Monsoon May

Posted on May 11, 2015 by Luana

We seem to have entered the monsoon season here in Boulder – and we wish we could send some of this rain to you all in California! After our big floods a year and a half ago, we watch those creeks carefully, which are now full of the Spring runoff from the mountains.

Hard to believe but it is just about time for Spring Quilt Market! If you Like our Facebook account, you can follow our posts LIVE from the show floor, as we share quilts and designer collections from the wholesale trade show. If we show you a collection preview on Facebook, that group will be arriving at eQuilter in the next few months.

If you really love something that you see on our eQuilter Facebook preview of Quilt Market, contact Customer Service and we’ll send you a Sneak Peak link via email as soon as it arrives in the warehouse. (before it comes out in the newsletter)

I’ve just agreed to speak at the Gramado quilt festival in Brazil this fall, and I will be attending as a sponsor as well, so I will look forward to meeting more of our Brazilian and South American customers later this year.

If you are going to the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham UK this August, please be sure to order a ticket to my Saturday presentation “International Quilt Trends.” I think I am also participating in a panel discussion – will keep you informed about that as well. I am going to the Shakespeare outing to Stratford Saturday night – hope to see many of you there too!

Paul has had a family emergency and so he and Sophie flew to Hawaii this week… in case any of you are wondering why he is out of touch. We are sending prayers to his family there.

Wishing you a wonderful Mother’s Day with your mothers and grandmothers.
(Many of whom taught us to quilt!)

Travel Calendar:
May 15-17 – Quilt Market
Aug 8 – “International Quilt Trends” Lecture at Birmingham UK Festival of Quilts
September 16-19 – Festival Brasileiro de Quilt e Patchwork, Gramado

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Free Pattern – Fruits of the Vine

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Luana

Fruits_of_the_Vine

This week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Pattern takes you to a country landscape with a bottle or two of wine, crystal goblets, and a view of the distant vineyards…all in the cool shade of a grape arbor.

This lovely vignette beckons to you, cleverly bordered by an engineered stripe with lots of sommelier details. Clusters of juicy grapes are set on point on all 4 corners, set off with a rich wine-colored Hoffman hand-dye.

Featuring the ‘Wine Country’ collection by Adriana Cirstea for Spectrix.

You may order the pattern as configured, (click through here to see the specifics!) 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.

Many thanks to Larene Smith for this Wine Country quilt 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 – Secret Garden Quilts

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Luana

nudge

Quilters are mixing and matching fabrics like never before! Florals, geometrics, yarn-dyed plaids and batiks are combined in ways that would make the Quilt Police shudder 20 years ago.

These days, we just have fun and combine the colors and designs that just feel right. We audition all the crazy stuff in our Epic Stashes, and make combination choices that surprise even ourselves!

Here is a collage with photos from the Flower Market in Mexico City, and the ‘Ex Libris’ collection by Alison Glass for Andover. It would look great with some multicolor yarn-dyed plaids for the sashing and binding. The rich saturated floral and jeweltone batiks would mix in nicely as well.

Go ahead – give yourself permission to Walk on the Wild Side – design your own secret garden quilt and you can plant anything you like!

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Sunshine in Portland

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Luana

By the time you read this, I’ll be at the Portland Airport, waiting to fly home from the SAQA Fiberlandia conference. Usually it rains in Portland, but they are having a drought too, so it was mild and sunny this weekend.

My parents grew up in a little town called Molalla here, and my brothers went to school in Eugene. (Go Ducks!) I have lots of relatives who still live in the Portland area, so it is good to spend some time here.

One of the SAQA panel presentations was comprised of International Quilt Artists, from South Africa, Australia, Canada, France and Taiwan. Wherever I go, I meet artists who are part of SAQA, and they are always busy preparing for fiber art exhibitions around the world. I really have to admire how this extraordinary organization has expanded around the globe, and how they continue to educate and inspire quilt artists who aspire to something beyond a patchwork bedspread.

Also, the attendees of these annual conferences are a Who’s Who of the industry’s creative glitterati, so it is fun to hobnob with so many wonderful quilt/textile artists.

One of them is Terrie Mangat. The first time I met her we were on a shuttle going to Art Quilt Tahoe in the mountains, and the vehicle slid off the pass into a snow bank. I shared my emergency chocolate bar with Terrie and the other quilters in the shuttle, and by the time we were rescued, we were all fast friends.

I’ll be in Minneapolis in two weeks for Quilt Market, then our middle child Sam graduates from high school the following weekend. What a busy month!

Next weekend Mom, Sophie and I are going to an annual tradition – we wear fancy hats and go for a fancy tea party at a Victorian-era home in Longmont. (Hover Home) This Mothers Day Tea always has some kind of vintage fashion presentation, which we enjoy while munching on cucumber sandwiches and sipping from antique floral china teacups.

Do you have a multi-generation tradition for Mothers Day too?

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Free Pattern – Running Free

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Luana

Running_Free2

Feel the wind in your hair as you gallop across the prairie with this herd of wild horses…by internationally acclaimed wildlife artist Jody Bergsma.

We’ve paired Jody’s fluid style with the gorgeous textures of Sandscapes – tonal stone textures with touches of gold metallic for a subtle glimmer to set off these beautiful Mustang portraits.

This week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Pattern features the ‘North American Wildlife‘ collection by Jody Bergsma for Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

You may order the pattern as configured, (click through here to see the specifics!) 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.

Many thanks to Sue Harvey for this Horse themed quilt 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 – Creative Mash-Up

Posted on April 29, 2015 by Luana

nudge

Creativity is often interdisciplinary. While some try to keep different art forms separate and distinct, others are inspired by the possibilities of melding 2 or more art forms.

Humans naturally try to divide their world into polarized segments… light and dark… good and bad…art or craft…etc. It is how we try to simplify and understand complex situations.

Imagine the excitement when classical music and athletic but graceful dance were first combined. (Ballet) The multiple layers of artforms in Opera (vocal and instrumental music, acting, costumes & sets) allowed us to be submersed in an alternative reality, long before virtual reality was possible.

Our Boulder university is considering creating a new School of the Arts, combining theatre and dance, art and art history and film studies departments, plus staff from the CU Art Museum and Colorado Shakespeare Festival.

In yesterday’s local paper, it was reported that “….students are already thwarting departmental boundaries by blending all sorts of artistic disciplines into projects, degrees and performances.”

I like to mix up the creative inspiration and creative expression (Images In = Images Out) so they swirl together like a chocolate/vanilla ice cream cone.

When I look at things through a camera lens, or try to paint something with a brush and pigment, I experience the source in a new and different way. This week I was able to photograph our Boulder Philharmonic in concert, which was a fantastic experience. I have long been inspired by Max Oppenheimer’s giant painting at the Belvedere Museum in Vienna – of Gustav Mahler conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. No online photo can do this piece justice, because it is HUGE, and the details get lost when it is shrunk down.

However the visual stimulation of my photo session, combined with the live music, and the memory of Oppenheimer’s painting, got my creative juices roaring this week.

How do you layer different creative inputs, and different artistic disciplines, to make something new?

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Sharing and Snooping

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Luana

Next weekend I will be at the SAQA Conference in Portland OR – Fiberlandia! Hopefully I will see many of you there!

This morning I was very lucky to attend the dress rehearsal for the Boulder Philharmonic’s concert tonight, featuring Zuill Bailey playing the Dvorak Cello Concert – my favorite cello piece and one of my favorite classical pieces. It is such a gift to hear pieces like this live and in person. Tonight I will get to hear it again, for the official performance. Twice in one day – what an inspiration!

Those of us who love and support the arts, really appreciate when we have a “behind the scenes” experience like this. Here in Boulder we have an event called Open Studios (many of you may have them in your towns too!) which is a fantastic opportunity to visit the workspaces and studios of working artists. In fact many local textile artists open their studios here each year, and it is fascinating to go and snoop around to see what sewing machine they use, how many spools of thread they have, what types of fabric make up their working stash, etc.

Seeing a Work in Progress can be a great learning experience, whether it is an orchestra rehearsal, or an art quilt in pieces on a design wall. I love taking painting classes where you get to watch the artist create a whole painting from a blank canvas. Similarly, most of you know how fun it is to take a class from a talented quilt or fiber artist, and watch their creative process and special techniques as they build up their work of art.

Participating in a small Creative Circle can be a great way to share and learn as your own creative process is developed. If you have a small group of 5-6 artists who meet once a month, to share your work and your process, it can be just the stimulation and deadline-driven motivation to keep you moving along in your development as a quilter/artist.

How are you sharing your work with others?

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Free Pattern – Butterfly Oasis

Posted on April 24, 2015 by Luana

Butterfly_Oasis

Is there anything more refreshing than a stroll in a lush Japanese flower garden?

Is there anything more delightful than an Asian stylized Butterfly design?

Yes! – when it is embellished with gold metallic details – and set in a crisp Diamond-Trellis pattern.

This week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Pattern features the Japanese imported ‘Nobu Fujiyama Butterfly Fantasy‘ collection by Kona Bay Fabrics.

You may order the pattern as configured, (click through here to see the specifics!) 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.

Many thanks to Sue Harvey for this Asian Butterfly quilt 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 – Happy Earth Day!

Posted on April 22, 2015 by Luana

nudge

Happy Earth Day!

Over the last year as I have traveled to a game reserve in South Africa, to the edge of the Arctic Circle in Canada, and to the Marine Sanctuaries of Hawaii, I have renewed my commitment to speak up for the creatures whose habitats are being wiped out by the activities of humans.

As I have flown around the world and seen the coastlines, forests and mountains pass by in miniature detail as I look out of the airplane window, it becomes obvious that the planet is no longer a vast horizon….but a precious and fragile pearl that we hold in our hands.

Last fall I joined 400,000 people in New York to march for climate change, and it was the experience of a lifetime.

Earth Day is just one day out of the year, but it is a day that we can speak out, join with others of like mind, and plants seeds that can grow into compassion for our fellow voyagers on this spaceship Earth.

Take time to savor the quiet moments in wild places, and see how it opens up wide open spaces within you, as a creative person.

Our National Parks, our Wildlife Reserves, our vast forests and wilderness preserves are precious not only for the eco-systems that thrive there, but also priceless treasures for our mental, emotional and spiritual health.

Take a moment today to connect with Gaia, Mother Earth, Nature…and see what secrets she may whisper into your ear.

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May the Force Be With You!

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Luana

It’s a great weekend for Nerds and Geeks here in Denver, and everywhere, with the release of a new teaser trailer for the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII – The Force Awakens. (coming the end of this year.) Star Wars fans – I dare you to watch it and not get misty-eyed at the end!

Today Sophie, Mason and I are at Starfest here in Denver, and the kids are in SciFi costumes for the occasion. I am here to take photos of the awesome costumes, especially at the Costume Contest tonight! You can see my photos from previous events here.

We are also longtime fans of Stargate, and we are so excited that Richard Dean Anderson is here! Through our Engineers Without Borders connections I have a new friend who has worked as the technical adviser with Rick on MacGyver, Legend and Stargate. He was the *real* MacGyver – the writers would put the actor in a situation and our friend would have to figure out the technical details (paper clips, rubber bands, etc.) to get MacGyver out of the situation. He drew up all the inventions of Prof. Bartok in Legends. So creative and amazing!

It is appropriate that we have the new Star Trek collection this week – to add to our Star Wars and previous Star Trek collector fabrics. With the Star Wars legend igniting again in December (by the same director doing the new series of Star Trek movies – JJ Abrams) these fabrics are sure to be valuable collectibles in the future!

There have been many poignant moments at this convention, remembering Leonard Nimoy’s Spock. Last night Sophie and I stayed up late to watch Star Trek IV (the one with the whales) on the big screen. Most kids her age don’t get to experience these great old sci-fi movies on the big screen. It was the “read along” screening with subtitles so we got to quote all those great Spock lines as the movie unrolled.

Hope you are having lots of fun this weekend too!

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