Garden Party

Posted on August 22, 2018 by Luana

I’ve uploaded many photos of quilts from the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham UK, so you can see what quilters in the UK and across Europe are dreaming up this year.

The collage above features one of my favorite quilts from Birmingham, with a rainbow of appliqued blossoms emanating from a central star. Jean Corbridge made this quilt – aptly titled “My English Country Garden”. I’ve added several floral prints around the border of the collage, to give you some ideas of how flower fabrics can be combined. To see more detail of this quilt, and others, go to my photo pages.

Here in Colorado despite the heavy smoke obscuring our view of the mountains (from the West Coast fires) we are still enjoying the bounty of late summer, with vegetable gardens, peach orchards and flower fields yielding armloads of color and baskets of harvest.

In case you missed our big announcement, we have built a new building from the dirt up, and will be moving by mid-September. It is a very busy and exciting time for us here at eQuilter.

Awhile ago I was invited to record a PODCAST INTERVIEW, which was just posted this week. When you have a quiet 30 minutes, please enjoy this interview about my career and our business, maybe with a cup of tea.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

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eQuilter Classroom & Event Calendar:
September ?? – Moving to our New Building
Sept 14-19 – Betty Busby FRCQ workshops @ eQuilter
Oct 6-7 – MJ Kinman Gemstone Quilt workshop @ eQuilter – Register Now!
Dec 2 – Victoria Findlay Wolfe CQC workshop @ eQuilter

Luana’s Travel Calendar:
Sept 6-12 – CMG – Wash DC, QA TV – Cleveland
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 – Mountain Lion Pride

Posted on August 21, 2018 by Luana

Whether you call it a Mountain Lion, Cougar or Puma, this Free Quilt Pattern captures the imagination with a stunning digital portrait of an iconic Big Cat. The central panel features a composite image of a Cougar and a Mountainous Forest landscape. The detail on the face of the big feline is so precise, you feel like you are looking into the soul of the animal.

You will use 6 shades of Hoffman Hand-Dyes to create the Star Block inset panel, and borders. This 49″ x 52″ quilt design is simple but eye-catching, and there is a lot of room for creative stitching or embellishment.

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

And don’t miss the wonderful ‘Heavenly Cats‘ and ‘Butterfly Awakening‘ 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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Summertime…and the Livin’ is Easy…. (*)

Posted on August 18, 2018 by Luana

I hope that you saw our Big News in the Midweek Creative Nudge newsletter. Our new building is almost finished and we will be moving in September…not sure exactly what date yet. My house looks like a warehouse at the moment because I have so much stuff piled up that will be going to our new headquarters.

Sophie (16) just started her Junior year of High School, and she had a blast hanging out with our talented quilter friends at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham UK. She will be coming to Quilt Market with me this fall, and she spent this summer working part time in our Buying Department, helping out while Veronica was out on maternity leave.

We love this time of year because it is the season for Colorado Palisade Peaches, Farmers Markets, and roadside fruit stands bursting with summer bounty. I took a cheese-making class at a goat farm and learned how to milk a goat…just in case my day job doesn’t work out. I am making cheese to go with the tomatoes and basil in my garden. Life is good. I hope you are able to enjoy the bounty of late Summer also. We are looking forward to cooler weather and relief for those affected by the fires.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

* ‘Summertime’ by George Gershwin from Porgy and Bess

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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:
September ?? – Moving to our New Building
Sept 14-19 – Betty Busby FRCQ workshops @ eQuilter
Oct 6-7 – MJ Kinman Gemstone Quilt workshop @ eQuilter – Register Now!
Dec 2 – Victoria Findlay Wolfe CQC workshop @ eQuilter

Luana’s Travel Calendar:
Sept 6-12 – CMG – Wash DC, QA TV – Cleveland
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 – Butterfly Awakening

Posted on August 17, 2018 by Luana

This fantastic Butterfly Quilt is an explosion of juicy painted colors, reproduced with digital printing, for this week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern.

We’ve combined the central panel with 2 digital coordinates and 2 Hoffman Hand-Dyes, to create this eye-popping 54″ x 72″ quilt design that is a real show-stopper!

Butterflies are a symbol of rebirth, reawakening, and transformation. Do you know someone who is emerging from a cocoon, changing from a caterpillar to a butterfly? Perhaps this is a beautiful gift for someone who is going through big changes in life?

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

And don’t miss the wonderful ‘Heavenly Cats‘ 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 Big News!

Posted on August 15, 2018 by Luana

As promised, we have some very big news to share with all of you.

The photo above shows the NEW sign being put on…..our NEW building!

This is just beyond exciting for all of us at eQuilter, and we are delighted to share this announcement publicly: we will be moving to our new home next month!

As you may know, we started our business in the basement of our home in March of 1999. After 60 days we exceeded our 3 year business plan, and in October 1999 we moved into a 4000 sq ft warehouse. 18 months later we expanded into 11,000 sq ft, and then again to our current 15,000 sq ft. But all those warehouses were leased. We’ve been looking and looking for a building to buy for years.

A year ago we decided to buy a piece of land and build our new headquarters from the ground up… literally. It has been a labor of love and it has really been Paul’s project for the last year. As with any big project, there were challenges and delays, but we just kept gritting our teeth and carrying on, getting closer and closer to our dream of owning our own brand new building.

This week the sign was hung on our new home, and our end of Boulder has been buzzing with curiosity and excitement about our business. Our contractor says they will put our building on their website as an example of their work, because it is such a beautiful premium building.

I have to thank Paul for persevering through the most challenging days of this project, and congratulate him on this great accomplishment. We’ve worked together on the design and finishing of the building, and we hope that many of you will be able to visit us after we open.

We know you will have lots of questions, so let me try to answer a few now:

We will still be a mail order internet-based business. The bulk of our business is national and international so we are going to continue doing what we do best – offering a huge variety of the finest quilting fabrics and supplies for avid quilters and sewing enthusiasts around the world.

Our new building is on the same road, in the same part of NE Boulder (Gunbarrel) where we are currently located. It is closer to Celestial Seasonings (and our home) which means I can walk my dogs to work.

Although we are not a walk-in retail store, you will have opportunities to visit us. We are pursuing a regular schedule of classes with national and international teachers, in our brand new gorgeous classroom.

You will have the opportunity to tour our facility and schedule an appointment with a personal shopper. This is especially open to those who come to take classes. You will still be able to place an order and stop by to pick up your package.

Our humble thanks for supporting our growth over the last 19.5 years, and thank you for helping us to raise over $1.5 million for charity. We will keep you informed about our move date next month – which is still a moving target.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

* the photo collage above features a photo of our new sign on our new building, plus favorite fabrics from our exclusive Rubin Design Studio digital-printed collections.

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Free Pattern – Season of Peace

Posted on August 14, 2018 by Luana

In the still of a winter forest, the wildlife gathers to share in a peaceful feast, in this gorgeous illustration by artist Jody Bergsma.

This 45″ x 56″ quilt design shimmers with the beauty of the North Woods snowfall, featuring the collectible artwork of a brilliant artist who has recently announced her retirement. We have been huge fans of Jody’s work for years, so we are pleased to bring you this beautiful quilt design which makes a wonderful holiday gift for your favorite animal-lover.

You can see other artwork by this beloved wildlife artist on our site, while it lasts.

… from the ‘Season of Peace’ collection by Jody Bergsma for Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

And don’t miss the wonderful ‘Heavenly Cats‘ 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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Festival of Quilts

Posted on August 13, 2018 by Luana

I always say that travel is the best judge of character, because something always happens, and how one deals with it says a lot about one’s character. Well, this last week was one of those travel experiences for Sophie and I. Lost luggage, lost laundry, broken wifi – we just had to laugh. However our experience with the quilters at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham UK has been stellar, and it was wonderful to introduce Sophie to our eQuilter friends across the pond. We especially enjoyed visiting with the Tentmakers of Cairo, and our European SAQA members. On the last day there is always a Cosplay conference (This year is Outlander) and an Indian wedding in this hotel, so the combination of wedding saris, cosplay geeks, and fabriholic quilters, makes for a wild weekend.

As always, I took photos of my favorite quilts, and you’ll see these popping up on my photo pages in the next week or two after I return home. Our return flights are tomorrow – we’ll be home Sunday evening. I think Sophie was surprised at how many people she knew at this event. It is a small world we occupy – the International Quilting Tribe circles the globe and reconvenes at these events like annual family reunions. As many of us have been coming for 10 or 20 years, now we bring our daughters, and new kinds of talents are being revealed by the younger generation.

Tonight one of our quilting friends is driving us to Stratford to the Royal Shakespeare Theater. We’ll be seeing the Merry Wives of Windsor – a fitting end to our week in England. Sophie starts school Thursday so we’ll be back to a school schedule in a few days. We’ll have some big news to share in the next few weeks – stay tuned!

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

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Free Pattern – Island Sanctuary

Posted on August 10, 2018 by Luana

This week’s Exclusive Free Quilt Pattern combines tropical floral prints from Kaufman and Timeless Treasures. Detailed, brilliant orchids, hibiscus, birds of paradise and more are set on island jewel-tones of jade, pacific blue and iris purple.

Digitally printed floral frames are surrounded with deep green borders, primrose pink sashing, and an allover tropical flower outer border.

This exquisite 67″ x 79″ quilt will bring light and warmth to your room as a wall-hanging, or makes a beautiful tropical twin bed quilt.

… from the ‘Island Sanctuary’ collection by Lynnea Washburn for Robert Kaufman Fabrics and the ‘Island Breeze’ collection by Chong-A Hwang for Timeless Treasures.

And don’t miss the wonderful ‘Heavenly Cats‘ 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 – Needle and Thread – What to Wear?

Posted on August 8, 2018 by Luana

This week I am writing to you from London, where Sophie and I are visiting an old family friend before going to the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham UK. It is Sophie’s first visit to England, so we are squeezing in several museums and cultural experiences in our few days here. I’ve been coming to London since 1983, and have visited many sites several times. Some things change (like the entrance to the National Gallery) but it is comforting to visit so many historic sites that are maintained in their authentic disposition.

If you sign up for the Buckingham emails, you will find out that Buckingham Palace opens up its State Rooms for the public to visit for several weeks in the summer. Presumably the queen has ditched her London palace for the cooler climes of Balmoral. Everyone here is complaining about the record-breaking heat. Anyway, I have been trying to hit the summertime Buckingham dates for years and I finally made it! We also took the Royal Garden Tour (her back yard, essentially) and visited the Queen’s Gallery. We’ll fit in the Mews and Westminster Abbey tomorrow, before we head up to Birmingham on the train Thursday. The V&A and Tower of London might have to wait til next time. Sophie’s luggage was missing for 2 days, so we lost some time, having to go shopping to find her some clothes to wear. The luggage finally showed up but now our laundry is lost. Oh well, it will all work out in the end. You have to keep your sense of humor at times like this.

There is so much incredible art at Buckingham, collected by multiple monarchs. We loved the gorgeous ceiling designs by architect John Nash, and portraits of Victoria by Winterhalter. We also saw Prince Charles’ favorite art works from the 3 charities he has founded: The Royal Drawing School, The Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts and traditional crafts of Turquoise Mountain.

The photo collage above is a painting by Drouais, of Madame de Pompadour at her embroidery frame. She is wearing silk, embroidery and lace…sitting with tambour needle and thread. My how times have changed. We often sit with needle and thread in our jammies now. You can see this painting at the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square in London.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

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eQuilter Classroom & Event Calendar:
Sept 14-19 – Betty Busby FRCQ workshops @ eQuilter
Oct 6-7 – M.J. Kinman Gemstone Quilt workshop @ eQuilter
Dec 2 – CQC workshop Victoria Findlay Wolfe @ eQuilter

Luana’s Travel Calendar:
Aug 9-12 – Birmingham UK Festival of Quilts
Sept 6-12 – CMG – Wash DC, QA TV – Ohio
Nov 2-8 – Houston Quilt Market & Festival – Love Your Mother Exhibit
Nov 13-19, 2018 – POLAR BEAR Tour
Dec 23 – Jan 4 – China

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Free Pattern – Winter’s Grandeur

Posted on August 7, 2018 by Luana

This week’s Free Quilt Pattern is a merry combination of the Winter’s Grandeur and Holiday Flourish collections, with a delightfully decorated Christmas tree surrounded by crystalline holiday ornaments and coordinating shimmering stars and swirls.

Start with a large central Christmas tree panel, then add borders of festive coordinates and a beautifully detailed ornament outside border. This 55″ x 76″ quilt will hang in a place of honor during your holiday celebrations, or will make a treasured gift to be cherished for many seasons to come.

… from the ‘Winter’s Grandeur’ collection and the ‘Holiday Flourish ‘ collection by Peggy Toole by Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

And don’t miss the wonderful ‘Tiger Eyes‘ 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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