This very special eQuilter Free Pattern celebrates the beauty and grace of our wise owl friends and gives each beloved bird a fun personality all their own.
This vibrant 57″ x 75″ quilt design features Kim Green’s bright and whimsical owl frames set within stars and checks of coordinating multi-color prints, all against a dramatic solid black ground.
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the pattern as configured, or customize it to your liking with any of our
thousands of fabrics. Just place your desired fabrics in your
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pattern.
Dolphins glide through the water with sunlight glittering through the waves above, and colorful fish fill this finely-detailed panel from Elizabeth’s Studio.
This 54″ x 38″ quilt design also features a pieced ribbon border using ocean and sea-glass coordinates, on a sandy Seashell Beach background.
Hang it up on the wall and you’ll be relaxing on your own private vacation in no time. It also makes a great gift for those who love the ambiance of coastal living!
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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.
It is Saturday night here in England, and I spent my 3rd and final day at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham.
Last night we had a wonderful networking dinner with European SAQA members, and they shared some exciting news: they are organizing the first Europe SAQA conference in May 2020 in Amsterdam! I urge American and European members to go support this event, and please do sign up early so they can make their plans.
SAQA president Lisa Walton is leading a tour to the Tokyo Quilt Festival and Japan in Jan 2020, and Sophie and I plan to hook up with the group for a day or two. Some of you have been asking if I will lead a tour to Japan again – I don’t have anything in the works now – if you are interested in Lisa’s tour (with a bunch of fun Aussie quilters) contact eQuilter for links and info this week. Sophie and I will see you on that tour for at least part of the time.
I’ve been going to this show in Birmingham UK for 10 years now, and every year I am dazzled by the unique creativity of UK and European quilters and fiber artists. This is the biggest show in Europe, so it is on my short list of shows to attend to see what is happening in quilting trends. One thing that really struck me this year was the number of quilts using imported African prints. These big bold bright prints are either from Western Africa, or they are sometimes the Dutch Wax Prints. We are always aggressively pursuing new resources for these fabrics, and they are VERY hot in European couture fashion the last few years. So it make sense that they would show up in the quilts in this show!
I just finished photographing the quilt exhibits this morning, so I am still reviewing photos and thinking about trends. You may be familiar with the Dutch quilter Janneke de Vries who has won many top prizes over the years, in Birmingham and Houston. This year she had a stunning new quilt with dancing African ladies, and she also won a special 10-year honor prize to acknowledge that she has won SO many top prizes over the last 10 years. Well deserved!
Of course I saw Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably several times at the show and hotel. They are busy as ever! Also had a meeting with TV personality Stuart Hillard (whose blender line we carry) who is going to be a judge on a new Sewing TV challenge show. He grew up in a Tudor-era house in the Cotswolds, with no indoor plumbing and possibly a ghost or two. I am now spending a couple days in the Cotswolds, so he gave me a few tips on places I haven’t seen yet here.
I had some other meetings on a BIG project I am putting together for 2020-2021 and I hope to be announcing details soon. I’ll be sharing photos from the show later this week after I get home Tuesday night. There are some photos on my personal Facebook page now. Feel free to share!
sharing your Passion for Fabric… Luana and Paul
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The main panel is set within lively diagonal stripes of coordinating prints: Rainbow Butterflies and Rainbow Ombre Stripes. The alternating solid black background stripes between colorful prints gives the design vivid dimension and contrast.
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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.
One of my greatest treasures in this industry is that I have come to know many of my quilting heroes. One of these heroes is Paula Nadelstern. 25 years ago, when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to make as a creative quilter, Paula came to Colorado and gave a trunk show and lecture at our state guild meeting. I had just moved from New York, and here was this brilliant woman who was making her fantastic kaleidoscope quilts on the kitchen table of her NYC apartment. Paula’s talk was the first time I was exposed to the idea of designing my own art quilts, and I was mesmerized!
25 years later, Paula has become a friend, we carry all of her fabric collections, and best of all….she is coming to teach here next year!
Last Friday I went to the opening of the ‘Evolutions’ exhibit at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum. There was a stunning mandala quilt called “Dear Paula, With Sincere Thanks” by Karen Fisher. It was Karen’s tribute to her teacher Paula, and I am featuring the center detail in this week’s collage. (The fabrics around the border are in stock now.)
One of the reasons I wanted to have a big classroom in our new building, was because I know how important it is to keep taking workshops, listening to lectures, and finding ways for inspiration to help us take that next leap upwards in our creative development. Paula has been teaching and lecturing for years and years, and has launched a whole generation of quilt artists.
In October Jacqueline de Jonge will be coming from the Netherlands to teach her methods for her fantastic intricate stars and mandalas. Registration is open now, and we have a discounted rate at the nearby hotel. Jacqueline’s classes fill up fast, so be sure to sign up soon if you want to learn her amazing techniques.
When you read this, I will be flying over the Atlantic Ocean on my way to the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham UK. It is the biggest and most diverse quilt show in Europe, and I love to go here each summer to see what our talented friends across the pond are up to. I will of course take photos to share with you when I am back. Check out my photo page for albums from previous years in Birmingham, and other quilt exhibits around the world.
sharing your Passion for Fabric… Luana and Paul
* The collage above features Karen Fisher’s quilt “Dear Paula, With Sincere Thanks” from the Evolutions exhibit at Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden Colorado.
**************** Luana’s Travel Calendar: July 30 – Aug 6 – Birmingham UK – Festival of Quilts Oct 16-22 – Winnipeg & Churchill, Manitoba Canada Oct 25-31 – Quilt Market & Festival – Houston Nov 13-17 – Color Marketing Group – Tuscon AZ
This 62″ x 62″ quilt pattern uses the collection’s main panel with animal vignette blocks, plus the coordinating digital-printed prints. We’ve added Kaufman Solid Kona Black as a backdrop.
Whether you use this as a Lap Quilt, a Wall Hanging, or a play-mat for an animal-loving little person…this quilt is sure to attract attention and compliments.
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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 55″ x 60″ quilt design uses a panel with several charming vignettes, then you will piece these blocks with an allover Songbird print, and a Hoffman Hand-Dye. The border is made with a coordinating Bird Stripe.
You’ll bring a garden of aviary enchantment indoors this winter when you display this beautiful quilt!
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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.
Friday was a busy day
here! Our friends Danny Amazonas and his wife Pat came by to visit our new
building. You may recall that I filmed a video
interview with Danny at the Tokyo
Quilt Festival in January 2016. Now his quilts are being exhibited in
Paducah and at the Texas Quilt Museum. Way to go Danny!
Last night I attended the opening reception for the “Evolutions”
juried challenge exhibit at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden Colorado.
We are a sponsor for this new art quilt exhibit, which will be up through
October 19. Congratulations to the 1st prize winner Kathy Suprenant: her prize
is a solo show next year!
This morning I drove down to Parker to hear Alex Anderson give a talk to our
state guild – the Colorado Quilting Council. What a surprise when they called
me up at the end of the meeting to give me a special “Outreach Award”
for my contributions to Colorado quilters and the industry. Many thanks to Mary
who nominated me, and everyone who kept the secret. I am honored, but also feel
so lucky to have found my way to the wonderful world of quilters 30 years ago.
Wherever quilters gather, there we will find kindred spirits with generous
hearts and nimble fingers.
On Tuesday I’ll be flying to Birmingham in England, for the fabulous Festival
of Quilts. This year we are sponsoring a lifetime achievement award, which will
be announced at the Thursday night dinner. I will also be at the SAQA dinner
Friday night. If you can’t make it, don’t worry. I’ll be taking photos of the
best quilts, and will share on my Facebook and photo pages.
sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul
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This week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern will send a delicious shiver of cold sweat, as you start your preparations for this year’s Trick-or-Treaters at your door. We are loving the graphic Raven illustrations, and the whimsical Pumpkins, that make up this Halloween collection.
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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.
We just got home from the Sacred Threads event Monday night, and our weekend gave us a lot to think about. Somehow we had several conversations about Left Brain and Right Brain, so it seemed appropriate to share this quilt by Judith Roderick – “Heart-Brain Coherence” which talks about the need for balance, for Mental, Emotional, Physical and Spiritual Health. This hand-painted quilt (in the center of this collage) is also embellished with applique and buttons. Judith’s brilliant eye-catching quilt is hanging just to the left of my quilt, in case you go to see the show this week!
We had such a jam-packed weekend, as I described in our Saturday newsletter. On Sunday in Washington DC, Sophie and I went to the National Portrait Museum, and then to the Holocaust Museum. We have visited both of these several times, but we both noticed that the first part of the Holocaust Museum was packed with a serious silent crowd that moved very slowly, and seemed to be reading every word about the events that led up to WWII. It made quite an impression on both of us.
Monday we had a very special visit to the Peace Tech Lab at the International Peace Institute. This beautiful new building with soaring sculptural architecture is full of white marble and glass, and we had a breathtaking tour of the facility. Then we went next door to the adjacent building which houses the Peace Tech Lab. I had asked the founder of Engineers Without Borders if he would suggest an appropriate place for my “Mothers of the World” quilt, and he immediately suggested this organization. So this quilt will be installed in one of their meeting rooms, to inspire their staff as they plan ways to spread Peace in refugee camps and impoverished shanty towns, via apps and cell phones and social media.
In particular we talked about three 13-year old girls who live in a slum in India. They designed an app that will send out an emergency alert to their local community if the app user is threatened. These brilliant girls sleep on slabs of cardboard at night. We discussed putting together a batch of donated comfort quilts to send to these girls and their community. When you have no home, no bed, no possessions…you can’t imagine the meaning of a handmade comfort quilt that is donated by a stranger on the other side of the world.
We will have several opportunities to donate quilts to those in need, going to places like Pine Ridge SD, India, Guatemala, Nepal, and hopefully an orphanage in Africa. If you are working on charity quilts, keep us in mind over the next few months. We are focusing on mothers and babies, and children at risk. Together, we CAN make a difference.
sharing your Passion for Fabric… Luana and Paul
* The collage above features Judith Roderick’s quilt in the Sacred Threads exhibit, open through July 28 in Herndon VA. Also featured on the left and right – Rainbow Digital, plus Black and White fabrics in stock now.
**************** Luana’s Travel Calendar: July 30 – Aug 6 – Birmingham UK – Festival of Quilts Oct 16-22 – Winnipeg & Churchill, Manitoba Canada Oct 25-31 – Quilt Market & Festival – Houston Nov 13-17 – Color Marketing Group – Tuscon AZ
