Free eQuilter Pattern – Wolf Moon

Posted on May 31, 2019 by Luana

The family bonds of a wolf pack are unbreakable, and this week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Pattern illustrates that deep family bond in a beautiful winter setting under a glowing Full Moon. Papa Wolf howls while Mama and Cub rest under a shimmering Aurora Borealis.

You will gasp at the beauty and detail of this digital-printed Nature panel, which we’ve combined with 2 Hoffman Hand-Dyes and a Northern Lights allover digital coordinate. When we design these exclusive quilts for you, we just giggle with delight, knowing how much fun you will have sewing with these yummy fabrics!

Bring the beauty of the North Woods into your home with this 50″ x 68″ quilt design – great for a lap quilt or wall hanging. If this is destined for a cozy spot in front of a roaring fire this Autumn, you might want to use a Flannel backing for an extra snuggly Nap Quilt.

… featuring the ‘Picture This’ collection by Jan Patrik Krasny for Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

Don’t miss the popular ‘Dream Big Leaf Star‘ and ‘On the Go Zoo‘ 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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Free eQuilter Pattern – Hot Dogs

Posted on May 28, 2019 by Luana

Happy Memorial Day!
As we remember those who are gone, we also celebrate this holiday with our loved ones…including our beloved canine companions.

This week’s Free Quilt Pattern is a Beach Party with Patriotic Pups, enjoying a day by the water on this unofficial first day of the Summer Vacation season.

You’ll find so many uses for this adorable 63″ x 63″ quilt, and it may become part of your Summer Vacay traditions. Load up the dogs, the picnic basket, and the ‘Hot Dogs’ quilt in the station wagon – we’re going on a Road Trip!

… featuring the ‘Hot Dog’ & ‘Coastal Kitty’ Collection by World Art Group for P&B Textiles.

Don’t miss the popular ‘Dream Big Leaf Star‘ and ‘On the Go Zoo‘ 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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Quilt Market Preview – Part 2, and Quilt National

Posted on May 28, 2019 by Luana

Tonight I am writing to you from Athens Ohio, where I attended the star-studded opening of Quilt National at the Dairy Barn Arts Center! For art quilters, this is considered the pinnacle of a career to get into this show. A few super-stars have been in multiple times. I am planning to hand-carry the first batch of Quilt National 2019 catalogs back so watch for those to show up in our Book Department. I will write more about this in this week’s Midweek Creative Nudge. eQuilter is proud to be a sponsor of Quilt National.

I am just here for a day and a half, because Sophie leaves Monday with her high school orchestra, to tour and perform in Europe for two weeks! I have to hurry home to help her pack for her big trip.

Here are some more beautiful fabrics that I ordered at Quilt Market last weekend.
Watch for these in upcoming e-newsletters:

Ruby Star Society – Speckled Metallic, Linen, and Rayon prints
Royal Beauty – Large 58″ x 58″ digital Rose Panels
Tonga Passport – Geometric Striped & Ombre Batiks
Laurel Burch – New Feline Frolic + Precuts
Dog On It by Ann Lauer – Metallic and Paisley Pups (Follow up to Cat-i-tude)
Hometown Spirit by Thomas Kinkade – Patriotic
Lilyanne by Ann Lauer – Pearlescent
Luscious Pearlescent Tulips & Mediterranean Lemons/Lemonade
Magnificent Blooms by Jackie Robinson
Jubilee Silver by Amanda Murphy – Metallic Paisleys
Succulent Charm – colorful cacti gardens
Ray of Hope by Josephine Wall
Rhapsody by Makower – Klimt with Gold Metallic
Declassified by Guicy Giuce – Redacted UFO Documents
Unicorn-ocopia – Modern Unicorns
Spring Jubilee – Mardi Gras, Easter, St. Patrick’s Day
Narumi – Asian Garden
Aladdin & Toy Story 4 Licensed prints

I know lots of you in the US take advantage of the long holiday weekend to get in some extra sewing. Wishing you a happy and productive Memorial Day weekend!

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

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Free eQuilter Pattern – Dream Big Leaf Star

Posted on May 24, 2019 by Luana

Jeanie has outdone herself again, with her latest Big Leaf digital panels…and this week we bring you an exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern so you don’t have to fear cutting up these fantastic fabric designs!

You will start with 4 panels of “Dream Big Leaf” in 4 different color combos. After you have some time to appreciate all these gorgeous digital panels, you will be very brave and cut them up, then piecing them into this absolutely gorgeous 72″ x 72″ bed-sized quilt.

You’ll be dreaming about forests and a rainbow of natural leafy colors, when you sleep under this luscious quilt. Maybe you know someone special who loves Nature and hikes in the Forest, who will truly treasure this quilt. Best of all, it is super easy to make. You might make several and give them as gifts for the holidays!

… featuring the ‘Dream Big Leaf’ collection by Jeanie Sumrall-Ajero for Hoffman Fabrics.

Don’t miss the popular ‘Vibrant Garden‘ and ‘On the Go Zoo‘ 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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Creative Nudge – Not Afraid of Color

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Luana

Sunday night I got home from Quilt Market, and I’ve spent the last couple days ruminating about what I saw, and how the industry is poised to change once again. When we started our business twenty years ago, we identified a niche that was not being served: fabrics for people who were not afraid of color!

I went on a mission to find those juicy saturated colors that were missing in most of the quilt fabrics. At the time, the quilt shops were full of beige and brown and dark fabrics, although thankfully that has changed. Now there is a greater appreciation for clear bright beautiful colors, and a recognition that colors make us smile, heal our soul, and invite us to explore our innate creativity.

Fabrics can also make us laugh, and they can also spark conversations that are unexpected. Designer Giuseppe (also known as Guicy Guice – pronounced “Juicy Juice”) has come up with a hilarious collection based on UFO sightings, with the main print as Redacted Federal documents about UFOs. I just knew that many of you would need these fabrics.

We find that the plain flat modern fabric designs do not stand alone and sell as yardage, but these color collections *do* sell as precuts. So, I bought a lot of these beautiful rainbows of precuts!

Over the years we have attracted customers who are not afraid of COLOR. You like to dive into Big Color the way a kid bites into a slice of sweet dripping watermelon. Sometimes when we do that crazy patchwork thing with lots of colors, we find that we can combine all kinds of wild fabric combinations, just because the colors are right. We couldn’t dream up these color combinations in our head, but when we lay down these colors to audition them, we say Bazinga! – and a new color story is born.

There are no new colors out there, only new color combinations. That’s why every year we see new and sometimes strange color combos, we swallow hard and slowly start to bake them into our ongoing color choices, and then suddenly those bizarre combinations give us the most pleasure. We are always thirsting for something new and different, and these new color combos give us something to bite into….like that juicy slice of watermelon.

So go on… take a bite!

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

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Luana’s Travel Calendar:
May 24-25 – Dairy Barn – Quilt National Opening – Athens OH
June 11-15 – Quilt Canada Ottawa – (lecture Fri 6/14)
July 18-22 – Sacred Threads & Not Fade Away (VA & DC)

eQuilter Classroom:
June 1 – Charity Sewing Group – RSVP
July 11-14, 2019 – Cindy Lohbeck – Shibori, Ice-Dyeing and Ombre Dyeing – Almost FULL
Sept 13-15 – Cas Holmes – FRCQ Workshop
Oct 8-10 – Jacqueline de Jonge – eQuilter Classroom


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Free eQuilter Pattern – Piece and Joy

Posted on May 21, 2019 by Luana

Attention Paula Nadelstern Fans – this one’s for you!

We just adore the Celtic swirls and shimmering gold metallics of Paula’s “Piece and Joy” collection. This Exclusive Free Quilt Pattern features her trademark mandalas with that extra bit of golden magic.

This 52″ x 52″ traditional pieced quilt will bring a feeling of opulence and abundance to your holidays, as a Lap Quilt or Wall Hanging. Paul’a starburst mandalas are set on a black background, like magnificent stars hanging in a midnight sky.

… featuring the ‘Piece & Joy’ collection by Paula Nadelstern for Benartex.

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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Quilt Market Preview – Part 1

Posted on May 20, 2019 by Luana

After my first day of Quilt Market here in Kansas City, I can say that there are several different and distinct design trends, which means there is something for everybody!

Here are some notes of things I saw today, that we will be carrying in the next few months:
(Watch the newsletter for arrivals.)

Treasures of Alexandria – Egyptian with Metallic!
Wild Magic Frogs by Jody Bergsma
Birthstones Blenders Palette
First Stitch – Hoffman Challenge
McKenna Ryan – Oasis Batiks
Call of the Wild – Zebra, White Horses, Bear, Whales & Landscapes
Globe Hopper & Through the Lens – Digital Collections
New Hoffman 1895 Hand-Dye Color Chart – Digital Panel
Friendship Blossom – Bunnies by the Bay
Nightlife – Chong-a Hwang
New Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Fundraiser
Kyoto Garden – Deborah Edwards
Stonehenge Mountain Vista & Stonehenge Savanna – Linda Ludovico
Dream Weaver & Outdoor Adventures – Deborah Edwards
Day Dreams – Naturescapes by Abraham Hunter
State Panels – Sara Franklin and Sophia Santander
My Cup of Tea & Knit N Purl
Good Vibrations – Psychedelic Guitars by Dan Morris
Easy Rider Motorcycles & Sunrise Farms Roosters by Dan Morris
Painted Meadow – Bumblebees – by Robin Pickens
Unusual Garden 2 by Jason Yenter
Silly Siberians by Jon Van Zyle
Wild Birds by KG Art Studio
Poppy Meadows by Jane Shasky

Trends:
French & Asian themes reemerging
Endangered Animals & Conservation
Gemstones continuing
Sloths, Toucans, Bees, Baby Wild Animals
Faux Indigo Shibori & Tie-Dye
Pearlescent replacing Metallics

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

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Free eQuilter Pattern – Vibrant Garden

Posted on May 17, 2019 by Luana

Your Free Exclusive eQuilter Pattern this week features a breathtaking Summer Garden from Kaufman with hummingbirds, morning glories and white picket fence, all framed by a multi-color floral coordinate, sky blue tonal and coral pink impressionist petals.

The sunny, sun-drenched colors of summer come to life in this 50″ x 67″ pattern, highlighting the natural beauty of this gorgeous floral garden. Don’t miss this light and uplifting design!

… featuring the ‘Vibrant Garden’ collection by Lynnea Washburn for Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

Don’t miss the popular ‘On the Go Zoo‘ and ‘Eskimo Arctic Snow‘ 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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Creative Nudge – Long Ago…Far Away….

Posted on May 15, 2019 by Luana

With the new season of Game of Thrones in full swing, there’s a renewed interest in Castles and Dragons. We’ve had many years of these themes in pop culture – from the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings – to Harry Potter and How to Train Your Dragon. Fans of Dungeons and Dragons carry on with their weekly D&D game nights (as seen on The Big Bang), and little kids have a renewed fascination with the Disneyland Castle.

While in Nantes in France a couple weeks ago, I took a day to visit the historic Chateau, (Palace) built in the 13th Century. Inside was a museum with the history of Nantes, including its years at the center of the African slave trade. Nantes was the first slave port in France, providing more than 42% of the departures of slave ships between 1707 and 1793. Slave ships traveled from Nantes to the American Colonies. I had no idea…so wandering through the centuries of history in the Chateau eventually brought me to this straightforward presentation of a dark chapter.

Anne of Brittany was born in 1477 at this chateau, and was the only woman to be crowned Queen of France twice. She was reputed to be one of Europe’s richest women and was one of Brittany’s most famous heroines.

Castles and Dragons represent the Fantasy Genre which is attractive to many of us because it represents a way to escape the chaos of modern life. Game of Thrones…I don’t know…seems to mirror the chaos of modern life. However we are also drawn to the wisdom and power of Gandalf and Galadriel and Dumbledore. Even the tales of King Arthur and Merlin continue to thrive in new versions of these ancient legends. Stories of the Hero’s Quest, or the Heroine’s Quest, can speak to our desires to overcome slim odds in fighting our own demons and dragons, or the chaos outside our doors.

Hmm, maybe those historic fiction nerds are not so nerdy after all…?

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

*The collage above features a photo taken of the Nantes Chateau, with fabrics in stock now at eQuilter.com


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Luana’s Travel Calendar:
May 16-19 – Quilt Market
May 24-25 – Dairy Barn – Quilt National Opening – Athens OH
June 11-15 – Quilt Canada Ottawa – (lecture Fri 6/14)
July 18-22 – Sacred Threads & Not Fade Away (VA & DC)

eQuilter Classroom:
June 1 – Charity Sewing Group – RSVP
June 27-30 – Jane Tenorio-Coscarelli – Altar Quilts & Embellished Garments Workshops
July 11-14, 2019 – Cindy Lohbeck – Shibori, Ice-Dyeing and Ombre Dyeing Workshops
Oct 8-10 – Jacqueline de Jonge – eQuilter Classroom

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Free eQuilter Pattern – Jesus Loves the Little Children

Posted on May 14, 2019 by Luana

This week’s Free Quilt Pattern is based on the beloved hymn and nursery rhyme
(Jesus Loves the Little Children)
that has been taught for many generations in Sunday School.

The charming central panel has a sweet childhood past-time…featuring a swing hung from a tree, with squirrels, butterflies, flowers, birds and a big Rainbow overhead.

Add in the collection’s coordinates (Rainbow Handprints and a Rainbow Soft Stripe) to make this delightful 51″ x 58″ quilt, perfect for a Nap Quilt, Sunday School Wall hanging, or Playmat.

… featuring the ‘Jesus Loves The Little Children’ collection by Cindy Sepp for Quilting Treasures.

Don’t miss the popular ‘On the Go Zoo‘ and ‘Eskimo Arctic Snow‘ 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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