles became multicolored diamonds that fell to the ground and shimmered under the hooves of the playful unicorns.

You are invited to come join the Gemstone Diva MJ Kinman, as she introduces her newest version of her Elizabeth Diamond Quilt – the Unicorn Rainbow Diamond Quilt! This exclusive diamond quilt workshop is only being offered at eQuilter this March, although you may also make her tonal Elizabeth Diamond quilt in this 3 day workshop if you wish. Today, MJ is giving a free intro webinar through Sulky, so we do expect this class to fill up.

This shimmering diamond quilt uses traditional piecing with freezer paper templates to create each precise facet. This isn’t your typical paper piecing! Iron-on templates adhere to the front of the fabric and be easily removed after piecing. Original Elizabeth pattern includes color charts for four tonal colorways, full instructions, freezer paper templates, and paper copies to create one diamond quilt. eQuilter class will include instruction to make this exclusive Unicorn Rainbow quilt design.

Come join us in the magical land of Unicorn Rainbows and make your own 48″ x 48″ Diamond Quilt!

If you just can’t wait until March for MJ’s workshop, we have another wonderful opportunity for you next week. We are hosting the Boulder Handweaver Guild’s guest artist Dawn Edwards who is teaching a 2 Day workshop on “Fantastic Felting and Nuno-Felt Hats”, creating one-of-a-kind sculptural merino wool hats. There are still a few seats left so if you can make it, contact our Customer Service and they will give you information about signing up through the Handweavers Guild for this unique class. The class is on Weds and Thurs next week, Jan 15-16.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

eQuilter Classroom:
Jan 15-16 – Dawn Edwards – Nuno Felt Hats
March 6-8 – MJ Kinman – “Unicorn Rainbow” & “Elizabeth DiamondGemstone Workshop
April 13-15 2020 – Susan Carlson – SOLD OUT
June 1-5 2020 – Paula Nadelstern – Kaleidoscopes & Quilts

Luana’s Travel Calendar:
Jan 24-29, 2020 – Tokyo Quilt Festival
Feb 19-22 – QuiltCon in Austin TX
Mar 18-27 – Wilderness Congress – Jaipur India
June 26-27 – Intl Quilt Museum – Lincoln NE
July 29 – Aug 2 – “Love Your Mother” Gallery in Birmingham UK

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Free eQuilter Pattern – Epic Owls

What’s even better than Hedwig the Snowy Owl?

These adorable Mama and Baby Owl vignettes are featured in this week’s Free Quilt Pattern, charmingly illustrated by Japanese artist Kayomi Harai.

This 58″ x 70″ quilt design is perfect for a youth bed, and will give your little owlet sweet dreams, set in soothing colors and a delightful forest and flower garden.

… featuring the ‘Epic Owls’ collection by Kayomi Harai for Studio E Fabrics.

Don’t miss the popular ‘Dragon Fire‘ and ‘Wild Tiger Eyes‘ quilt patterns!

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.

Click Here for a Video Tutorial of the Free Pattern Designer.
Download Instructions for the pattern at the bottom of the pattern designer page.

Luana and Paul Rubin

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Free eQuilter Pattern – Easy Rider

If the haunting call of the open road is your constant companion,
this eye-popping Motorcycle Free Quilt Pattern is for you! (or perhaps your significant other?) Look closely and you will find familiar biker icons, plus references to Sturgis, Laughlin, Daytona, Branson, Laconia, Myrtle Beach, and Route 66.

Dan Morris is one of our favorite artists, and we love this 66″ x 82″ quilt design which features a digital-printed block panel with his detailed illustrations. You’ll add in his collection coordinates and a couple Hoffman Hand-Dyes to make this bold and dynamic visual statement.

… featuring the ‘Easy Rider’ collection by Dan Morris for Quilting Treasures.

Don’t miss the popular ‘Dragon Fire‘ and ‘Wild Tiger Eyes‘ quilt patterns!

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.

Click Here for a Video Tutorial of the Free Pattern Designer.
Download Instructions for the pattern at the bottom of the pattern designer page.

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Masters of Color

This week my kids and I went to see the beautiful Monet exhibit at the Denver Art Museum. There are more than 120 paintings in this exhibit, covering his entire career, including plein air paintings from the Normandy coast, the Mediterranean, London, the Netherlands, and frosty Norway. My kids were spellbound. The exhibit was so large it was on 2 floors!

Mason and I visited Monet’s home and gardens in Giverny many years ago, so it was very special for him to see so many of the paintings created at Monet’s lily ponds. I am going to try to go back to have a 2nd look at the exhibit, and to have more time to listen to the whole audio tour. The exhibit runs through Feb 2 and timed tickets are selling out in advance, so try to book your tickets before the last minute if you can go.

The Impressionists were Masters of Color, and we are still learning from them. When you see one of these paintings up close in person, you see layers of color that evoke shimmering transparency. Even the paintings depicting snow and ice are subtle poems of analogous hues and misty values. The explorations of light and the reflective qualities of water give us much to consider.

I have seen this kind of Colorplay in the larger Gemstone quilts of MJ Kinman. Her free intro webinar with Sulky is this Wednesday, and we expect her “Unicorn Rainbow” & “Elizabeth Diamond” Gemstone Workshop to fill up after the webinar, so if you want to secure your spot in her March 6-8 workshop we recommend you claim your spot in the next few days!

We’ll be opening up registration for Paula Nadelstern’s 5-Day ‘Kaleidoscopes & Quilts’ Workshop soon. If you want 24 hour advance notice before it opens to the public, please contact Customer Service to be put on the ‘interest’ list for Paula.

We want to send a message to our friends in Australia – we are watching the news about your fires and praying for rain. The estimated losses of wildlife are mind-boggling. We hope you stay safe and know that we are thinking of you.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

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Free eQuilter Pattern – Rock Garden Rainbow

Marvel at the symmetrical beauty of Succulents in
this week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern. Succulents are not just a passing Hipster trend! The popularity of Succulent gardens and terrariums has expanded to the quilting world and we’ve combined these top-selling digital prints into a rainbow of cacti vignettes.

This 71″ x 71″ quilt design uses 2 digital succulent prints (Panel and Allover), one white-on-white butterfly print, and 2 Hoffman Hand-Dyes.

Succulents are known for low maintenance and long lifespans, making them popular with urban dwellers who work long hours. Succulents’ popularity doesn’t seem to be slowing down, but are now being used for weddings (including boutonnieres) and hanging gardens in commercial spaces. The artful images of succulents are used in all kinds of surface design, including greeting cards, tee-shirts and wrapping paper. It’s hip to be Succulent!

…featuring the ‘Succulent Charm’ collection by Elizabeth’s Studio.

Don’t miss the popular ‘Dragon Fire‘ and ‘Wild Tiger Eyes‘ quilt patterns!

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.

Click Here for a Video Tutorial of the Free Pattern Designer.
Download Instructions for the pattern at the bottom of the pattern designer page.

Luana and Paul Rubin

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Welcome to a New Decade!

Happy New Year to our dear friends and customers around the world. As we enter a new decade together it is a time to celebrate the gift of sewing and passion for creativity that we share.

We have many stories, surprises, workshops and adventures to share with you in this New Year. 2020 is a year when you will see the fruit of our charity programs ripening in unexpected ways. You can share in our excitement as these new projects are announced in the near future.

Together with your help, we are a Force for Good in the World. We are helping women start new businesses in Kenya with microloans. We are helping to feed and house families living in extreme poverty in Guatemala and Pine Ridge SD. We are helping to pay for Hugging Grannies in Chinese orphanages. We are inspiring children to make a difference in the world they will inherit. Our close partnerships with our list of amazing charities, and other conservation organizations, are fighting to save endangered species. And we are sponsoring important quilt exhibits that would otherwise not be seen.

All because of you. Thank you for being on the eQuilter.com Team.

May your New Year be filled with Joy and Blessings.

Luana and Paul
the Rubin Family
and the eQuilter Staff
Boulder, Colorado

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Free eQuilter Pattern – Meow-Za!

Butterflies, Rainbows and KITTIES bring a smile to our faces in this week’s Exclusive Free Quilt Pattern. This charming cat is simply glowing in vibrant floral hues and painterly brushstrokes, set on a velvety deep black background.

Those rainbow colors are echoed in the coordinates – a splash of color, multicolor pawprints, and jewel-tone butterflies are from the Chong-A Hwang collection. We’ve added in 2 Hoffman Hand-Dyes to anchor the pretty cat design.

This 55″ x 72″ quilt design makes a large lap quilt that evokes the comfort of the Rainbow Bridge, or an uplifting wall hanging for your Kitty Room. For the young cat lover, this would also make a delightful coverlet for a youth bed.

…featuring the ‘Meow-Za!’ collection by Chong-A Hwang for Timeless Treasures.

Don’t miss the popular ‘Dragon Fire‘ and ‘Wild Tiger Eyes‘ quilt patterns!

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.

Click Here for a Video Tutorial of the Free Pattern Designer.
Download Instructions for the pattern at the bottom of the pattern designer page.

Luana and Paul Rubin

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A New Year – A New Decade

Most of us will remember the celebrations of the Millennium New Year as one of the biggest events of our lifetime. How awesome to witness the turning of the year 2000. We partied like it was 1999, just like Prince’s song. That song was released in October 1982. I remember dancing to that song in a disco in Hong Kong and thinking – 2000 is so far away! Then in 2000 thinking – 2020 is so far away! Well here we are. Have we achieved 2020 vision? I think not. But who knows what 2020 will bring?

Our industry has changed so much in the 20 years since eQuilter started in the basement of our home. Back then people were afraid to buy metallic prints because they thought the metallic would wash out. 5 years ago people were afraid of digital prints for a similar reason. 20 years ago I could not have imagined how digital printing technology would radically change the range of products that we carry. Now we enjoy fabrics printed with permanent dye-sublimation that bonds to the molecules of the fabric, and have a limitless amount of colors and no restriction on the repeat length. A designer’s dream!

20 years ago quilters were arguing over ‘what is a quilt’ and ‘what is art’ and the Modern Quilt Movement was perhaps a twinkle in Nancy Crow’s eye but she didn’t know it yet. Ha. Now our quilt festivals are full of creative and technical categories that didn’t exist in 2000. As sewing machines became digital with computer brains and mind-blowing technical advances, we’ve embraced the changes and allowed them to feed our passion for stitching in ways our grandmothers could not have imagined. I think of my grandmothers often when I am sewing.

More than anything, the internet has brought us together and provided us a new way of sharing our creative inspirations, and allowed us to find new friends all around the world. The internet was just taking off when we opened our little business in 1999, and now it is integrated into all of our daily lives. When we share things like slow-stitching and hand-applique through the internet, that mode of sharing has come full circle. That part our grandmothers could relate to, for sure!

I thank my grandmothers Minnie and Merle, for teaching me to sew and planting the seeds for my creative career.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

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

Visit Pinterest, eQuilter’s Instagramor Twitter for more Color and Design ideas.

eQuilter Classroom:
March 6-8 – MJ Kinman“Unicorn Rainbow” & “Elizabeth Diamond” Gemstone Workshop
April 13-15 2020 – Susan Carlson
June 1-5 2020 – Paula Nadelstern

Luana’s Travel Calendar:
Jan 24-29, 2020 – Tokyo Quilt Festival – 1 day with Lisa Walton’s Japan Tour
Feb 19-22 – QuiltCon in Austin TX
Mar 18-27 – Wilderness Congress – Jaipur India
July 29 – Aug 2 – “Love Your Mother” Gallery in Birmingham UK

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