eQuilter Blog

Since last year I’ve been urging our American customers to make quilts to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States. There are many possible themes for these quilts, which will pass into history and be studied and appreciated 50 and 100+ years from now. (Don’t forget to put a label on your quilts!)

This quarter millennium celebration (250 years) is known as the Semi-Quincentennial. (Half of 500 …get it?) Our state of Colorado was founded in 1876 on the nation’s 100th year, so we are known as the Centennial State. In 1976, the year I graduated from high school, Colorado celebrated its own 100 year birthday, and the USA celebrated its 200 year birthday. (Oops, that means my 50th high school reunion is coming up!)

In 1986 when I was living in New York City, I participated in the centenary celebrations for the Statue of Liberty. It was a big deal….The display included 22,000 aerial fireworks, launched from 30 barges. The largest flotilla of tall ships to assemble in modern history, traveled down the Hudson River. President Reagan and French President Mitterand gave speeches, and John Williams conducted the premier of the Liberty Orchestra playing his composition Liberty Fanfare. It was a four-day party!

Ted Koppel of ABC News Nightline presented the Medal of Liberty to outstanding naturalized Americans, and Chief Justice Warren Burger swore in immigrants to the United States in a naturalization ceremony on Ellis Island.

As I watch American athletes come together peacefully, to compete with other athletes from around the world this week, I cannot help but have hope for humanity, and for our future. The monks on the Walk for Peace arrived in Washington DC, having deeply touched the hearts of so many people along their trek across our nation.

I have made 3 quilts for the Semi-Quin year. Two will be at the Virginia Quilt Museum, and one will be at the New England Quilt Museum, as celebrations unfold around the Fourth of July. My quilt “250 Years of American Wilderness” is the only contemporary quilt in the latter exhibit, curated by Sandra Sider. She also wrote the companion book (featured below) and my quilt is the final piece in this gorgeous commemorative book. (Commemorative American Quilts: Stitching Our Heritage from 1876 to Today) I am so honored to have pieces in these exhibits.

If you have not made your own Semi-Quin quilt to document this landmark year, and to document what is happening now in American life, I urge you to make such a piece. It will become a treasured piece of history for your descendants. And perhaps some day scholars will study your work in a museum or at a history conference. I’ve been to AQSG seminars where serious study is applied to quilts that are 50, 100 and 200+ years old. It is a selfless act to make one of these historic documenting quilts, and it is our way of reaching into the future and touching those who can only wonder how we lived in 2026.

Sharing your passion for fabric…
Luana & Paul

Subscribe to my artist website and blog!
www.luanarubin.com

Travel/Lecture Dates:
Feb 18-21 – QuiltCon – Raleigh NC
Apr 26 – May 1 – Alegre Retreat, Gateway CO
May 16 – New England Quilt Museum, Soul Stories Artist Reception
May 18-26 – Montpellier, France

Visit eQuilter’s Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok pages for Color and Design ideas.

See Luana’s Flickr Photo Pages for travel images, comment on our blog, or follow us on Facebook.

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

The QuiltCon Magazine is in stock now, and there is lots of fresh eye candy in this issue. Snap it up now for a preview of the show opening next week in Raleigh NC. If you see me there, be sure to say hello!

This last week here in Boulder Colorado, it was sunny and in the 60s, and people were walking around in shorts and sandals…in February! It is supposed to be snowing, but we are in a severe drought. Meanwhile Florida’s temps fell below freezing, and thousands of iguana lizards were stunned by the cold, and dropped out of the trees. You just can’t make this stuff up. Sorry Florida. You got our Colorado Winter weather!

I hope you were able to catch the Olympic Opening Ceremonies last night. I am very sentimental about the Olympics, and particularly the Opening Ceremonies, because it is a time when the whole world comes together peacefully. This year’s Winter Olympics in Northern Italy are dedicated to the theme of PEACE, which could not be more appropriate.

Did you notice that several of the more jazzy team uniforms had designs and details that we see in the quilting world? The Canadian team had a massive quilted Red Maple Leaf on the front of their vests! (Which can also be folded to make a pillow.) And the Czech Republic outfits looked like an improv geometric modern quilt. Colombia had jackets with a printed triangle patchwork design. Finland had puffer coats with a beautiful ombre printed design.

Sophie Quinn (our daughter) and I are both huge fans of Andrea Bocelli and LangLang, so it was great to see them performing in the musical conclusion of the opening ceremonies. We have seen them both in concert which is something you never forget. I will also do a little ‘Mom brag’ here, because she was just promoted to a manager position in Patron Services at the Colorado Symphony in Denver. She is in her last semester on campus, plus she is observing/helping in local public school music programs. Next year she will do her student teaching and graduate with a degree in Music Education.

I will also remind you that Valentines Day is in a week. eQuilter Gift Certificates are great to give or receive. You can drop a hint by sharing this link.

Sharing your love for fabric,
Luana and Paul

Subscribe to my artist blog here.

Travel/Lecture Dates:
Feb 18-21 – QuiltCon – Raleigh NC
Apr 26 – May 1 – Alegre Retreat, Gateway CO
May 16 – New England Quilt Museum, Soul Stories Artist Reception
May 18-26 – Montpellier, France
July 29 – Aug 2 – Birmingham UK – Festival of Quilts


Visit eQuilter’s Instagram and Pinterest pages for Color and Design ideas.

See Luana’s Artist Blog, Flickr Photo Pages for travel images, comment on our blog, or follow us on Facebook.

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

Today I am sharing another favorite quilt from Road to California a couple weeks ago. This large scenic quilt was a real crowd-pleaser! There was always a group of admirers clustered around this beautiful piece, and I had to come back at the end of the day to get a photo.

Angie Tustison is the maker, and this is her original design. The piece is so large, you feel like you can walk right into the forest.

Artist Statement:

“This quilt is based on a photo I took of my husband and our dogs in the redwoods near our home in Northern California. Taking photos for an art quilt was a great excuse to get out and go for a walk in a beautiful place. The redwoods have always been home for me, and I enjoyed working with such a familiar and comforting landscape. I especially enjoyed creating the threadwork details with machine embroidery on water-soluble stabilizer.“

You can see more photos from Road to California exhibits on my photo pages, including details of this exquisite artwork.

Sharing your passion for fabric…
Luana & Paul

Subscribe to my artist website and blog!
www.luanarubin.com

Travel/Lecture Dates:
Feb 18-21 – QuiltCon – Raleigh NC
Apr 26 – May 1 – Alegre Retreat, Gateway CO
May 16 – New England Quilt Museum, Soul Stories Artist Reception
May 18-26 – Montpellier, France

Visit eQuilter’s Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok pages for Color and Design ideas.

See Luana’s Flickr Photo Pages for travel images, comment on our blog, or follow us on Facebook.

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

Last night I attended the opening of the 18th Biennial Men’s Exhibit at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden Colorado. This show is always wildly popular, and last night the opening reception was so packed, I could barely get through the crowd, let alone photograph the quilts! Congrats to all the guys who showed their work, including Canadian modern quilter Peter Byrne who had 3 pieces accepted.

In gallery 2 we were treated to a solo show by artist Carol Ann Waugh, with her pieces featuring words and phrases to document events from 1948 to 2014. Carol has had a long prolific and successful career as a textile artist, and we are lucky to have her in the Denver area.

These 2 exhibits are up through April 14.

I have uploaded photos from last weekend’s Road 2 California show. Please enjoy and share.

If you are in the Europe/Middle East region of SAQA, be sure to mark your calendar for my zoom lecture “International Quilt Trends” on this Monday Feb 2!

Time: 18:00 UK/Ireland/Portugal, 19:00 CET, 20:00 Israel, 22:00 Abu Dhabi, 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) – Check your regional SAQA newsletter for the Zoom link!

Sharing your love for fabric,
Luana and Paul

Subscribe to my artist blog here. Most recent article – Taiwan Quilt Festival – Taipei – Intro

Travel/Lecture Dates:
Feb 2 – SAQA Europe/Middle East – Zoom Lecture
Feb 18-21 – QuiltCon – Raleigh NC
Apr 26 – May 1 – Alegre Retreat, Gateway CO
May 16 – New England Quilt Museum, Soul Stories Artist Reception
May 18-26 – Montpellier, France
July 29 – Aug 2 – Birmingham UK – Festival of Quilts


Visit eQuilter’s Instagram and Pinterest pages for Color and Design ideas.

See Luana’s Artist Blog, Flickr Photo Pages for travel images, comment on our blog, or follow us on Facebook.

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

Having just returned from the Road to California quilt festival in Ontario California, I’d like to share this amazing dimensional piece of fiber art by Lys Axelson, who won the Outstanding Artistry award.

I spoke to Lys on the phone yesterday, to congratulate her, and learn more about how she made her Sahara Lion. I was fascinated by the layered dimensional strands of the lion’s mane. You can see detail shots in the RD2CA photo album here.

Dimensions: 94″ W x 60″ L

Techniques & Materials: Couching of yarn and perle cotton throughout. Decorative stitching and free motion quilting. Hand beading, hand embroidery (eyes). Hand applique. Donated fabrics, some new African fabrics. Heavy stabilizer for some mane pieces. (Pellon Fuse-N-Shape.) Scrap batting.

Artist Statement:
The Sahara lion is a subspecies of the now extinct Barbary lion, known for its magnificent dark mane. It is unlike the robust lions of the Serengeti Plains and other sub-African habitats with their large prides, lounging in the shade, watching over herds of prey. The Sahara lion is lithe and handsome and adapted to the desert, where prey and water are scarce. Those still existing in the Southern Sahara are threatened by hunting and habitat loss.

Lys works on 4 different domestic BERNINA machines – using a different machine for different techniques. She used her B475, B750, and vintage machines 830 Record, and 1000 Designer, to make this mind-boggling piece.

If you are in the SAQA Europe/Middle East regional group, please note that I am giving a lecture on International Quilt Trends (via Zoom) next Monday Feb 2!

Sharing your passion for fabric…
Luana & Paul

* Photo taken by Luana at the Road2California show. Fabrics framing the quilt image are in stock now at eQuilter.com

Subscribe to my artist website and blog!
www.luanarubin.com

Travel/Lecture Dates:
Feb 2 – SAQA Europe/Middle East – Zoom Lecture
Feb 18-21 – QuiltCon – Raleigh NC
Apr 26 – May 1 – Alegre Retreat, Gateway CO
May 16 – New England Quilt Museum, Soul Stories Artist Reception
May 18-26 – Montpellier, France

Visit eQuilter’s Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok pages for Color and Design ideas.

See Luana’s Flickr Photo Pages for travel images, comment on our blog, or follow us on Facebook.

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.