A Space Story

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Luana

Happy February!

Last week I was honored to have 1 of 4 quilts in the “Space for Art” exhibit at the Houston Space Center at NASA in Houston.

Our quilts, from the Fly Me To the Moon exhibit, hung in the visitor center with lots of other artwork….by astronauts and rocket scientists!

I have visited the Johnson Space Center several times when in Houston for Quilt Festival, because eQuilter supports the NASA/JSC chapter of Engineers Without Borders/EWB. I have been honored to be on 3 VIP tours, and the last time I was invited to Mission Control for the International Space Station, and met the Flight Director. Oh, the places that quilting can take us!

So last week I flew down for the private opening reception, joined by friends from EWB. The thrill of the evening was that I met 3 women astronauts, as I mentioned in Saturday’s e-newsletter.

Due to popular request, I am including the image of my quilt in this email, along with some of my favorite eQuilter Space & Astronaut fabrics.

The story of this quilt was from my EWB friend Dr Jack Bacon. His hero is astronaut Tom Stafford (now General Stafford)and the story is about his cosmonaut friend Alexei Leonov. Their friendship was the foundation of the US – Russian space program. In this image, they pasted Vodka labels on 2 tubes of Spacefood, and were toasting in space. The image is a Photoshop collage of 2 photos. These 2 men are still friends, by the way. This quilt will go to a museum after the exhibit is finished traveling.

eQuilter supports the work of the NASA chapter’s project for children in Maua Kenya, and the CU Boulder EWB chapter for their project in Nepal. We thank you for your business because 2% of sales goes to fund EWB and other organizations in the eQuilter Charity Program. Thank you!!!

It looks like we’ve filled the 50 seats for our first classroom event – the BERNINA Sewapalooza with Blakeman Sewing. This is our first event, and we plan to have many more of these 3-day creative retreats. Looking forward to meeting more of you in person here this year!

A reminder that we have Very Limited openings for the Tanzania New Years ‘Great Migration’ Safari one year from now, and Feb 1 (tomorrow!) is the deadline to *guarantee* your spot with me…please call to make your reservation TODAY!

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

Check out our several NEW videos from the Houston Quilt Festival, on our eQuilter Video Page.

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2017 Travel Calendar:
Feb 9-11 – Bernina Sewapalooza By Blakeman Sewing at eQuilter Classroom!
Feb 17-20 – Venice Photo Conference
Feb 24 – eQuilter Sponsored Cocktail Party at QuiltCon
Dec 29 2017 – Jan 5 2018 – Tanzania Great Migration – New Years in Africa – Taking Reservations NOW!

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Free Pattern – The Migration

Posted on January 31, 2017 by Luana

Travel with us to the Great Migration in Africa, for this week’s Free Quilt Pattern. Julia’s wild animal and tribal illustrations are beloved by eQuilter customers over many years, and we just know this gentle whimsical quilt will bring a smile to the lucky owner.

This 59″ x 71″ quilt starts with a panel of wildlife blocks (the sleeping Lion is our favorite) and pieces Julia’s collection coordinates and some perfectly-matching blenders into this delightful pieced quilt, perfect for a lap or twin quilt, or to bring an African Savannah ambiance to a sunny room.

… from ‘The Migration’ collection by Julia Cairns for Quilting Treasures.

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.

EQ7 is the leading quilt design software, which is available here at eQuilter.

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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Kung Hei Fat Choi – Year of the Rooster

Posted on January 28, 2017 by Luana

Happy Chinese New Year!
(Kung Hei Fat Choi!)
It is the Lunar Year of the Fire Rooster – the last time we had a Fire Rooster was 1957.

I got into celebrating Chinese New Year when I lived in Hong Kong, and actually it is celebrated as Lunar New Year all over Asia, with fireworks, lion & dragon dances, family reunions, and giving red envelopes (with cash) to younger relatives. There are many traditions such as eating ridiculously long noodles (for long life), cleaning and sweeping out your house before the New Year, hanging red lanterns, and …wearing red underwear! Maybe sewing a red quilt with Sophie will be my version of CNY activities.

Thursday night I was very honored to have my quilt in the Space for Art exhibit at the Houston Space Center at NASA. It was an exciting evening, with my friends from the JSC/NASA chapter of Engineers Without Borders. (who receive donations from eQuilter for their work in Africa) I visit NASA and EWB every year when I go to Houston for Quilt Festival, but this was an extra special trip.

There were several astronauts there, and I was thrilled to meet 3 women astronauts! Nicole Stott, who is also an artist and the organizer of the event, Ellen Ochoa who played Peter Frampton’s flute in space, and Karen Nyberg who famously quilted in space! This was as a result of the Fly Me To The Moon exhibit organized by Susanne Miller Jones, who was also at the event. Thanks Susanne! (See the article in Friday’s edition of the Houston Chronicle)

If you are thinking of joining me in Tanzania AFRICA for New Years on the Serengeti, please call THIS WEEK to save your place in this once-in-a-lifetime trip – spaces are very limited. Feb 1 is the final day to register and guarantee a spot with our group. This is with the same eco-conscious travel company that arranges my polar bear trips. We are going to have an amazing experience together.

Now that I am home, I will be working on my photos from Tokyo this weekend (check my photo page tomorrow) and then getting ready for our Sewapalooza Feb 9-11. Hope to see many of you there!

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

2017 Calendar:
Feb 9-11 – Bernina Sewapalooza By Blakeman Sewing at eQuilter Classroom!
Feb 17-20 – Venice Photo Conference
Feb 24 – eQuilter Sponsored Cocktail Party at QuiltCon – Savannah GA
Dec 29 2017 – Jan 5 2018 – Tanzania Africa Wildlife Migration Tour – LIMITED SPACES!

(Photo: David Luck)

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Free Pattern – Honeybee Heaven

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Luana

Your Free Exclusive pattern this week features exuberant summer blossoms in all their showy splendor, surrounded by our essential pollinating friends, Honeybees!

This generous 59″ x 72″ quilt celebrates abundance with bejeweled floral hexagons, bordered by sweet, nectar-colored honeycombs, set against a white tonal ground.

Don’t miss out; order your Honeybee Heaven quilt today and enjoy the color and warmth of these garden blossoms and their special visitors.

… from the ‘Bees and Flowers’ collection by Elizabeth’s Studio,
and from the ‘Mystic Meadow’ collection by Hoffman Fabrics.

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.

EQ7 is the leading quilt design software, which is available here at eQuilter.

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 – Tokyo Florals

Posted on January 25, 2017 by Luana

Yes! I am back from the Tokyo Quilt Festival!

Wow, things have really changed over the years that I’ve been traveling to photograph this show. In the beginning there was so much Indigo and Taupe, and it launched a trend in the US of appreciating and using these traditional colors.

There were always some bright quilts (using recycled silk kimonos – cut up, pieced and hand-stitched into eye-popping quilts) but now I see that Japanese quilters are really breaking away from tradition and exploring the wild and wonderful use of contemporary colors. Bravo!

If you have seen the Japanese quilts in the Houston Quilt Festival (and the many award-winning quilts from the land of the Rising Sun) you know that Japan is known for it’s fine and incredibly intricate handwork.

However it is obvious that more and more Japanese quilters are exploring the adventures of machine stitching, which is opening up so many possibilities. I still appreciate the fine handwork, but it is exciting to see that Japanese aesthetic applied to machine work now.

Speaking of bright colors, here is one of my favorites from the show. (I have so many!) This gorgeous floral quilt features strips of bright silk prints on a more linear pieced background. The name was only available in kanji characters so I can’t give you the romaji spelling of the quiltmaker’s name, but I have placed the image of the name card in the lower left hand corner of the quilt.

I’ve created a collaged frame around the quilt, with some favorite Asian designs that we have in stock now. When we started our business in the basement of our house almost 18 years ago, we started with Asian fabrics and Batiks…and they are still my favorites.
A reminder that we have Very Limited openings for the Tanzania New Years ‘Great Migration’ Safari one year from now, and Feb 1 is the deadline to guarantee your spot with me…please call to make your reservation today!

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana

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2017 Travel Calendar:
Jan 26 – NASA Space for Art – opening reception
Feb 9-11 – Bernina Sewapalooza By Blakeman Sewing at eQuilter Classroom!
Feb 17-20 – Venice Photo Conference
Feb 24 – eQuilter Sponsored Cocktail Party at QuiltCon
Dec 29 2017 – Jan 5 2018 – Tanzania Great Migration – New Years in Africa – Taking Reservations NOW!

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Free Pattern – Deer Mountain

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Luana

Enjoy the thrill of a wilderness wildlife sighting, with this week’s Free Quilt Pattern.

The 48″ x 64″ quilt design is centered around a detailed scenic panel, with a magnificent stag and his doe, pausing to survey his kingdom from a lichen-covered outcropping of stone.

The pine forest backdrop gives this a North Woods feeling. You can almost smell the pine needles and hear them crunch under your feet.

Thoughtful coordinates pull together the colors of the deer, the stone, trees and sky…to create a pieced inner border. The Deer Scenic in the outer border ties it all together, with breathtaking beauty.

… from the ‘Deer Mountain’ collection by Hautman Brothers for Quilting Treasures.

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.

EQ7 is the leading quilt design software, which is available here at eQuilter.

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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Hello from Tokyo

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Luana

Tonight I am writing you from Tokyo, before I fly home tomorrow. I’ve had a short trip here, to photograph the Quilt Festival at the Tokyo Dome.

I have continued to visit this show every year, because the Japanese quilts are so different from what we see in the US, and that difference is so intriguing to me. These quilts are often made with vintage de-constructed kimono fabrics – cotton indigo and printed silk – and they have a special patina of history.

Japanese quilts have changed over the years, and this year I am seeing more bright colors and more machine stitching. In the past we saw exquisite handwork, taupe quilts, silk quilts, and traditional indigo fabrics. Now we see more Japanese quilters exploring the possibilities of machine stitching.

Every year there are more Westerners coming to the Tokyo Quilt Festival, and this year there were groups not only from the US, but also places like Spain and Australia.

About 250,000 people come to this show over the course of a week, which is about 35 to 40K per day. On the first day there are over 5000 people waiting when the doors open in the morning. It is not for the faint of heart, especially if you have a phobia of crowds! The crowds are respectful and well mannered. There is no pushing on the way in or out. But if you think the aisles in Houston are crowded, this would blow your mind!

Before I start posting photos from the show, I want to make sure that I have the quiltermakers’ names on all the quilt images. A lot of Westerners come here and take photos, but don’t attach names to the images. Please be patient so I can make sure the artists get credit where it is due!

I’ll be home for a couple days, then attending a private opening reception at NASA in Houston on Thursday. My astronaut quilt for Fly Me To The Moon was invited to be part of a space-themed exhibit. I’ll be visiting with our friends at the NASA chapter of Engineers Without Borders, to discuss the school and home recently built for street children in Kenya, with help from eQuilter’s charity program.

Did you see the 2 new digital prints with Cuban colorful cars? Those are from the photos I’ve taken in Havana last year. You can see my other photos from Cuba on my photo pages.

If you are thinking of joining me for New Years on the Serengeti, please call soon to save your place in this once-in-a-lifetime trip – spaces are very limited. Feb 1 is the final day to register and guarantee a spot with our group. I am only doing this trip once!

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana

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Free Pattern – Glamour Petals

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Luana

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with our exclusive new ‘Glamour Petals’ pattern, displaying exquisitely detailed Rose bouquets set against a dramatic black background.

Capture the allure of roses with this dazzling 80″ x 80″ quilt. The pattern features large, scarlet rose blocks, surrounded by a trellis of dynamic garden paths.

Nothing says ‘I Love You’ like Roses, and this vibrant and richly hued Roses collection is sure to be cherished and adored. Don’t wait – order your ‘Rose Bouquet’ pattern today!

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

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.

EQ7 is the leading quilt design software, which is available here at eQuilter.

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 – Spanish Tiles & Kaleidoscopes

Posted on January 18, 2017 by Luana

When you read this newsletter, I will have just landed at Narita Airport outside of Tokyo, and will probably be on the long bus ride into town. I am on my way to the Tokyo Quilt Festival, and yes, I will hand carry a precious batch of show books back to the US on Sunday.

I am sharing this image with you as a sort of a visual puzzler. Take a look closely before you read further, and see if you can decipher what is happening in the collage above.

One of the reasons I love to travel, is so I can take photos of all kinds of things that might relate to color, design and trends. Sometimes I take a photo of something that has potential, but I have to think about it for awhile.

This was originally a photo of a tile wall in the old walled city of Seville. The tiles were white with red, blue and green colors. I have been looking at the original photo for a long time, and last night I started playing around with it in Photoshop. Now it looks like a quilt! Then I matched it up with some of my favorite paisley fabrics that we have in stock now, and I find that this is a creative inspiration for me…. Maybe you too?

Part of creativity is opening the mind and letting alternate possibilities flow… removing the rules, the limitations, even the fears…and then seeing what happens.

The reason I go to Tokyo year after year is because it is a tremendous creative stimulation for me. I will share photos from the show, so you can be stimulated to open up to new possibilities also. I also share ideas from Houston Quilt Festival and the Birmingham Festival of Quilts, and the other shows I attend throughout the year.

Last year I interviewed Danny Amazonas and we showcased his work in a video. I never know what will happen in Tokyo – the best part is sharing it with you!

A reminder that we have Very Limited openings for the Tanzania New Years ‘Great Migration’ Safari one year from now, and we are taking registrations now…please call to make your reservation today!

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana

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2017 Travel Calendar:
Jan 18-22 – Tokyo Quilt Festival
Jan 26 – NASA Space for Art – opening reception
Feb 9-11 – Bernina Sewapalooza By Blakeman Sewing at eQuilter Classroom!
Feb 17-20 – Venice Photo Conference
Feb 24 – eQuilter Sponsored Cocktail Party at QuiltCon
Dec 29 2017 – Jan 5 2018 – Tanzania Great Migration – New Years in Africa – Taking Reservations NOW!

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Free Pattern – Quilting B’s

Posted on January 17, 2017 by Luana

This week’s Free Quilt Pattern is a inspired by the vintage-style unique illustrations of Janet Frisch. The 66″ x 66″ quilt uses 2 panels, that are cut up and pieced with the coordinates from her ‘Quilting B’s’ collection.

Combining baby doll clothes, butterflies, and the occasional Bible verse, Janet Wecker Frisch has designed this collection around things starting with the letter ‘B’. From Bumblebees to Blackbirds, this collection is colored in soft pastels and vintage parchment tones.

…from the ‘Quilting B’s’ collection by J. Wecker Frisch for Quilting Treasures.

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.

EQ7 is the leading quilt design software, which is available here at eQuilter.

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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