Tonight’s Free eQuilter Pattern combines our dragon & dragon egg prints with our bold Steampunk Dragon panel. Our Steampunk and Dragon fabrics are wildly popular, and this exclusive design combines both themes into one fabulous Steampunk Dragon Quilt!
To make this magnificent 75″ x 75″ design, you’ll begin with the dramatic 43″ x 44″ panel, and then add the coordinating dragon stripes, Hoffman ocean blue hand dye and solid black to display a fierce dragon empire!
This breathtaking quilt design will have a commanding presence as a wall hanging, or make it into a Lap quilt for an escape into fantasy flying dreams on the back of your own fiery dragon!
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.
Many of you know that I lost my mother last November. For those of you who are currently caretakers, I will share a story. During that last difficult year, I had a dream of going on a painting retreat to Italy. My mother always supported my artistic passions, so when I got an email from my friend Elizabeth a week after Mom left us, saying she had one spot that had opened up in her Tuscan painting retreat, I knew that was Mom bringing me a blessing. I had a modest amount of money that came to me, and that is how I decided to give myself this self-care trip.
So now the time has come. I am on a flight to Rome this evening, and will spend next week painting in Tuscany. Then I will meet up with my friend who recently retired as the curator of the art gallery at the US Embassy in Rome…and we will have a 3-day girlfriend retreat. I am taking my Nikon of course, and will be sharing creative inspiration on my personal Facebook page, and later edited photos on my photo pages. I’ll be practicing my Italian for the Textile & Costume Tour I am hosting in early December. (We have ONE spot left so if you’d like to join us, snap it up now!)
I am in between finishing one big art quilt, and starting a new one when I get back. Exhausted by the state of the world and the election, I am going to unplug and immerse myself in sunshine, flowers, and art. (Maybe some wine and cheese too….) This afternoon I am dashing over to a local nursery to photograph their annual Dahlia Show, before heading to the airport.
Looking forward to sharing my inspirations with all of you!
sharing your love for fabric, Luana and Paul
Travel/Quilt Dates: Sept 15-25 – Painting Retreat – Tuscany 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
I am back from Tarrytown NY, where I was attending the American Quilt Study Group Seminar. As AQSG president Nancy Bavor noted, this is a little out of my usual oeuvre, but nevertheless I enjoyed hanging out with some of the most serious quilt history nerds on the planet. And I learned what is Linsey Woolsey! I thought I knew a lot about textile history and production, but there is always something new to learn. And…I learned from a historian named Rabbit Goody.
This delightful vintage confection (above) is a 19th century quilt from New York state, part of a collection that was presented by Sharon Waddell at this event. The applique reminds us of the fine handwork that we see in contemporary Japanese quilts. I took this photo as I ran through her exhibit, and the next 2 times I tried to return the doors were locked, so I am sorry I was not able to photograph the information card next to the quilt. I tried.
Anyway, this event attracts museum curators, journalists and authors, historians and quilt celebrities. One of the talks I attended was about Jean Ray Laury, presented by Tara Miller. Many of you older quilters will remember Laury. She was born 9 years before my own mother. One of Laury’s most significant books was ‘The Creative Women’s Getting-It-All-Together at Home Handbook’ written in 1977. My mother could have used that book. When I was a young mother juggling babies and a new business, I could have used that book!
I met her near the end of her life, when she visited Boulder and was the guest of honor at a party here. She sat down next to me and said she had heard such good things about me and my business. I was so honored that she even knew who I was! She was so kind and encouraging, and had these fabulous big red glasses which I remember very clearly.
Laury’s theme was empowering women, and one of her most well-known quilts was “Barefoot and Pregnant” made in 1985. It was inspired by an ignorant quote by a male politician. You can imagine.
Jean Ray Laury was a prolific quilter, a feminist, and an instigator. She helped women realize that they could be creative without sacrificing their responsibilities at home. From what I know, she became more sassy as she aged. May we all live long and be so sassy.
Thank you for supporting our family-owned business, servicing quilters for 25 years. We are here for you!
Enter a vibrant garden of peacocks, flowers and feathers in this week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern, featuring an opulent central panel with finely printed imagery.
To make this 60″ x 67″ quilt design, you will start with the 36″ x 44″ panel, then add coordinating magnificent plumage blocks and kaleidoscopic stripe from the collection, plus Kona Solid Black. This quilt gives the impression of an opulent Jewel Box, with intricate detail and brilliant hues.
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.
I am writing to you from Tarrytown, New York tonight, while attending the AQSG Seminar (American Quilt Study Group).
This is the group of quilt history nerds who dig into the past with a combination of genealogy and textile sleuthing. My friends from the museum world are here, and I love to be the fly on the wall when they get excited about historic textile minutiae. This is my 2nd time at this event, but I learn something every time I attend. There are also many well-known personalities from the quilting industry here, so it is fun to connect and share quilt and textile information. It is a different end of the quilting spectrum for me, because I am mostly focused on contemporary quilt making, but I love the opportunity to learn new things from a different group of quilters!
Watch for my next email on Wednesday morning, with more details from this event.
sharing your love for fabric, Luana and Paul
Travel/Quilt Dates: Sept 4-8 – AQSG Seminar, Tarrytown NY Sept 15-25 – Painting Retreat 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
This Week’s Exclusive Free Quilt Pattern features Santa works his magic sewing a Christmas quilt to keep warm through the winter. To make this 60″ x 60″ quilt, you’ll start with our Exclusive Quilting Santa panel, add festive Christmas Stars on point, with wintry blue snowflakes in the corners.
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 week we have a new shipment with lots of Steampunk-themed prints, so I thought it would be fun to showcase these images of the Mechanical Elephant in Nantes France.
Last year in April I went to the quilt festival in Nantes – ‘Pour l’Amour du Fils‘. After the quiltfest, I visited Les Machines de l’Ile, and the mechanical creations who reside on this magical island of misfit steampunk assemblages. The star of the island is the mechanical elephant. It holds up to 50 people, and when everyone is onboard, it will take you for a rambling walk around the park. It is huge!
While at the Nantes quilt festival I met a Ukrainian quilt artist living in France. She was tending the SAQA booth when I met her. One year later, I saw her again in the Birmingham SAQA booth, and her quilt inspired by the mechanical elephant was in the gallery! We now have the companion book for the StitchPunk exhibit – in stock now.
Lena Meszaros made this cutout piece of fiber art named “The Mechanical Elephant”, after seeing the giant mechanized sculpture in Nantes. It was constructed from cotton and synthetic fabrics, leather, plastic, copper wires and metal foil. It was fused, appliqued, pieced, woven, embossed and freemotion quilted.
You can find details of Lena’s quilt, and others from the Birmingham quilt festival, on my photo pages.
Image above, clockwise from top left: Mechanical Elephant in Nantes, France Steampunk Elephant Panel – by Desiree’s Designs Lena Meszaros – “The Mechanical Elephant” Steampunk Mona Lisa – Rubin Design Studio
When you read this Wednesday I’ll be on my way to the airport, flying to Charlotte NC, then White Plains NY. I am attending the AQSG Seminar in Tarrytown NY this week. (American Quilt Study Group)
Tonight’s Free eQuilter Pattern features adorable baby animals dressed as wizards! These darling critters cast heavenly spells in multi-color frames.
To make this 60″ x 60″ quilt design, you’ll start with the main 36″ x 44″ block panel. Then combine two coordinates, a delicate white-on-white, and amethyst Hoffman hand dye to create the borders, strips & blocks.
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.
We hope you are having restful and creative long weekend, for those of you observing the Labor Day holiday on Monday. Our offices will be closed so our staff can also enjoy the holiday with their families. For many of us, it is an opportunity to catch up on our creative projects at home! I just finished a big quilt, and am writing an article this weekend. Next week I am traveling to Tarrytown in New York, to attend the AQSG Seminar. (American Quilt Study Group)
Also for those of you experimenting with transparency, layers and texture in your quilts…we have restocked tulle, cheesecloth and silk organza for you to play with in your textile art explorations.
Tonight’s Free eQuilter Pattern features Chong-A Hwang’s magical kitty, with captivating cascades of color and shadow. This adorable feline is embellished with mandalas and scrolls, with multi-color medallions on a black background.
To make this 50″ wide x 68″ high quilt design, you will start with the exquisite 24″ x 44″ digital-printed panel. We have used three coordinates to piece the borders and diamond blocks, combined with a Sea Breeze Hoffman Hand Dye.
As a wall hanging, this is a real conversation piece for the true Cat lover. Or use this as a Nap quilt or small bed coverlet for fantastical feline dreams. This just might be your cat’s favorite new quilt!
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.
