Open House and Holiday Sewing Day

Posted on October 28, 2018 by Luana

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We are having a Holiday Open House and Charity Sewing Day on Sat Dec 8, for our customers, suppliers and eQuilter staff. Please RSVP if you plan to join us for sewing (9-4) or the Open House (1-5).

We will be conducting tours of our new facility in the afternoon during the Open House. You can check out our fantastic new Classroom, and find out more about our new Personal Shopper service.

For our Holiday Sewing Day, you can come pick out beautiful fabrics from our Classroom Scrap Stash to sew a quilt top for a last minute gift ($20 if you keep the quilt top), or make a quilt top and donate to our Comfort Quilt Project. You can score more surprise fabric packs for scrappy quilts on our Warehouse Scrap page.

What happens when we have a fabric panel with a small flaw? It is donated to our charity program, or is put into our Nearly Perfect Panel Scrap Pack. More quilters are discovering the magic of making a quick quilt by starting with a panel and adding borders. This is one of our customers’ favorite secret products because when you order this scrap pack, you will get a surprise assortment of panels at a fraction of the price, with very small flaws, that are just fantastic for quick gift quilts and charity quilt projects.

Today in our classroom we are using these panels to make Comfort Quilts to be donated for disaster relief. There is lots of fun picking out the fabrics, sharing our show-and-tell, interspersed with coffee and cookies. We hope you can join our group some time! Photos are on our Facebook page.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

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eQuilter Classroom & Event Calendar:
Dec 2 – Victoria Findlay Wolfe CQC workshop @ eQuilter
Dec 8 – Holiday Sewing Day (9 am -4 pm) & Open House (1-5 pm) – RSVP
July 11-14, 2019 – Cindy Lohbeck – Shibori, Ice-Dyeing and Ombre Dyeing Workshops.

Luana’s Travel Calendar:
Nov 2-8 – Houston Quilt Market/Festival
(Nov 8 – Love Your Mother Awards @ Teachers Luncheon)
Nov 13-19, 2018 – POLAR BEAR Tour
Dec 23 – Jan 4 – China on Sophie’s Heritage Trip
Jan 24-29 – Tokyo Quilt Festival

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

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Free Pattern – Owl Majesty

Posted on October 26, 2018 by Luana

This exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern is a big hit, so grab it before it sells out!

You will start with a central digital panel featuring a detailed closeup of a beautiful Snowy Owl and Full Moon, then add a border of Owl Portraits. Finally, add this amazing Header and Footer with a pieced inset that mimics that wingspan of a bird in flight – this finishing touch is just pure genius!

Your 61″ x 67″ quilt design combines our exclusive digital-printed Owls, with Hoffman Hand-Dyes. Great gift for Harry Potter fans and Bird-Watchers. Check out our many Harry Potter prints and Owl fabrics for a special backing.

… from the ‘Majestic Wildlife’ collection by the Rubin Design Studio, designed exclusively for eQuilter.

And don’t miss the wonderful ‘Paisley Cats‘ and ‘Grizzly Bear Family‘ 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 – Can You Feel It Coming?

Posted on October 24, 2018 by Luana

We are gearing up for Quilt Market and Quilt Festival, and Sophie is going to spend a whole week with me in Houston! Meanwhile we’ve had a few sneak peeks of collections that will be introduced at Market this year, and it feels like there is another big change coming to our industry in the next year. So many of our old industry friends are retiring, and so many young people who joined the industry 5 years ago are now rising through the ranks. It is an exciting time to anticipate what new waves of innovation and creativity will burst onto the quilt and textile scene!

Last year we had the pleasure of popping up to the top floor of the convention center to see the Houston Grand Opera, who had been displaced by Hurricane Harvey. This year we are going to go see the opera back on their home turf, which will be a great way to kick off our week in Houston. I’ve been going to Houston for so many years, and it is a treat to appreciate other textiles (in the fabulous costumes) after a busy day of buying fabrics on the show floor. Why did it take a hurricane for me to find the opera after all these years?

We have some exciting announcements coming up about teachers and workshops in our new classroom for 2019.

July 11-14, 2019 we are thrilled to announce four one-day classes with Cindy Lohbeck, who I met at the Quilting Arts TV studio. She is coming to teach Shibori dyeing techniques, Ice-Dyeing, and Ombre Dyeing and when you see the photos of her work you are going to flip! So if this sounds like fun, please block out those days next year and watch for registration to open. You can take any single day class, or all four if you wish. Cindy is so creative and enthusiastic, and when I look at photos of her students’ work, it is clear she is very generous with her dyeing techniques.

We have more announcements coming up so stay tuned…we’ll be putting that new 10 foot stainless steel sink to good use in the studio/classroom! We just got the electrical drops put in this week (retractable electric cords that drop from the ceiling for our sewing classes) so we are ready to host a room full of busy sewing machines for our first Charity Sewing Day this Saturday!

Thank you for sharing our e-newsletters with your friends. All of these are posted on our blog, in case you want to review previous newsletters. We appreciate your support of our fabric service and charity programs!

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul
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* The collage above features digital printed large-scale forest fabrics currently in stock.

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eQuilter Classroom & Travel Calendar:
Oct 27 – Charity Sewing Day – eQuilter Classroom – Waiting List Only
Nov 2-8 – Houston Quilt Market/Festival
(Nov 8 – Love Your Mother Awards @ Teachers Luncheon)
Nov 13-19, 2018 – POLAR BEAR Tour
Dec 2 – Victoria Findlay Wolfe CQC workshop @ eQuilter
Dec 8 – Holiday Sewing Day & Open House – RSVP
Dec 23 – Jan 4 – China Trip

2019:
July 11-14 – Cindy Lohbeck Shibori & Ice-Dyeing Workshops

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Free Pattern – Feathered Peacock

Posted on October 23, 2018 by Luana

Escape to an age of elegance and polished refinement, with this week’s Free Quilt Pattern. Graceful Peacocks pose on branches full of flowers, with a soft palette of cool tones.

This 40″ x 56″ wall-hanging is full of glistening silver metallic accents, giving this a soft shimmering quality. A bold Cobalt Blue border adds balance to this opulent garden scene.

… from the ‘Feathered Peacock’ collection by Chong-A Hwang for Timeless Treasures.

And don’t miss the wonderful ‘Paisley Cats‘ and ‘Grizzly Bear Family‘ 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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Dates and Reminders

Posted on October 22, 2018 by Luana

Just a reminder about a few things that are coming up on our calendar:

All of our donated charity quilts have been distributed, so we will be starting on a new batch at our very first Charity Sewing Day in our new classroom – Oct 27. We only have a couple seats left so RSVP or call to get on the waiting list.

November 8th I will be awarding the winners of the Love Your Mother quilt challenge, and BERNINA will be awarding the top prize of a B 570 QE machine, at the Teachers Luncheon at Quilt Festival in Houston. We will be at a table up front, but if you are there please come and say hello to me and the Love Your Mother artists!

Victoria Findlay Wolfe is teaching in our new classroom on Sunday Dec 2, and there are still spots available through CQC – Colorado Quilting Council. Victoria’s Modern Quilts are currently on exhibit at Liberty House in London, and we congratulate her on her successes. Register for this one day workshop on the CQC website.

We are having a Holiday Open House and Charity Sewing Day on Sat Dec 8, for our customers, suppliers and eQuilter staff. Stay tuned for details and keep that Saturday afternoon open if you can join us.

Tonight my National Parks Bobcat quilt is being auctioned off at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, at a fundraiser for the Wild Animal Sanctuary. I hope to see some of you there…lots of beautiful donated wildlife artwork available at all different prices for a great cause.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

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eQuilter Classroom & Event Calendar:
Oct 27 – Charity Sewing Day in our NEW CLASSROOM – RSVP
Dec 2 – Victoria Findlay Wolfe CQC workshop @ eQuilter
Dec 8 – Holiday Sewing Day – RSVP

Luana’s Travel Calendar:
Oct 20 – Wild Animal Sanctuary ART Fundraiser – Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Nov 2-8 – Houston Quilt Market/Festival
(Nov 8 – Love Your Mother Awards @ Teachers Luncheon)
Nov 13-19, 2018 – POLAR BEAR Tour
Dec 23 – Jan 4 – China

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Free Pattern – Prism Stars

Posted on October 19, 2018 by Luana

This mesmerizing bed-sized quilt has eye-popping stars that give a 3-dimensional feel, set on a solid Black background, with a Gradient Rainbow Border.

For those of you looking for a larger quilt to cover up a special person on a cold winter night, this 83″ x 83″ exclusive design will make a striking impression on someone’s bed!

Use our suggested backing, or browse our large variety of 108″ wide backings to pick out just the right match for the Flip Side.

Browse our variety of wool, silk, organic cotton, and other battings to match a special cozy batting with this shimmering starry quilt!

… from the ‘Mandalas and Medallions’ collection by the Rubin Design Studio, designed exclusively for eQuilter.

And don’t miss the wonderful ‘Paisley Cats‘ and ‘Grizzly Bear Family‘ 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 – Quilts = Peace

Posted on October 17, 2018 by Luana

I am having a brief visit with my Bobcat quilt which has been traveling 3 years with the National Parks exhibit. I made the quilt from a photo of a bobcat resident of the Wild Animal Sanctuary, and this Saturday the quilt will be auctioned off to raise money for this sanctuary. If you live in Colorado and can make it to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, please RSVP (scroll down to the fundraiser event link on their Facebook page) and we’ll be enjoying food/drink/music together at this big Art Fundraiser in a few days!

eQuilter is a sponsor of the new Connections exhibit at the Visions Art Museum in San Diego. The opening reception was this last weekend, and I am sorry I could not attend in person. As a sponsor, we are there in spirit! The exhibit is on through Jan 6 2019, so I hope if you are in the area, you can visit the museum.

The San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles is hosting an amazing project –
The Gun Buy-Back: Cash & Quilts for Guns.

Kudos to all the quilters who have donated quilts for this effort! The museum is joining forces with the San Jose Police Department and Police Foundation to facilitate a unique gun buy-back where individuals will receive cash AND a beautiful quilt in exchange for turning in weapons, no questions asked. The event will take place on December 1, 2018. The police dept collected 690 guns during 2016’s gun buy-back. They hope to beat that record in 2018! They are requesting cash donations to support the buy-back part of the event.

We all know that quilts bring comfort and healing (to the maker, and the recipient) but in this case quilts can also bring Peace…a worthy goal with the holiday season approaching.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

The collage above features digital printed fabrics from our exclusive collection of Rubin Studio Designs.

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eQuilter Classroom & Event Calendar:
Oct 27 – Charity Sewing Day in our NEW CLASSROOM
Dec 2 – Victoria Findlay Wolfe CQC workshop @ eQuilter
Dec 8 – Holiday Sewing Day – RSVP

Luana’s Travel Calendar:
Oct 20 – Wild Animal Sanctuary ART Fundraiser – Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Nov 2-8 – Houston Quilt Market/Festival
(Nov 8 – Love Your Mother Awards @ Teachers Luncheon)
Nov 13-19, 2018 – POLAR BEAR Tour
Dec 23 – Jan 4 – China

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Free Pattern – Three Kings

Posted on October 16, 2018 by Luana

Three Kings come bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, in this week’s Free Quilt Pattern.

This 54″ x 62″ quilt depicts the Gifts of the Magi on Christmas Eve, with a stunning detailed panel as the focal point. Coordinates with gold metallic and starry skies are pieced with Hoffman Hand-Dyes to finish off this devotional holiday wall hanging.

… from the ‘Three Kings’ collection by Whistler Studios for Windham Fabrics.

And don’t miss the wonderful ‘Paisley Cats‘ and ‘Maplewood Ombre‘ 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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$300K for Breast Cancer

Posted on October 16, 2018 by Luana

It is a gorgeous Colorado Fall day here in Boulder today. The Autumn colors are at their peak, and the sky is a brilliant blue. Tomorrow we have snow coming and a low of 17 degrees, so we all out enjoying the colors of the season before Winter spreads her silvery cloak.

A lot of people ask me about how color trends work – how color forecasters can ‘predict’ future colors. There is even suspicion that we are the Color Mafia – that color trends happen because we pronounce a Color Edict and the world follows.

Not so. The signs of color trends are all around us, if we pay attention. It is there in the daily news, in pop culture, in the latest couture fashion shows in Europe and New York. It is in the art galleries, in the displays in funky downtown boutiques, in the most popular exhibits at the largest art museums. It is there in the conversations we have over lunch with our best friends, and the conversations we overhear at the coffee house. It grows out of the Mass Consciousness, and where we are all headed together on this beautiful planet.

Our business is entering a new chapter – moving into our OWN gorgeous large building – and our 20th anniversary coming up in March. I am also approaching a big timestamp on the Path of Life – turning 60 next month. We have always run our business as a service. For those who don’t have a local quilt shop, or who need specialty items not available elsewhere, we aim to carry products and inspire you with brand new trends that will help you to grow in your evolution as a quilter, an artist, a creative human being.

The other important part of us being a service organization is our charity work. This week we hit a landmark with much personal meaning: we now have raised $300,000 for Breast Cancer Research. As you may know, my mother is a survivor, and my mother-in-law had this scourge also. So I want to personally thank all of you who have helped us to get to this milestone. We all have friends and often relatives who have fought and won (or lost) this battle, and together we will continue to educate, support, and search for the answer. Special hugs and love going out to all of you who are fighting BC now.

What can eQuilter do, and what can I do, to support you as a Creative Human Being in the next year? Please write to me at [email protected] and let me know your ideas. I look forward to hearing from you.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

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eQuilter Classroom & Event Calendar:
Oct 27 – Charity Sewing Day in our NEW CLASSROOM
Dec 2 – Victoria Findlay Wolfe CQC workshop @ eQuilter
Dec 8 – Holiday Sewing Day – RSVP

Luana’s Travel Calendar:
Oct 20 – Wild Animal Sanctuary ART Fundraiser – Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Nov 2-8 – Houston Quilt Market/Festival
(Nov 8 – Love Your Mother Awards @ Teachers Luncheon)
Nov 13-19, 2018 – POLAR BEAR Tour
Dec 23 – Jan 4 – China

 

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Free Pattern – Grizzly Bear Family

Posted on October 12, 2018 by Luana

Thrill at the gaze of a Mother Grizzly Bear, in this week’s Exclusive Free Quilt Pattern. That icon of maternal protection makes a statement on your wall, couch or small bed. Don’t mess with Mama!

This 66″ x 75″ quilt features a digital printed central panel, with a clever pieced border combining Stonehenge textures and Hoffman Hand-Dyes, to create Mama and Baby Bear Tracks across the quilt.

… from the ‘Call of the Wild’ collection by Hoffman Fabrics.

And don’t miss the wonderful ‘Reverie Garden‘ and ‘Maplewood Ombre‘ 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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