Free Pattern – Sound of the Woods Grove

SoundWoodsGrove

Your Free Quilt Pattern has a dreamy quality, with a cool winter landscape that evokes the silence of the forest after a snowfall. Silver metallic dusts the trees and the coordinate prints, giving the whole quilt a subtle elegance.

This 61″ x 77.5″ design is perfect for a twin size bed or a generous nap quilt, shimmering with the beauty of the moonlight on a Winter’s Eve…bringing dreams of ice fairies and sparkling snowflakes.

If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, headed into the heat of Summer, you might not need an air conditioner while you are sewing this cool beauty!

…from the ‘Sound of the Woods’ collection by Avery Tillmon for Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

You may order the pattern as configured, or customize it to your liking with any of our over 20,000 fabrics. Just place your desired fabrics in your Wish List, and these fabrics will appear in the Fabric Selector below the pattern.

This pattern was designed in EQ7, 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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Summer Projects

Have you seen the Architectural Digest article about Cuba? This is the hottest design and color trend for the next few years (just wait until the floodgates open up with US commercial flights in the late Fall) and you are seeing these design influences here FIRST.

I am doing my 3rd and FINAL group tour to Cuba in September, before the hordes of tourists descend and it all changes. This tour will be somewhat different from the one I led in May – we will spend 2 nights staying in family bed-and-breakfast homes in UNESCO World Heritage site Trinidad, and one night at a beach resort at Varadero. Please join me!

Our 2000 sq ft class/event space is being prepped for a blowout warehouse scrap sale, and local quilt guilds/groups who want a private SALE preview should contact us immediately to set up a time to visit!

Mission of Love and their team of volunteer surgeons have just returned from a week in Guatemala, providing cleft lip/palate surgeries for free to indigenous children living in poverty. eQuilter is a proud sponsor if this important work, and we thank Kathy Price for her tireless efforts to help those in need, who have no voice. Here are photos from my trip to Guatemala with Kathy and the doctors in 2012.

Last week I had lunch with the curator of the Dairy Arts Center galleries, and I found out Betty Busby is having an exhibit right here in Boulder and the opening reception will be 5 pm Friday July 1st. I met Betty over a year ago in New Zealand, then admired her work at Quilt National. Can’t wait to see what she will show here in Boulder!

August 6, Sophie and I will be at an event for the “Quilts of Southwest China” exhibit, now open at the Intl Quilt Study Center & Museum in Lincoln Nebraska. Stay tuned for details….

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Free Pattern – Pacific Northwest Icons

PacificNorthwest

Your exclusive eQuilter Free Pattern takes us on a journey to the Pacific Northwest, and the graphic artwork of the indigenous peoples who live on the land, in the forest, and on the water.

Salmon, Eagle, Wolf and Raven are some of the animals represented in these hand-painted panels, set in a bold geometric design with a beautiful border inspired by First Nation weavings.

This 51″ x 71″ quilt design makes a lovely wallhanging for a rustic cabin, or a comfy Lap quilt on a chilly Fall morning. Remember, our quilt patterns can be edited to other fabrics and other colors if you want to design your own rendition of this bold pattern. Add a Flannel Backing for an extra snuggly Nap Quilt!

…featuring our eQuilter exclusive Pacific Northwest Hand-Painted Batik Panels.

You may order the pattern as configured, or customize it to your liking with any of our over 20,000 fabrics. Just place your desired fabrics in your Wish List, and these fabrics will appear in the Fabric Selector below the pattern.

This pattern was designed in EQ7, 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 – Tasmanian Shades of Gray

KatherineJonesFacets_700

For this week’s Creative Nudge, I am going to travel back in time a little bit, to the QuiltCon Modern Quilt gathering in February of this year.

In the center of this collage, I am featuring Katherine Jones’ quilt “Facets”, made with a 45 degree triangle and her collection of solid gray fabrics. Katherine is from Tasmania, Australia…and is in the Tasmanian Modern Quilt Guild!

Katherine was inspired by the idea of light through an emerald cut stone. The layout was designed in CAD, but the fabric (and value) choices were made as she pieced.

This is an excellent example of how *Value* can really make the piece! The brilliant juxtaposition of lights, darks and midtones, creates an illusion of translucent three-dimensional facets. She also plays with Cool Grays vs. Warm Grays, for further dimension and depth.

I’ve added some Gray and Charcoal fabrics, with some Ombre jeweltones as a backdrop. The trend of Ombre shading is going to continue strongly this year. I don’t know about you, but I am not tired of Ombre gradations yet!

I hope this collage inspires you to play with Grays, Values, and Ombre pops of COLOR.

Tonight is the deadline for the SAQA “Golden Hour” Call for Entries, so I’ll be jurying the artwork soon, in preparation for another fundraising collection for SAQA, with Andover Fabrics. I can’t wait to see what the SAQA artists have submitted!

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
~Luana

2016 Calendar:
May 1-31 – The Golden Hour – SAQA Call for Entries
July 20-29 – Seville & Granada
Sept 18-25 – Cuba Arts Tour #2 – details here!
Nov 15-20 – Luana’s Polar Bear Tour – 3 spots left!

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Free Pattern – Heavenly

Heavenly

Your gorgeous Free eQuilter Pattern features a beautifully illustrated Guardian Angel panel, and elegant coordinates that create an ambiance of peaceful repose.

Perfect to hang in a room or larger space, to inspire prayer and meditation, this 63″ x 69″ quilt design whispers of spiritual traditions from Medieval times to the present.

The Guardian Angel theme also makes this a wonderful Lap or Nap Quilt to bring sweet celestial dreams.

…from the ‘Heavenly’ collection by Dan Morris for Quilting Treasures.

You may order the pattern as configured, or customize it to your liking with any of our over 20,000 fabrics. Just place your desired fabrics in your Wish List, and these fabrics will appear in the Fabric Selector below the pattern.

This pattern was designed in EQ7, 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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Quilt Market Preview – Part 2

Have you tried our Live Chat feature yet?
(Top right corner of every page – available during regular business hours.)

The Golden Hour – SAQA Last Call for Entries! (May 31)

In my 2nd part of my Quilt Market review, I will remind you that we still look at about 150,000 fabrics every year, and we buy about 14,000. There is some absolutely fantastic artwork out there in the market but you really have to go look for it and cherry-pick the lines. We are booked solid with appointments all 3 days of Quilt Market, searching for these treasures. There is a lot of bad artwork too, which we skip. There are some categories which are over-saturated so we also cherry-pick the best but skip a lot because the world does not need more artwork that has already been done, too many times. We champion true artists with true talent and unique ideas, because having a successful blog is not enough to sell un-original design. Those of you who have followed us for years know that we have a very particular “eye” for art, color and design, which cannot be duplicated. We dig out the gems that you just won’t see elsewhere. We scour the market for the fantastic art and design that deserves to be seen!

Some notes about upcoming trends:
Outlander Collection and Scottish themed cottons and flannels
(Think Men in Kilts… Tartan Plaids, Purple Thistles and Scotty Dogs)
Llamas and Alpacas are a trend for later this year – can’t wait!
Owls, Foxes, Hedgehogs and Woodland Animals continue with a Folk Art flavor.
Natural (Beige slub) linens used in quilts with Modern Brights, Printed Linen blends, Printed Chambray and Cross-Dyes, Faux Linen printed textures.
Retro Paris, Retro Travel , Retro Diner, Retro Sewing … nostalgia for simpler stylish times.
*Digital printed fabrics* is a high-quality category that continues to grow by leaps and bounds – the best ones are larger scaled, highly detailed illustrations with a wide spectrum of saturated colors. Mind-blowing and eye-popping!
Over-saturated in the Market – “Low Volume” prints, simple single-color prints with high prices.

Fabulous Collections coming in the next few months:
Kona Printed Color Chart – DIGITAL panel of *entire* Kona Cotton SOLID Color Chart. Yay!
Superluxe Poplin – We will stock ALL 49 colors, new *premium basic* from Kaufman
Dream Vacation – Vintage posters of European cities
Artisan Batiks: Totally Tropical 5 -batiks with shells, turtles, and palm leaf designs
What Pet Should I Get? by Dr. Seuss Enterprises – recently discovered work of Dr Seuss
Playing with Shadows by Darlene Zimmerman
La Scala 7 – intricate floral, paisley and mosaic designs in grey, blue and neutral tones
Perky Penguins DIGITAL panel
Insignia by Alison Glass
Linen Texture by Makower UK – linen texture prints, solid colors
Domino by Kathy Hall – black and white graphics, including Sasquatch!
Alpaca Dreams by Judy Gauthier, Llama Mama by Diana Mancini
Pet/Ocean/Zoo Selfies by Howard Robinson
Pandalicious – Panda Bears, Hello Ollie – Swans on Organic Cotton – Art Gallery
New Vendor: Blend Fabrics – Designer collections by Brenda Walton, Cori Dantini, Ana Davis, Josephine Kimberling, Molly Hatch, & Maude Asbury
Kanvas Studio – Railway Express, Scotty Love, Tea’s Me, Kitchen Love
Open 24 Hours – Retro Diner
Adore – Valentine’s Day collection
Forever Yours by First Blush Studios – chocolates & sweets
Kismet by Sylvie Demers – DIGITAL watercolor & birds
Salon Fleur by Studio Frivolite – Paris, postcards and large florals
Peaceful Gathering – folk animals and flowers

It is still SO exciting to go to Market and find the gorgeous fabrics and talented new designers for our avid fabric fans!

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Free Pattern – Paradise Tree of Life

Paradise

Your exclusive eQuilter Free Pattern combines the gorgeous ‘Paradise Tree of Life’ collection together with ‘Fantasia’ by artist Chong-A Hwang.

The wallhanging invites you to walk through the garden gate, to the swirling roots and multicolor florals of the exquisite Tree of Life. Painterly textures give this a bold impressionist quality, with dynamic complementary colors.

…from the Paradise collection by Chong-A Hwang for Timeless Treasures.

You may order the pattern as configured, or customize it to your liking with any of our over 20,000 fabrics. Just place your desired fabrics in your Wish List, and these fabrics will appear in the Fabric Selector below the pattern.

This pattern was designed in EQ7, 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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Decorative Arts in Cuba

HavanaMuseumDeco_700

If you are following my travels for the month of May, you may know that after my Cuba Arts Tour I stopped in Florida for a couple days, came home for a day, then went to Quilt Market in Salt Lake City. Whew! I am glad to be home now!

In this week’s photo-and-fabric collage, we are looking down into the entry hall of the Museum of Decorative Arts in the Vedado district of Havana.

The museum was originally the winter home of Countess of Revilla de Camargo. The grand house was inspired by the French Renaissance, and was built 1924-1927 in a Neo-Classical style. It was filled with French antiques, including rugs, ceramics, period furniture, plus more modern collectibles like Lalique glass.

In the center of the vestibule floor is an inlaid marble design that reminded me of a quilt block. In the top right of the collage is a beautiful chandelier, and in the bottom left is a close-up of the most valuable piece of furniture/art in the museum. Our handsome young art historian guide Emilio took us through the house and pointed out the highlights. Fortunately after the revolution, it was recognized to be worth saving, and the state converted it from a residence, to a museum.

If you have a passion for travel, photography, art and design inspiration, check out my photos from Cuba and the Polar Bear trip, and perhaps consider joining me later this year in Havana or Churchill.

Our daughter Sophie is graduating from 8th grade and middle school this Thursday. Some of you have followed her story since we adopted her from China when she was 8 months old. How did we get from 8 months old to 8th grade?! She will be starting high school in August!

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
~Luana

2016 Calendar:
May 1-31 – The Golden Hour – SAQA Call for Entries
July 20-29 – Seville & Granada
Sept 18-25 – Cuba Arts Tour #2 – details here!
Nov 15-20 – Luana’s Polar Bear Tour – 3 spots left!

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Free Pattern – Love and Peace

Love_Peace

This week’s Free Quilt Pattern is from a holiday collection, but we see it as a quilt with a message that transcends any season. The 55″ x 65″ size makes it perfect for a wallhanging or a lap quilt.

Three White Doves perch in the branches of a tree glimmering with stars and snowflakes. It is set on a background with a brilliant sunrise color story, with shades of gold, persimmon, flame, plum and berry.

Collection coordinates are set into a pieced white border that sets off the center panel like a jewel box!

…from the Love & Peace collection by Sarah Summers for Quilting Treasures.

You may order the pattern as configured, or customize it to your liking with any of our over 20,000 fabrics. Just place your desired fabrics in your Wish List, and these fabrics will appear in the Fabric Selector below the pattern.

This pattern was designed in EQ7, 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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Quilt Market Preview

This weekend we are in Salt Lake City at Quilt Market – ordering lots of great fabric collections that will arrive in our warehouse in the next several months.

Here are several of the collections that inspired us on the first day.

Super Nova Digital – Ombre Bull’s-eye panels by Jeanie Sumrall-Ajero
Sewing with Singer – Charming vintage scenes of mother and daughter sewing.
Vincent Van Gogh 2 – Sunflowers & brushstroke textures
Marks by Valori Wells – linoleum / woodblock faux prints
Country Manor by Darlene Zimmerman
Tigerfish Batiks by McKenna Ryan
Valley of the Kings – Egyptian!
Grafic by Latifah Saafir for Me + You
Mystic Meadow DIGITAL – realistic flowers, painterly abstracts and a unique plaid
Land That I Love – DIGITAL Statue of Liberty and flag Panel
Samba DIGITAL – abstract multi-color
Stacy Michelle Batiks
Studio Alphabet – DIGITAL ‘adult’ ABC panel by Marcia Derse
Artworks DIGITAL – Brooklyn & Bay Bridge, Cascade Waterfall
Out of Africa by Tina Higgins
Sundance by Lane Kendrick – Horses in a canyon
The Traveler by Kori Kumi for Santoro
Quilting B’s by J. Wecker Frisch – based on the Beatitudes
Just what the Doctor Ordered by Dan Morris – medical for him & her
Natural World by Snow Leopard Designs – Philip Jacobs
Slow & Steady by Tula Pink
Cool Breeze by Jane Sassaman
Eternal Sunshine by Amy Butler
Little House on the Prairie: Mansfield and Prairie Scenics by Kathy Hall
The Very Hungry Caterpillar: I Love You by Eric Carle
Encyclopedia Galactica by Suite 1500 – DIGITAL vintage planetary chart panel
Hummingbird Song by Joy La Forme – DIGITAL cottage garden panel
Crab Shack by Two Can Designs – drawings by a child with autism
Festive Holiday and Animal Wonderland – great DIGITAL collections
Irresistible Iris by Ann Lauer from Grizzly Gulch Gallery
The Music In Me by Maria Kalinowski – Benartex – notes, instruments, music
Digital Garden – Roses by Elizabeth’s Studio
Dance Of The Dragonfly by Kanvas studio
Licensed Kids – Jungle Book, Batman vs Superman, Yogi Bear
Campbell’s Soup, Miller Coors beer, Jurassic World, E.T., Jaws, Nightmare Before Christmas, Disney Villains, Finding Dory, WWE wrestling, Marvel Characters.
Across the Universe – by Deborah Edwards – Large 42″ x 80″ DIGITAL astronaut panel
Naturescapes by Deborah Edwards – water, grass, bark, planks, sky, rock
Fields of Gold by Phillip Allder – Tiger

Off to another day of ordering gorgeous fabrics for our wonderful customers!

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