Free Pattern – Stonehenge Old Glory

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Luana

Old Glory Pattern

This FREE Exclusive 59″ x 70″ Quilt Pattern uses one of the most stunning artist panels that we have ever seen – an American Bald Eagle in flight – superimposed over the Liberty Bell and American Flags.

That eye-popping Patriotic Orange Peel design in the border is a faux block – i.e. you won’t have to piece those curved pieces in the block! Whew!

Add in the amazing textures of this patriotic Stonehenge collection as coordinates, and this adds up to one of the most popular patriotic quilt patterns we’ve ever offered.

…from the ‘Stonehenge Old Glory’ collection by Linda Ludovico & Deborah Edwards in support of Quilts of Valor for Northcott 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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Creative Nudge – Tree of Life

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Luana

Tree of Life 4-13

This week we are having our own personal Apple Blossom Festival in front of the eQuilter building. We have a whole block of crab apple trees that explodes with deep pink blossoms every year, and if you are local I urge you to place an order for pickup so you can come picnic under our Apple Blossoms! Last week as they exploded into bloom, I had a friend come to visit who actually went out and hugged one of the trees, because they are SO beautiful.

This week I am featuring a spellbinding quilt from the “Water is Life” exhibit at the UN in Geneva, which was extended twice but today is the last day. This art quilt – the “Tree of Life” – was made by artist Lin Schiffner.

I have set the quilt inside a collage frame of Springtime fabrics that are now in stock. The embroidered words on the bottom read “The Miraculous Web of Interconnection”.

Because of my quilt in this exhibit, I have been invited down to Southwest Colorado this weekend, to meet with a Navajo community that has been affected by the poisoning of the Animas River last August. (The topic of my quilt.)

You never know where your quiltmaking will take you!

* This photo was taken at the “Water is Life” exhibit, at the United Nations in Geneva Switzerland. The quilt is “Tree of Life” by Lin Schiffner.

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Free Pattern – Sewing Seeds

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Luana

Sewing-Seeds

This week we continue our Spring theme, for those who are planning their vegetable gardens and planting seeds! We just adore Janet’s smiling veggie illustrations in this Red, Black and Cream color theme.

You’ll zip through this 31″ x 48″ Free Quilt Pattern project in the time it takes for your tomato seeds to germinate, because it is based on one central panel featuring seed packets, button cards, pincushions, vintage sewing machines, and an 1889 garden catalog.

…from the ‘Sewing Seeds II’ collection by artist/designer J. Wecker Frisch 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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Geneva, Nepal & Guatemala

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Luana

This week I had quite a thrill – the US Mission to the Geneva UN posted a video interview about my quilt “Rocky Mountain Poison” in the exhibit there. Also, the exhibit has been extended twice – now through April 11! This is so exciting for the 40 artists who have participated in this very important project.

You can see 2 other interviews with “Water is Life” artists, on this page. (Donnette Cooper and Phyllis Stephens)

We continue to receive donated quilts for Nepal, and I continue to find volunteers traveling to Nepal, who can deliver your donated quilts directly to those in need. This week I connected with 2 new groups who can continue to take quilts to Nepal. Tomorrow I am going to an Engineers Without Borders event for the CU (Univ of Colorado – Boulder) chapter, who are traveling to Nepal soon.

Mission of Love is making another cleft lip & palate surgery trip to Guatemala May 1st, and they could really use extra funds to help pay for the team of surgeons and nurses travel expenses. These selfless professionals go to Guatemala once a year to do a week’s worth of FREE surgeries for the children living in poverty there. If you are looking for a great charity that will squeeze every drop out of your dollars, Mission of Love certainly has my awe and admiration for their work.

Mission of Love is another great place to send donated quilts! They will be taking quilts down to Guatemala in a few weeks (see photos from my trip with MOL 4 years ago) – for the kids receiving surgery. You can send a quilt to MOL in Ohio any time and they will make sure it is lovingly presented to a child in need – in Guatemala, Pine Ridge SD (with Jane Goodall), or wherever Kathy Price finds children in dire need.

Earlier today I spent time with a 94 year old friend who is also concerned about water issues. She told me a great story from her childhood. She was attending a school in Washington DC and noticed a girl who seemed very lonely. After befriending this girl, she was invited to come over to play. The address turned out to be the White House, where the girl was living with her uncle… FDR. In those days she could just walk up to the front door and knock. Eventually she was included in movie nights with Pres. Roosevelt and the family. What a story!

If you got to the bottom of this page, I also want to tell you that the quilting industry is changing very quickly and the drop-dead gorgeous digital printed designs we are ordering for 2016 are going to knock your socks off!

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Free Pattern – Wildlife Majesty

Posted on April 8, 2016 by Luana

Wildlife-Majesty

This week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Pattern features the incredible wildlife illustrations by designer Jody Bergsma, who has been one of our favorite artists for a long time!

In this 62″ x 80″ quilt design, Jody’s artwork manages to capture the beauty and details of otters, bears, moose, eagles, wolves, ravens, bison, puffins, raccoons, fox, owls, and the gorgeous mountains, forest and rivers in which they live!

We’ve paired Jody’s luscious water-textured blenders, with Northcott Sandscapes (with a hint of gold metallic) to make this an absolute showstopper!

Take off your snowshoes, enjoy the wildlife as the Spring Thaw begins, and let the magic of the wilderness leave you breathless with wonder.

…featuring the ‘North American Wildlife’ collection by Jody Bergsma 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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Creative Nudge – Hexy Inspiration

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Luana

Untitled-1

So far this year I’ve been to quilt shows in Tokyo, Mexico, California and Switzerland! My photo files for 2016 are full of goodies, so each week I’ll try to dip into my Photo Vault to give you another quilt inspiration! (If you know a friend who might enjoy the weekly quilt show, pass it on!)

This fantastic quilt is from the Tokyo Quilt Festival which I attended in January. Can you see what she did there? She used spontaneous piecing to put a log cabin into a hexagon shape, and they turn out looking like Charles Rennie Macintosh roses… brilliant!

It is not exactly a mandala or bullseye, but it does have a sense of depth and space, due to her use of value. (The light center, gradually moving to warm midtones, and cool colors in the outer ring.) The hexagon roses are just plain FUN!

Our May trip to Cuba is full… our November trip to see the Polar Bears is filling up!…and we are finalizing the details for a new trip to Cuba in September. If you’d like to receive advance notice of this new trip, send an email to customer service or give us a call.

Here’s to the Joy of Life!

* This photo was taken in Jan 2016 at the Tokyo Quilt Festival. The name of the artist is in the lower right hand corner.

********
2016 Travel Calendar:
May 8-15 – Luana’s Cuban Arts Tour
May 20-22 – Quilt Market
Sept – Fall Cuba Tour – details soon!
Nov 15-20 – Luana’s Polar Bear Tour – Register by April 15!

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Free Pattern – Batter Up

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Luana

Batter Up

There’s nothing that says “Spring” to a baseball fan, like the Ump yelling “Batter up!” on Opening Day of the season!

This Free Quilt Pattern features a main panel that brings a rush of smells, sounds and images….you can hear the CRACK of the bat, smell the newly-cut grass, and feel the excitement of the crowd as the ball flies up into the air.

The central panel is set in concentric borders and red sashing, with clever piecing of Baseball-themed novelty prints in the large outer border.

Whether you’re a fan of a World Series contender, or a Little League star, you’ll have fun making this for the Baseball fanatic in your life. (Maybe YOU!)

…featuring the ‘Batter Up’ collection by Blank Textiles.

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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My Centenarian Friend

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Luana

I’ve just come home from a 100th birthday party for an old friend of the family! Eleanor Flanders was a mentor to me as a young woman, and an inspiration as a community leader who was always working to improve education. She has recently published a book about her life, and I am going to pick up my signed copy when we have lunch in about a week. I’ve always had wonderful women friends who are older than me…and having a friend turn 100 really puts things in perspective!

You will see some photos posted here from the “Water is Life” exhibit at the United Nations in Geneva. You can see photos of my quilt “Rocky Mountain Poison” here… be sure to click on the quilt photo to see the larger image. Except for the backing, the whole quilt was made from the eQuilter scrap pile. More photos of quilts coming this weekend! The exhibit at the UN has been extended to April 7, and then it will start to travel. I will be sure to give you details about the exhibit!

Sophie’s hair is about 1.5 cm long now. Everybody wants to rub her head. She is missing her long hair but also wants to send out her thanks to all of our friends and eQuilter fans who contributed to her fundraising efforts. She raised over $3K!

We are nailing down some final details for the fall trip to Cuba – right now it looks like it will be the week of Sept 18-25. We have a list of those interested, and will email details to you immediately once everything is confirmed. Any day now, I hope!

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Free Pattern – Chromazone

Posted on April 1, 2016 by Luana

Chromazone

Paula Nadelstern fans, rejoice! This week’s eQuilter Exclusive free pattern combines Paula’s ‘Dragon Medallions’ with her ‘Vox Stripes’ into a Kaleidoscope of color and ornate symmetry.

Sure to brighten your favorite living space, this 61″ x 61″ quilt dances with abundant color, while the intricate medallions inspire your imagination.

…featuring the ‘Chromazone’ collection by Paula Nadelstern for Benartex.

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 – Mexican Eye Candy

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Luana

Untitled-1

So far this year I have had the great honor to travel to Japan, Mexico, Switzerland and France to see quilt exhibits and meet quilters. I love to see the quilts of other countries, to see how their culture, crafts and colors are expressed in their quilts!

As I mentioned in Saturday night’s newsletter, I got “stuck” in Washington DC on the way home from Geneva due to the blizzard in Denver. I walked the Cherry Blossom Festival, visited a couple museums, and my 8 day trip was stretched to 11 days…so I am still processing my experience in Europe.

My trip to Mexico last month was a great inspiration, and I loved seeing how Mexican art quilters are developing their fiber art, inspired by the colors of their country. So tonight I wanted to share a photo collage of images captured in Mexico City, because I found these colors so full of joy and life!

When I travel, I don’t watch the news or TV, so I can totally immerse myself in the cultural experience. Because the Syrian peace talks were going on while I was at the United Nations, it was very hard not to be aware of the terrible news from Brussels. However being around people who are trying to make the world a better place, was comforting as the news unfolded. As our opening reception celebrated World Water Day, we could not ignore the news from Belgium.

Whether we are dealing with stress in our own lives, or trauma in the world news, our quiltmaking and our shared love of stitching, is a gift that helps us to stay centered. Creativity is a way to work through life events that just don’t make any sense. Sitting down to make something, is sitting down to reconnect with ourselves. When the world has gone crazy, making something with hands and heart, is the best way I know to stay in the moment and clear my head.

Our May trip to Cuba is full… our November trip to see the Polar Bears is filling up!…and on Saturday I’ll announce the details for a new trip to Cuba in September. If you’d like to receive advance notice of this new trip, send an email to customer service or give us a call.

Here’s to the Joy of Life!

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