Free Pattern – Woodland Fairies

Posted on February 16, 2018 by Luana

We’re imagining a Midsummer Night’s Dream in
this week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern.

These 2 stunning digital printed panels (exclusive to eQuilter) features 4 dreamy fairy portraits, which we’ve set into a border with Northcott Stonehenge textures, and a Hoffman Hand-Dye.

You can use this 60″ x 74″ quilt as a Double-Snuggle Large Lap quilt, a small Bed Quilt, or a fantastic large wallhanging! This would make a great gift for Shakespeare enthusiasts, or Lord of the Rings / Hobbit fans.

“tis almost fairy time…” – William Shakespeare
“away with the fairies…” – Gaelic expression
Pleasant dreams!

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

And don’t miss our popular ‘Fairy Firefly Wishes‘ and ‘Hummingbird Glory‘ 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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Good-Bye to an Iconic Brand

Posted on February 14, 2018 by Luana

Feb 16 – Chinese New Year of the Dog

Feb 14 – Valentines Day & Ash Weds

Feb 13 – Mardi Gras / Fat Tuesday / Carnivale

Feb 12 – Westminster / Free Spirit Announced Closing

Yes it is true. On Monday Westminster Fabrics announced it is closing its business, including Free Spirit. Designers like Kaffe Fassett and Amy Butler were traveling abroad, and woke up to the news in their Inbox like the rest of us. The internet has been boiling over with the news ever since.

There is plenty of public speculation going on about why this happened, but it is not my place to share any thoughts about the cause. There is likely a bidding war going on for their top designers, but we are also concerned for all the staff who ran the business, who are suddenly losing their jobs in the next few days and weeks. The company will close completely by May 1st. Some of the collections we’ve ordered will be shipped in the next few months. Many that we ordered will not be produced. We are stocking up as best we can, as this iconic designer label sails into the sunset… and these fabrics become collector items.

We feature plenty of their designers on our Designer page, including Kaffe Fassett, Jane Sassaman, Philip Jacobs/Snow Leopard, Tula Pink, and the recent William Morris reproductions. We have also carried Amy Butler, Brandon Mably, Joel Dewberry, Tina Givens, and just this week we’ll be featuring the new collection by Kathy Doughty from Australia…and so many other designer names. We do hope the industry will step up to absorb all of the talent that finds themselves headed for the door with a pink slip, including all the wonderful people from behind the scenes who ran the business.

Donna Wilder founded Free Spirit, and then it was sold to the Westminster/Rowan group. Donna is responsible for me applying to be a Bernina Fashion Show designer, which led to me becoming a BERNINA Ambassador. I am sure it must be heartbreaking for her, but I also hope that this leads to bigger and better things for the designers and staff, in a more stable and creative environment.

What we all share in common is our love of color, fabric, sewing, beautiful artwork, and the amazing creativity shared by the designers in our industry. Those core principles will guide us to the next chapter as our industry goes through another transition. For eQuilter, the most important thing has been to find and feature beautiful unique designs that showcase the talent of the artist. We will continue to seek out and provide this inspiration to you, as we support those affected by Westminster’s sudden closing.

We send our best wishes and also big hugs to all of you at Westminster / Free Spirit, and we wish you success and creative evolution in the next step of your journey.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

* The collage above features several of the Kaffe Fasset / Westminster / Free Spirit fabrics that we currently have in stock.

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Event & Travel Calendar:
Feb 22-25, 2018 – QuiltCon – Pasadena, California
Feb 26 – Marty Ornish CQC workshop @ eQuilter Classroom
March 17 – eQuilter St Patricks Charity Sewing Day! (Please RSVP!)
March 1 – May 15 – Registration for ‘Love Your Mother‘ Quilt Challenge
April 5-7 – SAQA Conference San Antonio TX
April 14-15 – Lisa Walton workshop @ eQuilter Classroom
May 11 – eQuilter Chromazone – Color Marketing Group @ eQuilter
Nov 13-19, 2018 – POLAR BEAR Tour – Register NOW!

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Free Pattern – Space Dream Sleeping Bag

Posted on February 13, 2018 by Luana

Sweet Dreams are made of Space Exploration … when you are sleeping in this Solar System sleeping bag … this week’s Free Pattern!

Pull back the starry cover and slip in between the Planets, in this 33″ x 57″ sleeping bag that is just perfect for a young rocket scientist or aspiring astronaut.

… from the ‘Space Walk’ collection by Yolanda Fundora for Blank Textiles and
the ‘Space’ collection by the Rubin Design Studio, designed exclusively for eQuilter.

And don’t miss our popular ‘Fairy Firefly Wishes‘ and ‘Hummingbird Glory‘ 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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Guys Just Want to Have Fun

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Luana

Last night I had the pleasure of meeting the artists whose work I juried into the Men’s Quilt Show at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden. There were 96 entries and 41 quilts made it into the show. So much talent and vision! Every year this show gets better. The hardest part was deciding which pieces would not get into the show, because I know how much it means to have a piece in this exhibit. If you are coming through Colorado in the next several months, please make a point of stopping to see the exhibit in the Museum’s new location. It runs through May 26.

When you go, also look for the exhibit in the back room from the Wa Shonaji Quilt Guild. This is the African American guild in Denver who have been driving up for our Charity Sewing Days, and it was great to see their art quilts on display also!

Despite the snow, we had several ladies (and a couple husbands) driving to our Sewing Day today. Their drives are usually one hour so I can’t imagine how long it took them to get here. Artist Lea McComas even brought her parents, and the 3 of them sewed, quilted and bound a quilt! Now that’s what I call a great family activity!

Many thanks again to Blakeman Sewing and Donovan for bringing those beautiful BERNINA machines to the classroom today. Our next Charity Sewing Day is Saint Patrick’s Day – Sat March 17. Please DO RSVP in advance, especially if you wish to be provided with a Bernina machine to sew on that day.

Good news for those of you planning to attend one of our upcoming workshops: We have secured a corporate discount for our attendees, at the award-winning Hampton Inn which is one block from our offices. If you are coming from out of town, be sure to click through to the hotel reservation page with the discount code. You will see that going live in the next few days, for Lisa Walton’s workshop, the CMG Chromazone, etc.

As you can see, we are shifting our business to interact more with you face-to-face. We hope you can attend a workshop or creative retreat, enter a quilt in our challenge (maybe win that new BERNINA machine?!), or travel with me later this year. I left the garment industry and came into the quilt industry because, frankly quilters are just the best! I look forward to spending time with more of you this year, so I can share more of my creative passion and inspiration with you.

Speaking of which, did you see I posted another batch of quilts from Tokyo, on my photo pages?

We have also restocked the African patterns from Sew Fabulous, after the inspiration of my New Years trip to Tanzania. I love these patterns even more, after my trip to Africa!

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

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Free Pattern – Moonlit Painted Pony

Posted on February 9, 2018 by Luana

This week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern captures a breathtaking moment, with a gorgeous Paint horse rearing on a stony lookout point, the wind in his mane, a shimmering moon over his shoulder, and stardust in the sky.

We’ve set our exclusive digital panel in a simple but elegant frame of Northcott Stonehenge tonals and Hoffman Hand-dyes, but if you wish to create your own version, perhaps with a Native American flair for instance, remember you can put fabrics into your Wish List and then redesign this quilt to your own color palette.

This 56″ x 67″ quilt makes a great lap quilt (use Flannel for the backing for a cozy lap-warmer) but will also command attention in a room or entryway …wherever you choose to hang this beauty!

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

And don’t miss our popular ‘Fairy Firefly Wishes‘ and ‘Hummingbird Glory‘ 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 – The Molas of Fumiko Nakayama

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Luana

One of the featured artists at the Tokyo Quilt Festival was Fumiko Nakayama, who is a master artisan and teacher of the Mola reverse applique technique, which is the traditional art form of the Guna people of Panama. The large retrospective of her work included The Tales of Genji, which I first shared with you on Quilting Arts TV in 2013.

Fumiko’s incredible work has a mind-blowing amount of detail in the hand-stitched mola applique and embroidery, and in this large retrospective, I was fascinated by her portraits of women from around the world. She lovingly portrayed the ethnic costume details of men and women from a wide array of cultures in this huge wall-hanging. (This is only a part of a larger installation.) Her individual portraits have such personality and colorful flair, you can’t help but stare at each one with a gaping grin.

I’ve uploaded more photos from Tokyo, including a sampling of Fumiko’s work. I had the honor to meet her in 2013, when I received her Tales of Genji book which you see in the QA TV clip. She is a gracious beautiful lady who has blessed us with her vision and talent.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

* The image above features a detail photo of a quilt by Fumiko Nakayama, taken at the Tokyo Quilt Festival. Four hand-loomed Guatemalan Ikat fabrics are featured in a collage along the bottom of the quilt image – in stock now.

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Event & Travel Calendar:
Feb 10 – eQuilter Charity Sewing Day (Please RSVP!)
Feb 22-25, 2018 – QuiltCon – Pasadena, California
Feb 26 – Marty Ornish CQC workshop @ eQuilter Classroom
March 17 – eQuilter St Patrick’s Charity Sewing Day!
Mar 1 – May 15 – Registration for ‘Love Your Mother‘ Quilt Challenge
April 5-7 – SAQA Conference San Antonio TX
April 14-15 – Lisa Walton workshop @ eQuilter Classroom
May 11 – eQuilter Chromazone – Color Marketing Group @ eQuilter
Nov 13-19, 2018 – POLAR BEAR Tour – Register NOW!

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Free Pattern – Tool Time

Posted on February 6, 2018 by Luana

It’s time to strap on that Tool Belt and plan your next project …
with this week’s Free Quilt Pattern designed for the Tool Nerd and Creative Maker in your life.

For those who love to tinker in the garage, make a mess in the basement on the tool bench, or who dream of having a tool kit of their own some day when they grow up …
this 60″ x 74″ quilt is sure to bring a big smile!

… from the ‘Tool Time’ collection by Art by Bernie for Blank Textiles.

And don’t miss our popular ‘Kaleidoscopic‘ and ‘I Like Your Cattitude‘ 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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Fantastic Fusion Workshop

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Luana

We are so excited to have Lisa Walton coming here to Boulder, to kick off our eQuilter workshop program. She is a true international quilting celebrity (as you will see in her bio) and we’ve developed a friendship over the years because whenever I travel overseas to a show, there she is! She is witty and prolific – a true inspiration to her workshop attendees.

Lisa is an ongoing guest on Quilting Arts TV on PBS, and her recent ‘Fantastic Fusion’ segment has attracted much enthusiastic praise…hence my invitation for her to come teach this technique!

Lisa is being installed as the new president of SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) at their April conference in San Antonio, and she will be the first non-US (Australian) president of this international organization for quilt artists. Then she is flying to Colorado to teach for us! Yay!

I will be co-hosting this weekend event, and we’ll be celebrating the joy of creativity in
Lisa’s Fantastic Fusion class…an inventive process that frees you from ‘rules’ to let the inner artist come out to play. Read all about it…and Sign up today!

We are so sad to hear about the loss of our industry friend Tim Reed, who recently retired from EE Schenck. Our deepest condolences go out to Tim’s family and his co-workers. I have know Tim since his Daisy Kingdom days, and met him at my first Market in 1999. He will be missed.

Our Charity Sewing Day is next Saturday from 9 to 4. Please DO RSVP in advance, especially if you wish to be provided with a Bernina machine to sew on that day. (Thanks to Blakeman Sewing)

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

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Event & Travel Calendar:
Feb 10 – Charity Sewing Day at eQuilter Classroom
Feb 22-25, 2018 – QuiltCon – Pasadena, California
Feb 26 – Marty Ornish CQC workshop @ eQuilter Classroom
April 5-7 – SAQA Conference San Antonio TX
April 14-15 – Lisa Walton workshop @ eQuilter Classroom
May 11 – eQuilter Chromazone – Color Marketing Group
Mar 1 – May 15 – Registration for ‘Love Your Mother‘ Quilt Challenge
Nov 14-20, 2018 – POLAR BEAR Tour – Join me in Churchill!

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Free Pattern – Hummingbird Bouquet

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Luana

During February and the last long days of Winter, what better to lift our spirits, than the delightful blossoms and hummingbirds of Spring and Summer?

This week’s Exclusive Free Quilt Pattern uses one of our most anticipated collections from Quilt Market – a gorgeous botanic group with the most exquisitely detailed birds, butterflies and flowers.

This irresistible 58″ x 67″ lap-sized quilt would be great for chilly Early Spring mornings with your coffee or tea in hand, or hang it on the wall of a room to bring in the joy of a Summer’s day. You can almost smell the lilies and peonies!

… from the ‘Hummingbird Bouquet’ collection by Oleg Gavrilov for Elizabeth’s Studio.

And don’t miss our popular ‘Kaleidoscopic‘ and ‘I Like Your Cattitude‘ 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 – Cherry Blossoms & Bubbles

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Luana

Having just returned from the Tokyo Quilt Festival, I am just starting to go through all my photos of the beautiful quilts. As I mentioned in the Saturday night newsletter, there is more machine quilting and also an indirect Modern influence showing up at this show…but we still love to see the meticulously detailed handwork of traditional Japanese quilters. It is fascinating to see how old and new are being combined in the Japanese quilts…traditional elements given a modern or contemporary twist…machine stitching where hand-stitching might have been used in the past.

One of the most lovely artistic expressions there, is the love for Japanese art and culture, that is expressed through traditional motifs like cherry blossoms. This was one of my favorite traditional quilts, but you can see it has been given a contemporary twist. This is what I love about quilting …that we have an infinite range of possibilities when it comes to mixing up old and new, brights and neutrals, Western and Eastern influences, etc.

I have just started to upload some photos from Tokyo on my photo page – check back later this week for more quilts! You may recall that I am adamant about showing the name of the quiltmaker along with the quilt image, and often at the Tokyo show I have to paste in the image of the quiltmaker’s name in Japanese Kanji. I am working on that this week! I will post overall show photos without names, but individual quilts will have the name on the image. I hope that others who have visited the show will do the same, so the quiltmakers get credit for their work.

I ran into Lisa Walton at the Tokyo Quiltfest, and we had fun discussing the workshop she will be teaching at eQuilter April 14-15. If you want to learn how to design and make quilts using fusible applique, come and join us for a celebration of creativity with Lisa!

Registration is now open for the Color Marketing Group’s Chromazone which we are hosting in May – for designers, art directors and artists to experience a color forecasting collaboration with color peers.

Now is the time to make a deposit if you want to save your seat on the Polar Rover with me in November, for the Polar Bear Tour. This trip always sells out in advance, but payment plans are available!

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

* The image above features a photo of a quilt from the Tokyo Quilt Festival, with the quiltmaker’s name in the lower left. The strip of fabrics along the left is a collage of new designs from QuiltGate, which just arrived in our warehouse this week.

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Event & Travel Calendar:
Feb 10 – eQuilter Charity Sewing Day (Please RSVP!)
Feb 22-25, 2018 – QuiltCon – Pasadena, California
Feb 26 – Marty Ornish CQC workshop @ eQuilter Classroom
Mar 1 – May 15 – Registration for ‘Love Your Mother‘ Quilt Challenge
April 5-7 – SAQA Conference San Antonio TX
April 14-15 – Lisa Walton workshop @ eQuilter Classroom
May 11 – eQuilter Chromazone – Color Marketing Group
Nov 13-19, 2018 – POLAR BEAR Tour – Register NOW!

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