Free Pattern – Furr Ever Friends

Posted on May 29, 2018 by Luana

What’s your favorite – Cats or Flowers?

In this week’s Free Quilt Pattern you don’t have to choose… you can have it all… Cats in the Garden!

This delightful 61″ x 69″ quilt combines 2 of our most popular themes into one fantastic quilt design, with happy kitties enjoying butterflies, blossoms and sunshine in a summer flower garden.

Start with the central panel, then add consecutive borders with 3 coordinates. You’ll be finishing up this quick pattern in a snap, with more time to play with your kitties and tend to your flower garden.

Makes a great gift for Cat Lovers too – make one for you and one for your fellow Ailurophile. If your feline ‘helper’ rolls on the quilt during construction…what’s a little cat hair among friends?

… from the ‘Furr Ever Friends’ collection by Linda Picken for Blank Textiles.

And don’t miss the wonderful ‘Under the Sea‘ and ‘Jungle Giraffes‘ 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

Posted on May 29, 2018 by Luana
Quilt Market Preview – Part 2

Here are some of our most favorite collections that we ordered at Quilt Market last weekend. (You can see Part 1 in last Saturday’s newsletter) These will be arriving in the next 2-6 months and as always, watch the weekly newsletters for when they arrive!

Cattitude 2 by Ann Lauer
More is More by Paula Nadelstern – 20th Anniversary
Zuma by Tula Pink
Awaken the Day by Jim Shore
Quantum by Giucy Giuce
English Summer by Ana Maria Horner
Spots & Dots by Edyta Sitar
Dragonfly Dance by Kanvas Studio
Home Grown by Nancy Halvorsen
Garden bright by Sue Penn Designs
Abstract Garden by Christa Watson
Montagu by William Morris & Co.
Confettis by Odile Bailloeul
Savernake Road by Monika Forsberg
Butterflies and Moths by Carl Brenders
Adventures of Bear and Friends by Jane Chapman
Brew – Coffee collection with burlap print
Urban Cottage – Toweling
Once upon a time – Doll-house pattern
Bloomfield Avenue – Amazing violas
Malam Batiks VI by Jinny Beyer
Retro Road Trip – Campers & Trailers
Starlight & Splendor – digital collection
Call of the Wild & Wild Kingdom – Hoffman Digital
Seed to Blossom by McKenna Ryan
Dream Bigger – Digital quilt backing using the Dream Big flower
ASPCA Paw Prints – all the proceeds go to ASPCA
Arcadia by Betsy Siber – National parks
Goat Island by Susan Emory
Kashim Gardens by Sarah Campbell – Paisley, floral
Monster Chemistry Lab
Feather & Flora by Elizabeth Isles
America – Home of the Brave
Coffee Break by Alexa Kate Design

Trends:
Moths, dragonflies, and fireflies
Unusual Woodland Animals, and Bears with Personality
Ornamental & Super-Realistic Cats!
Large Scale designs on digital quilt backing (see this week’s shipment above)
Incredible artistic painterly details on digital prints
Graffiti and Street Art Influences

We were very sad to learn this week that Meander Publishing is closing their doors, but we are stocking back issues so you can still get their beautiful Machine Quilting and Modern Quilts Unlimited copies until we run out. This comes after we learned that Australian Patchwork & Quilting is also ceasing publication…very sad for all of us who love our glossy quilt magazines.

As a result we are picking up 2 new titles which we will announce in the next week or two.

I hope to see many of our Canadian quilter friends in Vancouver when I am there Weds night and all day Thursday, or perhaps you can come to Hollis Chatelain’s opening reception at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden Colorado next Friday evening!

Thanks to all of you who submitted an entry to the Love Your Mother Challenge. The entries are being juried now, and then registrants will be notified of the results.

Happy Memorial Day,
Luana and Paul
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Free Pattern – Dreaming in Color

Posted on May 25, 2018 by Luana

If you’ve been waiting for a King Size Free Quilt Pattern from our collection of exclusive weekly patterns, this one’s for YOU!

This 96″ x 96″ quilt features one of our most popular digital panels of all time – the Dream Big digital floral from Hoffman. We’ve combined 4 different colors of this gorgeous flower panel, to be cut up and pieced into this stunning large bed quilt. The 4 panel colors are tied together in the digital printed coordinate for the border.

You’ll have sweet garden dreams when you sleep under this luscious quilt. Once you’ve made one for yourself, you can start making another one for a holiday gift later this year. We’ve stocked all of the 8 colors in depth so you can mix and match and design your own color combinations of this quilt design.

Designer Jeanie is a Colorado quilter and we are so proud and happy for her success with this Hoffman fabric collection!

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

And don’t miss the wonderful ‘Under the Sea‘ and ‘Jungle Giraffes‘ 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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A Rainbow of Diversity

Posted on May 23, 2018 by Luana

We’ve just returned from Quilt Market which was over the weekend in Portland Oregon. I thought you would enjoy seeing these portrait quilts from the Art Gallery booth, depicting women of all different colors and cultures. As an extension of the multi-cultural wedding celebration in England over the weekend, I thought it would be fun to show our collection of fabrics featuring women of all different Colors, Shapes and Sizes.

Thanks to Pat and Walter Bravo who put up this quilt exhibit in their booth to celebrate the diversity of women. We also celebrate and support diversity in fabric designs whenever possible. I remember about 10 years ago when we saw the first multi-cultural ballet print… featuring little girls of all different colors, in their tutus, in ballet class. We were so excited…and our customers were too!

Recently a customer called to ask us to carry more multicultural fabric designs. Trust me, I order every single one that we are offered! To be fair, the fabric manufacturers are offering more and more designs showing diversity in women and children. We will continue to order every fabric offered that celebrates diversity.

Thank you for those of you who submitted entries to the Love Your Mother challenge! The blind jury process is underway and those chosen for the Houston exhibit are scheduled to be notified by June 20.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

* The collage above features quilts from the Art Gallery booth at Quilt Market, plus fabrics in stock now at eQuilter featuring multi-cultural women.

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eQuilter Classroom & Event Calendar:
July 16 – 20 – Lea McComas Workshops @ eQuilter
July 23 – eQuilter Charity Sewing Day! (Please RSVP)
Coming soon – workshops with Betty Busby (Sept) and MJ Kinman (Oct) @ eQuilter!

Luana’s Travel Calendar:
May 29 – 31 – Quilt Canada – Vancouver BC
June 1 – Opening Reception for Hollis Chatelain – RMQM – Golden CO
June 27 – July 11 – Sweden
Aug 9-11 – Birmingham UK – Festival of Quilts
Nov 13-19, 2018 – POLAR BEAR Tour

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Free Pattern – Bison Country

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Luana

The Spirit of the Bison still roams the high plains, and this week’s Free Quilt Pattern gives us a breathtaking view of the Buffalo Spirit.

The central panel captures a pair of bison with the details that can only be found in a digital-printed fabric, with a majestic mountain landscape in the background. Portrait frames surround the panel, while the mitered bison stripe for the outer border frames the quilt.

And we’ve combined coordinating Northcott Stonehenge textures for the borders for this 59″ x 65″ design. Bison Country makes a bold and beautiful wall-hanging for a Western-themed room, or a cozy fireside lap quilt.

… from the ‘Naturescapes’ collection by Al Agnew for Northcott Fabrics.

And don’t miss our popular ‘Tiger Eyes‘ and ‘Night Owl Nature‘ 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

Posted on May 21, 2018 by Luana

Hello from Portland Oregon!

We are here for Spring Quilt Market, while they are having heavy rain and flash flooding back home in Boulder. The weather is sunny and mild here in Portland – go figure!

We are excited about these collections, which will be shipping in the months to come. Be sure to watch our newsletter as they arrive for Summer and Fall this year:

Alphonse Mucha – Art Nouveau panel in peach and pastels
Northern Heritage by Jody Bergsma – Alaskan sled dogs
Patriots – Washington Crossing the Delaware panel
Stargazers – Digital solar system panel with glitter
Penny’s Dollhouse 2 by Darlene Zimmerman
Angelica by Chong-a Hwang – Yellow roses, navy blue & periwinkle flowers
Tonga Colorwheel – A wide range of colors in swirling batik dots
Road Trippin’ – Illustrated city, taxis, and buses
Wonder by Carrie Bloomston – Digital collection
Passport – Maps, passports & passport stamps
Popcorn & Peanuts – Licensed Peanuts characters at the movies
Lost World by Dan Morris – Dinosaurs, fossils and foot prints
Timberland Trail by Dan Morris – Moose, Bear, Deer, Wolves
Sugar Rush – Candy jars, bright lollipops, candy & sprinkles
Wild Side by House of Turnowsky – African animals & geometrics
Faith by Dan Morris- Colorful and metallic religious panel
Peter Pan by Sarah Jane – Peter & Wendy flying, Tinkerbelle
Lotus blooms & cherry blossoms
Alfresco – Illustrated travel collection
Metropolis – Grayscale Canada panel
Gradients – Digital ombres and creative multicolored abstracts
10th Anniversary Heritage Collection for a Cause by Howard Marcus
Neko IV- Japanese cats with metallic
Hana Zukushi – Japanese floral with metallic
Artisan Spirit Shimmer Dragonfly – With metallic
Artisan Spirit Imagine – Digital panels with Unicorns, Butterflies, Moose Shimmer Koi Pond by Karen Sikie – Metallic Koi and Dragonflies
Stonehenge Kids Undersea 3D by Linda Ludovico – With 3D glasses
Canadian Classics – Flag, maple leaves, Mounties
Big Bang – Science, chemistry and physics in primary colors
Road Trip by Alison Glass

I’ll be talking about Trends in next week’s Midweek Creative Nudge newsletter on Wednesday.

Thanks to all of you who submitted an entry to the Love Your Mother Challenge. The entries will now go through the jury process and then registrants will be notified of the results.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

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Free Pattern – Sunshine Fairy Flyer

Posted on May 18, 2018 by Luana

Enter a magical garden where fairies fly free in this week’s Exclusive eQuilter Free Pattern.

The delicately detailed central panel captures a magnificent garden fairy surveying her floral realm. Hoffman Hand Dyes and a gorgeous white tonal print create the borders and lovely winged corner treatment.

This is a quick and easy project and makes a great gift for someone who loves Fairies!
The 60″ x 50″ size makes a beautiful wall-hanging or a dreamy lap quilt.

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

And don’t miss our popular ‘Jungle Giraffes‘ and ‘Moonlit Painted Pony‘ 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 – Royal Wedding

Posted on May 16, 2018 by Luana

I assume by now you know that Prince Harry is marrying Meghan Markle this Saturday. I’ll be in Portland Oregon at Quilt Market, but maybe I’ll set my alarm to see what she is wearing. It is a great excuse for a party, and a good distraction from all the other news this week. The ceremony is at 7 am Eastern Time, but coverage starts at 4 pm ET. Hey, that’s 1 am Pacific Time!

For those of us who remember Princess Diana, this week’s Royal Wedding is bittersweet. I still remember her wedding at Westminster Abbey, and the day we lost her. There was an excellent exhibit about Diana that came to the Museum of Natural Science in Houston, which I saw while at Quilt Market many years ago. It included her wedding dress, and the stacks and stacks of condolence books signed by her ardent fans. I went through several tissues that day.

Do little girls still grow up dreaming of fairytale castles, and marrying a prince? I suppose so, to some degree, but the fantasy seems like a relic of an earlier age. Still, this wedding shrugs off so many unspoken rules that have been tightly bound up until now. I can’t wait to see what this American bride will accomplish in her new role.

One of my oldest friends lives in London, and she shared a flat with Diana’s older sister for a couple years. Young teenage Diana would come to visit with their mother, not knowing the fate that was around the corner. She was my daughter’s age….a student and a babysitter. Now she has passed into history, and her boys are writing their own stories.

I visited Windsor in 2010, including the St George’s Chapel where this week’s wedding will be held. It has been the site of many royal weddings since it was established in the 14th Century, and is the final resting place for an astonishing number of royal family members…including Henry VIII and Jane Seymour…and several earlier kings.

Before the Birmingham Festival of Quilts, I am stopping in London to see my old friend. I am sure the commemorative royal wedding china will still be for sale at the gift shops. I’ll have to snag a Harry and Meghan collectible teacup.

Thank you for those of you who submitted entries to the Love Your Mother challenge! The blind jury process will begin this week, leading eventually to the winner of the BERNINA sewing machine, and the exhibit in Houston!

The collage above features photos of the St George Chapel in Windsor, Royal China in the Tower of London Gift Shop, and fabrics currently in stock.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

Enjoy artist interviews, tutorials, and quilt festival tours, on our eQuilter Video Page.

********
eQuilter Classroom & Event Calendar:
July 16 – 20 – Lea McComas Workshops @ eQuilter
July 23 – eQuilter Charity Sewing Day! (Please RSVP)
Coming soon – workshops with Betty Busby (Sept) and MJ Kinman (Oct) @ eQuilter!

Luana’s Travel Calendar:
May 18-20 – Quilt Market – Portland OR
May 29 – 31 – Quilt Canada – Vancouver BC
June 1 – Opening Reception for Hollis Chatelain – RMQM – Golden CO
June 27 – July 11 – Sweden
Aug 9-11 – Birmingham UK – Festival of Quilts
Nov 13-19, 2018 – POLAR BEAR Tour

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Free Pattern – Reverie Garden

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Luana

Blue and Yellow is a classic color combination, but this week’s Free Quilt Pattern gives it a new twist! Imagine this Blue and Yellow Flower Garden at Midnight lit by a Full Moon’s shimmering light.

These glowing colors (including Green Mums and White Daisies) emerge from the darkness with a dramatic contrast between the illuminated colors and the darkness of night.

This 60″ x 64″ quilt is built around a central panel with a matching coordinate stripe used for the engineered border. We add in a solid black Kaufman Kona Cotton and a Hoffman Hand-Dye for this easy-to-make quilt design. You can whip this out in a weekend!…but you’ll be enjoying this quilt for years to come because it is made with the highest quality fabrics.

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

And don’t miss our popular ‘Jungle Giraffes‘ and ‘Moonlit Painted Pony‘ 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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Happy Mothers Day!

Posted on May 14, 2018 by Luana

To all of our mothers and grandmothers out there, we wish you a wonderful day with your family. We celebrated Mothers Day a little early with one of our staff who is expecting in the next couple weeks: we had a baby shower for Veronica Thursday where she received a lavender and gray baby quilt with blocks made by almost everyone on our staff. We are looking forward to having a new baby in the eQuilter family!

Every year my mom, Sophie and I go to the Mothers Day Tea at the historic Victorian mansion in Longmont – the Hover Home. The docents dress up in fancy hats and period costumes, and we drink from antique teacups (Pinkies extended) and munch on scones and cucumber sandwiches. It is wonderful to have our Mothers Day tradition with 3 generations of women in our family.

This week Leilani from the CU Chapter of Engineers Without Borders, came to pick up the latest batch of quilts for their bi-annual trip to Nepal. You may have seen the photos from their last trip – where the quilts were distributed to mothers who had given birth in the previous six months. Our next Charity Sewing Day is June 23, and I have to say we have a pretty wonderful group of ladies who show up every month and work hard to make these quilts.

Friday we hosted a regional Chromazone workshop for the Color Marketing Group, which was a fantastic experience. In September I will go to DC for the National Steering Committee, so I am getting more involved with the organization’s process of finalizing color palettes. I just love being a part of this Color Tribe – seeing the inside process of color trend forecasting – not to mention the fascinating people who are members of this group!

Sunday Paul and I are celebrating our wedding anniversary in addition to Mothers Day. Those years sure go by fast when you are busy running a business together!

I am anxiously watching that final rush of entries coming in for the Love Your Mother Challenge! The deadline is May 15 and then we will jury for the contest and exhibit. Good luck to you all.

We are excited to be hosting workshops with Lea McComas, Betty Busby and MJ Kinman in the next few months. Lea’s 2 portrait workshops are open for registration now, and we look forward to seeing many of you. If you search for “McComas” on our site now, the products on her supply list will pop up, including her exclusive thread sets. Don’t forget we have a discount at the Hampton Inn next door…when you make your plans to join us.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul
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