Creative Nudge – City and Country Christmas

Posted on October 3, 2018 by Luana

This week started with a quick adventure – to the Houston headquarters of Quilts Inc – those hardworking folks who organize Quilt Market and Quilt Festival! I was there with a team of judges to choose the winners for our Love Your Mother quilt challenge. You’ll be able to see this colorful exhibit in Houston in about 5 weeks. The prizes will be awarded at the Teachers Luncheon on Thursday Nov 8, where my friend Pam Holland will be giving a lecture about her creative journey. Hope you can join us!

Now that Fall is here, I can’t stop thinking about snuggly flannel quilts, and snowy winter evenings. After my 2 weeks in Sweden this summer, and especially all of our time up in the forest, I am thinking of how my ancestors stayed warm on those frigid nights up near the Arctic Circle. While I was in Sweden, one of our longtime customers came to meet me, and brought a book about Swedish quilts from the 1800s and early 1900s. I was amazed to see so many of the quilt blocks that we know and love, in those old black and white photos. Of course those quilts were scrappy, and made to keep families warm on those icy long winter weeks when one could only stay indoors and try to keep busy with crafts and chores.

These days we have the relative luxury of buying beautiful new fabrics instead of using old clothing scraps, and we also have the luxury of making artistic quilts instead of just utilitarian quilts. So we can not just survive Winter, but we can now celebrate Winter. This fabric collage above is my celebration of the frosty season that inspires us to sew and create while the weather outside is frightful….

Last chance to sign up for MJ Kinman’s class this weekend!…. in our NEW CLASSROOM. She will share her secrets of how to make the biggest diamonds in the world.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

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eQuilter Classroom & Event Calendar:
Oct 6-7 – MJ Kinman Gemstone Quilt workshop @ eQuilter – Register Now!
Oct 27 – Charity Sewing Day in our NEW CLASSROOM
Dec 2 – Victoria Findlay Wolfe CQC workshop @ eQuilter

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

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Free Pattern – World Traveler

Posted on October 2, 2018 by Luana

Travel back to a golden age of adventure and elegance, with this week’s Free Quilt Pattern, featuring a vintage map of the world. If you’ve got the Travel Bug, this beautiful 54″ x 66″ quilt will make an evocative wall hanging in your library, or perhaps to complement your international collectibles.

Trains, planes, automobiles, sailing ships and hot air balloons are featured in vignette blocks, along with flags of the world which are used to border the World Map. This digital printed collection has a variety of subtle colored textures that give the main panels a rich depth.

Add to the fun by embellishing all the places you’ve traveled on the World Map – with embroidery, buttons, or applique.

… from the ‘Wanderlust’ collection by Dan Morris for Quilting Treasures.

And don’t miss the wonderful ‘Christmas Pets‘ and ‘Dreaming in Color‘ 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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Our New HOME

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Luana

We did it!

We have completely moved out of our old building, and are now in our new building. I remember the day we first visited this empty land and dreamed of designing our own building….and now we are in…ready to start cutting and shipping fabric on Monday morning.

Today (Saturday) was National Coffee Day which gives me a little giggle. As you probably know, we keep our Coffee and Tea category well stocked because we know many of you read this newsletter on Sunday mornings sipping a cup of java or tea. I am a prolific sipper myself…I get my coffee-drinking from my Swedish Mom, and we live next door to Celestial Seasonings so we tend to come home with every new tea flavor, like bringing home kittens when going to the grocery store for milk.

By the way, our new warehouse (and classroom!) are now even closer to Celestial Seasonings which means if you visit us, you can also go on their free tour and visit their fantastic tasting room and gift shop. When we walk our dogs we can smell whatever tea they are making that day. We’ve lived next door to the tea factory since 1996 and we are kind of attached to the ever-changing fruit and herbal fragrances wafting into our back yard.

ONE more week until MJ Kinman comes to teach her ‘Treasure Hunting‘ Gemstone Quilt class. Snag a seat in our NEW CLASSROOM to learn how to make your own pieced GEMSTONES and BIRTHSTONE quilts! Last week I saw her upcoming fabric collection with Northcott, which will ship later this year. It is gorgeous. I am serving French Press coffee and a variety of teas in the classroom for my fellow sippers.

I hope you will come and PLAY with us in our new space very soon…which will include a tour of our new space.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

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Free Pattern – Dragon Wings

Posted on September 28, 2018 by Luana

Enter a spiraling vortex of whirling Dragon Wings in this week’s Exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern….and guess what? It is 96″ x 96″ … a large bed-size quilt that will take you on a cosmic journey through a kaleidoscope mandala, with ombre borders.

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

And don’t miss the wonderful ‘Dragonfly by Night‘ and ‘Dreaming in Color‘ 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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We Are Moving to Our New Home!

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Luana

TODAY is the last and biggest part of our move to the new eQuilter building. We will be back in business, cutting and shipping our droolworthy fabrics on Monday. We still have fantastic new fabric collections arriving all this week, so if you see something you like, snap it up now!

Our first Charity Sewing Day in our new classroom will be Sat Oct 27. We are expecting a very special visitor on this day – Bhupal Raj Khatiwada is a key partner of Engineers Without Borders in rural Nepal. He will be in Boulder as a guest of EWB, and would like to come to personally thank our group for the quilts made for the new mothers in their community. We hope you can attend, to hear his stories and insight from more than 30 years of working in sustainable community development in Nepal.

Who is MJ Kinman? You’ve probably seen her work in magazines or online, but perhaps haven’t heard her name…but her patterns are one of our TOP Sellers. Here is a video about her rapidly approaching workshop at eQuilter.

Please come and join us for creative inspiration and color camaraderie Oct 6-7, in our NEW CLASSROOM. MJ Kinman is a master of design and piecing, and will share her secrets of how to make the biggest diamonds in the world.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul
*****
Check out our 180 videos from international quilt festivals, PBS TV, artist and curator interviews on our eQuilter Video Page. Subscribe and catch the latest videos on our eQuilter YouTube Channel.

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eQuilter Classroom & Event Calendar:
Oct 6-7 – MJ Kinman Gemstone Quilt workshop @ eQuilter – Register Now!
Oct 27 – Charity Sewing Day in our NEW CLASSROOM
Dec 2 – Victoria Findlay Wolfe CQC workshop @ eQuilter

Booking more Classes for 2019 – stay tuned for more announcements!

Luana’s Travel Calendar:
Oct 1-2 – Houston at Quilts Inc
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 – Autumn Surprise

Posted on September 25, 2018 by Luana

This week we are celebrating the beauty of wildlife and shimmering Fall colors, with this stunning Free Quilt Pattern. The warm hues of the Autumn leaves and the Deer, contrast with the soft cool colors of the shadows and tree trunks, giving these illustrations a glowing quality.

Start with a block panel, fussy cut more blocks featuring wildlife vignettes, then add in coordinates, including detailed tree bark and bright leaves. This 42″ x 42″ quilt makes a beautiful wall hanging for your cabin, or hang it in any space to bring in the ambiance of the Great Outdoors.

… from the ‘Autumn Surprise’ collection by Greg Alexander for Elizabeth’s Studio.

And don’t miss the wonderful ‘Dragonfly by Night‘ and ‘Dreaming in Color‘ 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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It’s Official – We Are MOVING

Posted on September 24, 2018 by Luana

Tonight is the Fall Equinox, as we look forward to the changing of the seasons and more temperate weather.

It is appropriate that today we got our final Certificate of Occupancy which means we can now officially move everything to our GORGEOUS new building! The end of this week we have an army of professional movers swarming all over our warehouse to pack up and move all of our shelves and fabrics to our new home. We will get it done in just a few days so we can be up and running again with only a small hiccup.

As you can imagine, it was a very emotional day for us. We have built this new building from the ground up, and it has been a long winding path and a labor of love. I remember the day we first stood on the barren piece of land, and dreamed that we could have a new custom structure built here. How far we have come from our early days in the basement of our family home, and our first small warehouse that still smelled like mint tea from the previous tenant – Celestial Seasonings.

Yes we will remain open during our big move! Our offices are already partially moved, and we hope you will order this week’s new fabrics so you will be the first to receive them when our cutting and shipping departments spring back into action. Dana has worked with several charity quilt guilds around the country to distribute all the boxes of scraps we needed to donate before our big move. Many thanks to all the quilters who plan to make comfort quilts from these donated fabrics!

Only 2 weeks until MJ Kinman comes to teach her ‘Treasure Hunting’ Gemstone Quilt class. Snag a seat in our NEW CLASSROOM to learn how to make your own pieced GEMSTONES and BIRTHSTONE quilts!

If you follow me on Facebook you saw lots of photos of the airy new classroom with big windows, during our 6 days of workshop with Betty Busby. I’ve just uploaded a timeline of photos about the building and our first messy happy workshop in the new classroom – enjoy!

I hope you will come and PLAY with us in our new space very soon…which will include a tour of our new space.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

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Free Pattern – Kitten Cuties

Posted on September 21, 2018 by Luana

Everybody knows that Cat fabrics are the most popular among quilters, for obvious reasons!
This week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern features the most adorable Kittens, causing spontaneous outbursts of “Awwwwww” by anyone who sees these digital printed Kitty panels.

If you are a self-professed Cat Lady (or Lord), this 58″ x 73″ quilt will find a place of honor on the wall, the couch, or even on the floor for your own Herd of Cats. If you are a frustrated Cat Lady in the closet, you can proclaim yourself as an Ailurophile (Cat Lover) by hanging this at work.

For more Kitty Fun, join ‘Luana’s Fabriholic Kitty Club’ on Facebook.

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

And don’t miss the wonderful ‘Dragonfly by Night‘ and ‘Dreaming in Color‘ 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 – Autumn Whispers

Posted on September 19, 2018 by Luana

We’ve had our first little taste of Fall, and the first few trees have started to change colors and drop a few leaves. After a long hot summer, we are ready for a change of season, and the colors that go with the arrival of early Autumn. Here in Colorado the Aspens are turning golden in the high country, and there’s a cooler breeze in the air.

So we bring out our shawls, our scarves, our jackets for the upcoming cooler evenings. We start to think about turning on the oven and baking again. We bring home chrysanthemums, sunflowers, and roses…and we find ourselves drawn to the fabrics that express the hues of this changing season. We chat with our friends about how this summer went by even faster than last summer.

Now is a great time to reorganize your stash and see what color families need a boost. Perhaps a dash of jeweltones like Cobalt Blue, Cranberry Red, or Pine Green? Or perhaps Modern Midtones like Spa Blue, Avocado Green, and Flamingo Pink? Perhaps more moody hues such as Mauve and Charcoal Gray? Color inspires us, feeds our creativity, and invites us to try something new.

As the seasons turn, so do we. What colors are calling to you as Autumn whispers on the wind?

Please come and join us for creative inspiration and color comaradarie Oct 6-7, in our new headquarters. MJ Kinman is a master of design and piecing, and will share her secrets of how to make the biggest diamonds in the world.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

********
eQuilter Classroom & Event Calendar:
Oct 6-7 – MJ Kinman Gemstone Quilt workshop @ eQuilter – Register Now!
Dec 2 – Victoria Findlay Wolfe CQC workshop @ eQuilter

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

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Free Pattern – Stars of the Zoo

Posted on September 18, 2018 by Luana

You will definitely earn some Cool Quilter points with this Alphabet quilt, featuring the hot trend of Trixelated wildlife artwork, in this week’s Free Quilt Pattern.

This generous 62″ x 75″ quilt will make a colorful and educational bedcover for a young person’s twin bed, and won’t they be impressed that you know what ‘Trixelated’ means! (It is the triangular version of Pixels.) The central digital printed panel features an amusing collection of wildlife, marine animals, and domestic creatures that will keep your favorite little person busy for hours.

… from the ‘Zookeeper’ collection by Hoffman Fabrics.

And don’t miss the wonderful ‘Dragonfly by Night‘ and ‘Dreaming in Color (Dream Big)‘ 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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