Happy Easter….Happy Spring!

Posted on April 2, 2018 by Luana

This week I’ve been in New York City with Sophie during her Spring Break. We visited some of our suppliers, bought some embroidered trims for eQuilter, enjoyed the Parks and Gardens exhibit at the Met Art Museum, visited the Macys Flower Show, and went on the fabulous backstage tour of the Metropolitan Opera. (including the costume shop!)

The highlight of the week was seeing My Fair Lady at Lincoln Center. I was in the pit orchestra when my high school put on our own production of this musical, so I know every word…every note. Sophie recently read Pygmalion in her Advanced Lang Arts class, but she had never seen the movie or musical play, so it was a joy to share with her. The two ladies next to us were very emotional …they were sniffing and wiping their eyes every other song. In fact we heard people quietly weeping throughout the play, overcome with emotion. This version had Henry Higgins and Eliza as the same age and more as equals….a post #metoo version according to the director interview we read. The Ascot scene is my favorite, because of the fab costumes and hats!

International quilt celebrity and artist Lisa Walton will be here in 2 weeks. We still have space in the class so come join us!

The Registration Page for the Love Your Mother Contest and Exhibit is LIVE, but you have until the May 15 deadline to make a quilt and try for the top prize of a newly introduced model BERNINA 570 QE machine. The juried exhibit will premier in Houston!

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

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Free Pattern – Big Cat Families

Posted on March 30, 2018 by Luana

Leopard, Cheetah, Lion and Tiger parents watch over their precious cubs in
this week’s Exclusive Free Quilt Pattern.

These majestic Big Cat Families are surrounded by realistic portraits of Tigers, Cheetahs, Panthers, Mountain Lions, Bobcats, African Leopards and Snow Leopards, all bordered by textured Stonehenge Gradations from Northcott.

This exquisite 55″ x 62″ quilt makes a perfect wall hanging for your family’s wildlife enthusiasts.

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

And don’t miss our popular ‘Tiger Eyes‘ 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 – Big City Girls

Posted on March 28, 2018 by Luana

This week Sophie and I are spending Spring Break in New York City. (Where I lived and worked in the fashion industry.) Sophie has been working as a sound technician in theater at her high school, so we are taking in a backstage tour of the Metropolitan Opera, and we’ll make our usual visit to the Metropolitan Art Museum. I visited one of my favorite trim shops in the garment district, and ordered some Frida-Kahlo-worthy floral embroidery appliques which I’ll have online next week. We’ve seen lots of ladies on the street with big applique and embroidery embellishments all over their coats and pants, which we want to duplicate when we get home.

If you read the NY Times, you might have seen an article about the 1950s Coney Island version of Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte at the Met Opera. Last night we were at the opera, and they were filming this HD performance. It was so fascinating to see all the cameras around the opera house. It looks like it will be broadcast in theaters this Sat March 31. The costumes and sets are so creative and colorful…and there was a Burmese Python on stage for awhile!

Fortunately I think the weekly dump of Nor’Easter storms and snow is finished, so we’ll just be dealing with rain this week. I love being in NYC when it rains, because all the colorful lights and neon signs reflect on the wet streets at night and it makes for great photos.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

* The photo collage above features NYC photos from Luana plus New York themed fabrics now in stock at eQuilter.com

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eQuilter Classroom & Event Calendar:
April 14-15 – Lisa Walton workshop @ eQuilter Classroom – REGISTER NOW!
May 5 – eQuilter Charity Sewing Day! (Please RSVP)
May 10 – Deadline for dropping off Nepal Quilts
May 11 – eQuilter Chromazone – Color Marketing Group @ eQuilter
March 1 – May 15 – Registration for ‘Love Your Mother‘ Quilt Challenge

Luana’s Travel Calendar:
March 26-31 – New York
April 5-7 – SAQA Conference San Antonio TX
April 25-27 – Quilting Arts TV
May 18-20 – Quilt Market – Portland OR
June 27 – July 11 – Sweden
Nov 13-19, 2018 – POLAR BEAR Tour

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Free Pattern – Klimt Woman in Gold

Posted on March 27, 2018 by Luana

Klimt-inspired fabrics have been some of our most popular products over the years,
and this week’s Free Quilt Pattern features the ‘Portrait of Adele’ panel (as seen in the film ‘Woman in Gold’).

Adele is surrounded by Klimt coordinates, including Geometrics and Venetian Glass, richly ornamented with gold accents and gold spatter. These iconic design elements will forever say ‘Klimt’ to art lovers.

The Gustav Klimt collection portrays an opulent look that rivals the gold-leaf laden paintings of the Viennese painter.

… from the ‘Gustav Klimt’ collection by Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

And don’t miss our popular ‘Jungle Giraffes‘ and ‘Hummingbird Bouquet‘ 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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My Purple Friend

Posted on March 26, 2018 by Luana

This week my childhood best friend is in town…for her little brother’s memorial. We’ve been friends since 6th grade. Our mothers were born a week apart. (Pisces) I always thought of her as the over-achiever. She got a full ride scholarship to Stanford and got her PhD, then she got her law degree from Berkeley. She is a tenured professor in law and bioethics. We both have busy lives, but when we get together it is like no time has passed, and we can stay up all night talking. Do you have a friend like that?

When we were kids growing up in a small town, aching to escape to a bigger life, it was not cool to wear purple. However purple was my friend’s favorite color and she wore it with delight. She wore purple because it made her happy, and she didn’t care what anyone else thought. Then she shared her happiness and passion for life with those around her. When I was timid and unsure of myself, she made me laugh, and gave me permission to embrace any color…which was just embracing my true self.

When we don’t censor our creative selves, when we set free the colors of our soul, we never know who will be inspired by our joyful expression. I was lucky to have such a friend as a young person. Now I hope my work gives others permission to follow their wildest creative dreams.

International quilt celebrity and artist Lisa Walton will be here soon, and we’ll be laughing and playing with our own joyful expression in her workshop. Come meet Lisa April 14-15 and find out why she was picked to be the first international president of SAQA! (Studio Art Quilt Associates)

The Registration Page for the Love Your Mother Contest and Exhibit is LIVE, but you have until the May 15 deadline to make a quilt and try for the top prize of a newly introduced model BERNINA 570 QE machine. The juried exhibit will premier in Houston!

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

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Free Pattern – Ombre Lone Star

Posted on March 23, 2018 by Luana

This week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern is a clever engineering of just two ombre fabrics! …creating a shimmering giant star, finished with glowing borders of gradient hues.

You will enjoy making this Modern version of a Lonestar Quilt – a 61″ x 61″ square that can be used as a Lap Quilt, or an eye-catching Wall Hanging.

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

And don’t miss our popular ‘Arabesque‘ and ‘Hummingbird Bouquet‘ 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 – Spring is Here!

Posted on March 21, 2018 by Luana

Today was the Spring Equinox here in the Northern Hemisphere. (and Happy Fall Equinox to our friends Down Under!) For those of you on the East Coast enduring your 4th Nor’Easter, I thought I’d send you some Spring Floral Cheer to brighten your snowy day. If the bad weather is keeping you indoors…a Snow Day is a Quilting Day!

Sophie is excited to plant carrots and cucumbers in our garden this year, and she’s getting a head start on gardening by growing sprouts in our kitchen. We’ve had a recent wet snow, so our foothills are tinged with green and a dusting of snow on the top…with shimmering glacial peaks in the distance. My peony plants have formed a thick green clump of glossy leaves and the season’s first robin has visited. It is a lovely time of year when we can finally give a sigh of relief, knowing that Springtime is truly just around the corner.

Last October I was in Christchurch New Zealand, and I spent an afternoon photographing their Spring flowers in the gorgeous Botanical Gardens there. This image features several photos from those gardens, plus some of my favorite florals that we have in stock now.

Happy Spring!

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

********

eQuilter Classroom & Event Calendar:
April 14-15 – Lisa Walton workshop @ eQuilter Classroom – REGISTER NOW!
May 5 – eQuilter Charity Sewing Day! (Please RSVP)
May 10 – Deadline for dropping off Nepal Quilts
May 11 – eQuilter Chromazone – Color Marketing Group @ eQuilter
March 1 – May 15 – Registration for ‘Love Your Mother‘ Quilt Challenge

Luana’s Travel Calendar:
March 26-31 – New York
April 5-7 – SAQA Conference San Antonio TX
April 25-27 – Quilting Arts TV
May 18-20 – Quilt Market – Portland OR
June 27 – July 11 – Sweden
Nov 13-19, 2018 – POLAR BEAR Tour

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Free Pattern – Jungle Giraffes

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Luana

Have you heard about the Giraffe Hotel in Africa, where the Giraffes come up to the window to eat breakfast? This week’s Exclusive Free Quilt Pattern lets you imagine that a pair of friendly Giraffes are waiting to be fed at your window.

This 42″ x 61″ quilt features a digital-printed panel with a double portrait of these two beautiful animals, with exquisite closeup detailing and so much personality! It is so realistic, you’ll be tempted to chat with them over your morning coffee.

… from the ‘Artworks’ collection by Val Warner for Quilting Treasures.

And don’t miss our popular ‘Arabesque‘ and ‘Hummingbird Bouquet‘ 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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Hurricane Quilts On Their Way This Week

Posted on March 19, 2018 by Luana

We have a huge batch of comfort quilts ready to be shipped out to Caribbean hurricane victims on Monday, thanks to a connection made through the owners of Timeless Treasures in New York. You may recall that we partnered with Timeless who offered the use of their warehouse, to distribute 1500 of your donated comfort quilts after Hurricane Sandy. Our usual distribution channel which Mission of Love would have used for Puerto Rico, is not available due to cutbacks on this government program. So this batch of quilts is going to Miami next week, and then will be hand-carried to St. Maarten which experienced similar devastation and flooding from Hurricane Irma.

Today we had another fantastic group of quilters show up for our Charity Sewing Day. I just love these women. They show up and sew like crazy, and this pile of quilts just grows and grows. They take home fabric and come back a month later with finished quilts. We have a fantastic partnership. I provide the fabric, the space, the coffee and cookies, and they just crank ’em out!

We had a lovely slide and video presentation from members of our local CU chapter of Engineers Without Borders. You may have seen the photos I posted recently of the mothers who received your donated quilts, in the earthquake-devastated area of Nepal. We had a professor and 2 engineering students come and tell us about their New Years trip. The next student trip will be May 15, so we are asking for another batch of donated quilts to be here by May 10, for this 11 week working trip by the engineering students.

International quilt celebrity and artist Lisa Walton will be here soon, and we have students coming from locally and out of state. Come meet Lisa and find out why she was picked to be the first international president of SAQA! (Studio Art Quilt Associates)

The Registration Page for the Love Your Mother Contest and Exhibit is LIVE, but you have until the May 15 deadline to make a quilt and try for the top prize of a newly introduced model BERNINA 570 QE machine. The juried exhibit will premier in Houston!

I saw my first Robin of the season today.
I think Spring is really coming this week!
(Watch for the Midweek Creative Nudge and the Spring Equinox message.)

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

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Free Pattern – Bay Pegasus

Posted on March 16, 2018 by Luana

Wow! …This week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Pattern features a gorgeous Pegasus skimming over Twilight-hued waters, with a brilliant sunset on the horizon.

This stunning Digital panel is from our exclusive collection, only available at eQuilter.com ….and we’ve set this beauty in a starry border that brings a sense of expansive space to this quilt.

Your Horse-Crazy kids and Fantasy Fans will be delighted with this 63″ x 52″ quilt, which makes a fantastic wall hanging but might also bring sweet fantasy flying dreams as a Nap/Lap Quilt. Enjoy!

… from the ‘Magical’ collection by the Rubin Design Studio, designed exclusively for eQuilter

And don’t miss our popular ‘Mystic Flowers‘ and ‘Hummingbird Bouquet‘ 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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