Our new, intricately detailed Mysterious Kitty fabric is featured in tonight’s Free eQuilter pattern. Behold the all-seeing eyes of this colorful & mystical kitty.
To make this 71″ wide x 55″ high quilt design, you will start with our exclusive 28″ x 44″ digital-printed panel. We have used our Mysterious Forest Leaves against a solid black background to construct the magnificent pieced border.
PLUS – you’ll receive Free USA / 50% off INTL shipping when you order the fabrics for this exquisite quilt pattern (orders $100 and over, no coupon needed).
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.
This weekend we are a sponsor for the “Recharge and Reinvent” online retreat for Quilt Guild leadership, hosted by the Intl Quilt Museum in Lincoln Nebraska. I am speaking towards the end of the retreat tomorrow. Hopefully your guild attended and this fantastic programming will filter out to inspire new members and new projects.
This week I’ve been working with setting up the plan with our new partner in Western North Carolina, for our comfort quilt drive, focusing on those who lost everything. We are mostly concentrating on the community of Swannanoa where the center of town was wiped out.
Right now they are focusing on urgent survival needs, but they are asking to receive quilts over the next 1-3 months to distribute to those who truly lost everything. I am amending my size guidelines to include queen size quilts because some of these families are sleeping together in temporary housing. So anything from lap size, to twin and full/double size, and queen size.
Please make sure they are stitched, not tied, so they will last for a long time. We want to gift quality handmade quilts to these folks. We encourage you to put a label on the back with your name and anything else you wish to include. A message of hope and encouragement is always received with deep appreciation.
A comfort quilt stitched with unconditional love is a gift of hope, and you cannot imagine how precious these quilts are to those who receive them after losing their home and possessions, and sometimes a neighbor or pet or family member.
The quilts may be sent to: KPC Buddhist Relief c/o Kelly Zarcone 155 Buckner Rd. Black Mountain, NC 28711
We have sent a collapsible wagon to Kelly to help her haul your quilts to distribution points. Thanks to Kelly and Dara for making this happen!
A huge thank you to the Quaking Aspen Quilt Guild and Joy who have dropped off 30 quilts for this project! Woo hoo!
A reminder that quilts can be dropped off in person to eQuilter. All other quilts should be shipped directly to North Carolina so there is no delay.
sharing your love for fabric, Luana and Paul
Travel/Quilt Dates: Oct 31 – Nov 3 – Houston Quilt Festival 11 am, Fri & Sat – Sacred Threads Artist Walk 3 pm, Fri & Sat – SAQA Camouflage Artist Walk
Nov 13 – Canada Zoom Lecture December 5-13 – Textile & Costume Tour – Italy. Alpine Xmas Market Extension Dec 13-15. Jan 21 – Visions Museum Zoom Lecture
We are excited to announce that Janet Stone won the eQuilter.com Master Award for Machine Artistry, and we hope you will see her beautiful quilt in person the end of this month! (image above)
While the news cycle has already moved on from the recent hurricanes, for the most part, we are still hearing about very difficult conditions on the ground for those who lost their homes. We are working with a new partner in North Carolina, and we have new information about where to ship quilts for those who are most in need.
But first let me share a backstory: In 2001 I met a quilter named Dara in an online quilt group. She is a Buddhist nun, and at the time was a 2nd grade teacher. She lives in the Washington DC suburbs, and has been involved with many service projects and non-profits over the years. She is one of those lovely selfless people who has dedicated her life to helping others. Every year when I go to the DC area, we try to get together. She took me to the annual Lotus Festival one year, and we’ve visited many quilt exhibits and art museums together over the years.
I reached out to her this last week, and it turns out that her Buddhist temple is deeply involved with a disaster relief project right now in Western North Carolina. They have a trusted local member there who is helping Hurricane Helene victims. We will be working with this organization to help those most impacted by the storm in this area.
Please ship your donated comfort quilts directly to: KPC Buddhist Relief c/o Kelly Zarcone 155 Buckner Rd. Black Mountain, NC 28711
If you are in the Boulder Colorado area, you may also drop them off in person at our warehouse. Please DO NOT ship to eQuilter. Ship directly to North Carolina. Any quilts dropped off IN PERSON at eQuilter will be shipped by us to NC.
We ask that you send quilts that are Lap, Twin or Full size. Please send stitched quilts, not tied quilts, so they will have a long life of use with their recipients. You are welcome to include a pillowcase if you wish.
We do encourage you to put your name & town on a label, and a message of support if possible. You can also donate directly to this organization to directly fund their local relief efforts.
KPC Buddhist Relief is the humanitarian arm of Kunzang Palyul Choling, established in 1985 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo. In 2005, Jetsunma started Buddhist Relief as an immediate response to Hurricane Katrina. One group traveled from Maryland to New Orleans to provide food, clothing, and emotional support to those in need, while another group brought over 100 abandoned dogs back to a ranch in Arizona to care for them until they were adopted or moved to a long-term facility. We continued supporting local food relief efforts, partnered with United Sikhs to support Ukraine refugees on the ground in Poland, and collected items for newly arrived immigrants and refugees. As the pandemic waned and food insecurity rose, Buddhist Relief established partnerships with other non-profits to provide items not normally donated to food pantries and kitchens – fresh produce, cultural foods, condiments, and seasonings. Today we work with 8 different organizations to supply over 2000 pounds of food a week, tailoring our donations to their specific needs.
If you would like to make a financial donation to support the hurricane relief effort in the Swannanoa, NC community, please click here.
Kelly is our Buddhist Relief contact on the ground in western NC. She lives in Black Mountain, about 10 minutes away from Swannanoa, a community that has been devastated by the hurricane. She has established connections with Bounty and Soul, a local food pantry who are distributing food, clothing, hygiene items, and much more, and Blunt Pretzels, whose staff and volunteers are feeding hundreds of people daily. Buddhist Relief has been collecting highly requested items to support their efforts in this area. Kelly has a large storage area in her home to house the quilts and is working with Bounty and Soul to find the best way to distribute the quilts. She also has personal connections with families who have lost everything and is deeply touched by the outpouring of makers who want to send comfort in this way.
Over 25 years eQuilter has helped to collect and distribute over 20K donated comfort quilts, with our partners Mission of Love, Engineers Without Borders, and other local groups. You can see photo albums from these past projects on this page. We are very serious about working with trusted partners so that your precious quilts will be personally distributed to those in the most dire need. When possible, we request photos from our partners on the ground, and we will share those photos whenever possible.
Our humble thanks to those of you who choose to give generously to this effort.
Sharing your love of fabric… Luana and Paul
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Posted inActivism, Charity, Quilts|Comments Off on Janet’s Master Award, and Hurricane Helene Quilt Drive
Tonight’s Free Quilt Pattern features our new, best-selling Fox digital panel, intricately illustrated with jewel-tone colors and mystical, mandala shapes.
To make this 70″ x 56″ quilt design, you will start with the central 29″ x 44″ Mystical Fox panel. You will use two Hoffman Hand-Dyes, offset by solid black, to create the coordinating four Fox Paw corner blocks.
This exclusive pattern displays a powerful, contemplative image, and would make a great gift for fox-loving friends!
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.
Today the awards for the International Quilt Festival (Houston) were announced live by Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson. We have shared the recording on our Facebook page if you’d like to see who won!
Congratulations to Janet Stone, who won the eQuilter Master Award. I can’t wait to see this beautiful quilt in person in a few weeks. A special congratulations to Chinese quilt artist Chen Jing whose beautifully stitched 18″ x 17″ quilt won Best of Show. There are so many gorgeous intricate pieces that were featured in the awards announcement today. I hope many of you will be able to come and experience the beauty and artistry in our talented community, at Quilt Festival.
Please make a note of the dates and times that I will be participating in Artist Talks on Friday and Saturday – 11 am at Sacred Threads, and 3 pm at the SAQA Camouflage artist walk. (Noted below) I hope you will mark that in your calendar and come to hear me and the other artists speak about their work.
We have had a change in our hurricane comfort quilt drive. Mission of Love has had to withdraw due to other commitments so we are setting up an alternate plan with another trusted partner in North Carolina. You can still drop off quilts to eQuilter, and stay tuned for the address to ship quilts directly. (Do not ship to eQuilter)
sharing your love for fabric, Luana and Paul
Travel/Quilt Dates: Oct 31 – Nov 3 – Houston Quilt Festival 11 am, Fri & Sat – Sacred Threads Artist Walk 3 pm, Fri & Sat – SAQA Camouflage Artist Walk
Nov 13 – Canada Zoom Lecture December 5-13 – Textile & Costume Tour – Italy. Alpine Xmas Market Extension Dec 13-15. Jan 21 – Visions Museum Zoom Lecture
Tonight’s Free eQuilter Pattern feature our exclusive Stylish Victorian Kitty, with a classic Victorian top hat surrounded in luscious florals.
To make this 63″ x 63″ quilt design, start with our Victorian Kitty panel, then piece the dynamic border with ab Terracotta Jewelscape ombre print and Kona Solid Black for added drama. Finish with an Auburn Jewelscape ombre for the binding.
Someone who receives this quilt will have fun making up adventurous tales (tails?) about this classy kitty, because the more you look at this illustration, the more details you notice. Meow!
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.
In my 40+ years working with design and color, it has been remarkable to see women’s progression from safe(boring) colors, to juicy joyful colors. In the 1990s when I was moving from the fashion industry to the quilt textile industry, there was a parallel movement away from dull dark colors, to clear bright expressive hues. I remember when quilters refused to use yellow or orange because they were colors that they would never wear. Fortunately now quilters are inspired by the possibilities that these colors bring – as accent colors and even as the main color story. Three cheers for sunny happy hues in our palettes!
Do you remember going to baby showers that were either pastel pink for a girl, or pastel blue for a boy? When someone said ‘Pink’ it was assumed to be a sugary pastel.
These days when we say ‘Pink’ we think of Hot Pinks – Orchid Pink, Deep Rose Pink, and Hibiscus Pink. In 2022 when Valentino had a whole fashion show with nothing but a radical shade of hot pink, it was a ‘new’ color developed with the Pantone Color Institute. But to me, it was very Eighties.
Creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli described it as the color of “love, community, energy and freedom” which is certainly what we all need now. It was nicknamed “PP Pink” and now our eyes crave this juicy color. It makes me happy.
And what about the guys? In the 80s it was cool for men to wear pink, and that color trend is returning for the savvy urban creatives.
To all of our friends in Florida, we are thinking of you and hoping you are in a safe place now.
In case you missed this on our blog, we are starting a Hurricane Helene quilt drive (just got our first batch dropped off yesterday!) for remote communities in North Carolina. I have also put together a list of disaster relief organizations – volunteers and non-profits – in case you want to donate to those helping out on the ground right now. We have to wait and see what happens with Milton tomorrow. Y’all stay safe out there! We love you!
Travel/Quilt Dates: Oct 31 – Nov 3 – Houston Quilt Festival Nov 13 – Canada (CQA) Zoom Lecture December 5-13 – Textile & Costume Italy Tour. Alpine Xmas Market Extension Dec 13-15. Jan 21 – Visions Museum Zoom Lecture
Tonight’s Free eQuilter Pattern feature our exclusive, adorable kitties on a fence panel. These five kitties gather in a nighttime flower garden, watching butterflies and moths.
To make this 50″ x 50″ quilt design, start with our exclusive kitties panel, frame with a petal pink Hoffman hand dye, and piece the blocks with pink and azure hand dyes. The details really pop against a solid black background.
Hang this quilt on the wall, and you’ll be enchanted by these delightful & gentle felines. The quilt also makes a great gift for those who love their adventurous kitties.
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.
Also Susan Brubaker Knapp says, consider three counties in Western NC – Avery, Mitchell & Yancey – that are smaller, less resourced, and frequently overlooked due to their proximity to Boone and Asheville.
1. Our church has a mutual aid fund that will go directly to helping our community throughout this disaster. This is helpful as we know there will be needs well beyond this initial moment. Please select “Mutual Aid” from the fund drop-down menu. https://give.tithe.ly/…
2. Our diocese has been taking an assessment of all that is needed throughout Western NC. The Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina website has set up a page specifically for Hurricane Helene Relief and has several places you can direct your giving, including directly to the diocese. https://www.diocesewnc.org/helene
3. You can find the Amazon Wishlist (items will be adjusted as needs change) here: https://a.co/5CviDeF
4. If you are interested in volunteering your time, please send us a message, so we can include you in updates about volunteer opportunities.
Team Rubicon has opened operations in several locations. The first was involved in road clearing and now we are moving into muck outs, roof tarping and removal of unsafe trees.
https://www.crisiscleanup.org. They receive calls from the public and provide the information to FEMA and disaster response agencies such as Team Rubicon. The Crisis Cleanup Hotline for Helene is (844) 965-1386
Unicoi County Animal Shelter LOST EVERYTHING AND NEEDS EVERYTHING. They did not have flood insurance and lost everything from ink pens to kennels and cat cages. They are in Erwin, TN.
They have an Amazon wishlist and a GoFundme set up (from their actual page, so it’s legit).
Sister Kitten NEEDS A WAREHOUSE SPACE NEAR ASHEVILLE. They are in Maggie Valley, NC is there and trying to help locals and feed colonies.
>>> They need an Asheville centrally located BUSINESS OR WAREHOUSE FOR FOOD DONATIONS with a loading dock and/or forklifts where they can store dog and cat food and supplies that are coming in on tractor trailers. If you know anyone who owns a business willing to help PLEASE have them text Eric at 503-664-0001 (text is best).
They also need volunteers for distribution to the community.
Please note that we can’t receive deliveries at our regular address because of flash flooding that swept away roads.
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FurEver Friends Animal Rescue, est 2002 NEEDS FOSTERS. Their President and founder staying with their cats at their vet’s office to make sure they are cared for. No power, no water.
>>> I personally messaged with their founder, Pam, and she said their biggest need is FOSTERS. Many of their fosters lost their homes. If you can spare a bathroom, helping temporarily foster would be an enormous help. Messaging their page directly is probably the best way to offer help.
Esther Neonatal Kitten Alliance still has no power or water at their Kitten Nursery in Asheville, and yet they are still taking in kitten in need. Best Friends Animal Society has been great and brought them food and supplies, and even a generator to run an incubator for a kitten that is pretty bad shape.
They have help right now, so while they can always use donations, other orgs might more urgently need them (that’s me writing that, not them)
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Mountain Pet Rescue Asheville appears to have been able to get their animals out to fosters from their facility with now power. Check their FB page for more updates or needs.
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Brother Wolf Animal Rescue in Asheville unfortunately lost everything to flood and will need to completely rebuild. Their animals are all SAFE, thanks to the community getting them out ahead of the storm.
They are still trying to reach all their fosters and volunteers, and are asking for monetary donations to help rebuild:
Binx’s Home for Black Cats is OK, but looking for donations. They are helping take in cats from other rescues worse off and the donations will support that.
The devastation is real. Our neighbors’ homes are destroyed and businesses are in ruins. Thankfully, we all have our cats
We continue to think about what we can do to help others who have suffered losses in the hurricane. Right now of course, those who have lost homes have the most urgent needs and I have posted a list of non-profits and volunteer groups that are on the ground providing food, shelter and other urgent needs to those most affected.
For the longer view, I am speaking with Kathy Price at Mission of Love about loading up a truck of donated comfort quilts and other disaster relief, to help those in the Ashville area who have suffered the most trauma and greatest losses. This is still coming into focus but I will be editing/updating this blog page as the plan crystalizes.
The plan thus far is that quilts would be shipped directly to Mission of Love in Ohio.
Do NOT ship to eQuilter as this will delay receipt. You may drop off quilts IN PERSON ONLY to eQuilter, or SHIP DIRECTLY to Mission of Love:
MISSION OF LOVE 2054 Hemlock Ct, Youngstown, OH, 44515
Do NOT call Mission of Love with questions. You can contact us here at eQuilter, or wait for more information to come out in our emails and blog.
sharing your love for fabric, Luana and Paul
Travel/Quilt Dates: Oct 31 – Nov 3 – Houston Quilt Festival Nov 13 – Canada Zoom Lecture December 5-13 – Textile & Costume Tour – Italy. Alpine Xmas Market Extension Dec 13-15. Jan 21 – Visions Museum Zoom Lecture
