This delightful Victorian Kitty gazes directly at you with golden eyes, and garlands of lush flowers on a silk top hat. This week’s exclusive Free Quilt Design is full of beautiful details and a cat with lots of personality! You will appreciate the fine brushwork and whisker minutiae in this captivating piece of feline portraiture.
To make this 61″ x 52″ quilt design, you will start with our own 35″ x 44″ digital panel. Use a bright floral ombre, and Kona Solid Black to piece the border. Finish with a Turquoise Hoffman Hand-Dye binding, picking up the colors in the panel.
This quilt is sure to be a conversation piece with your kitty-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.
For those of you celebrating the Lunar New Year (Chinese New Year) around the world, we wish you a happy and auspicious Year of the Wood Dragon! After living in Hong Kong in the 80s, and later adopting a baby girl from China, this has become a beloved holiday.
Yesterday my best friend from childhood had breast cancer surgery. As you probably know, that has been one of our charity choices for your 2% of sales, since we started the program. Both my mom and Paul’s mom were BC survivors, and over the years we’ve known so many who have fought this disease. The treatment and survival rate is better now than when our moms had their surgeries, chemo and radiation…but it is still something that affects our quilting community. We can only hope that over the last 24 years, the $335K that we’ve donated to breast cancer research (collectively, with your help) has led to the new treatments that will help our friends and family who might be diagnosed.
We had 2 tour groups of lovely ladies who make charity quilts this week. Every time I get together with quilters, it is so comforting to be with The Tribe where we are instantly all part of the same quilting family. My trip to QuiltCon is coming up fast, and I am looking forward to seeing many of you there, perhaps at the Award Ceremony Weds night?
Do you know somebody who needs a hug? Maybe you? Then check out my favorite fabric this week.
I am back in the studio and working on my biggest art quilt ever. Subscribe to my artist blog here, and you can follow along. It is called “Children of War”.
sharing your love for fabric, Luana and Paul
Travel/Quilt Dates: Feb 21-24, 2024 – QuiltCon in Raleigh, NC – eQuilter is a GOLD Sponsor. March 6 – Canadian Quilters Association – Zoom Lecture “Intl Quilt Trends” April 7-12 Allegre Retreat
To make this 59″ x 67″ quilt design, you will start with the wildly creative 36″ x 44″ central panel, featuring the glistening gearpunk Dragonfly, Hummingbird, Seahorse and Butterfly….each set on a Pocketwatch collage. Fussy cut the corner blocks, then construct the border with the Antique Key stripe and a Hoffman Turquoise Hand-Dye.
In the Retro-futurist world of Steampunk, cogs and compasses may have a pristine shimmer, or rust with a dark patina. Articulated prototype creatures with monacles inhabit layered telescoping gaskets and bellowing mechanisms. It is all part of the vaporous and often whimsical world of Steampunk!
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.
Chinese New Year has been a special holiday in our house for a long time – because our daughter was adopted from China – and I used to live in Hong Kong. Paul’s family lived in Hawaii and we often visited during Lunar New Year celebrations in Honolulu’s Chinatown. When Sophie Quinn was little, we made sure to take her to a CNY celebration each year, complete with Lion Dancers, Red Envelopes, and other festive traditions.
On February 10 the Year of the Dragon will be celebrated. It is considered a very auspicious year. The Chinese zodiac is a 12-year cycle that links each year to an animal sign. (Last year was the Year of the Rabbit.) There is also a 5 year cycle of elements – so this is the year of the Wood Dragon. In the year of the Wood Dragon, it is considered lucky to wear Golden-Yellow and Green. The Dragon represents prosperity, good luck and good fortune… in fact the Year of the Dragon is considered by some to be the luckiest zodiac sign. It symbolizes wisdom, power and strength.
When you are a kid, you receive Red Envelopes full of Lucky Money from your elders. When you are older, you are looking to slurp down some Changshou Mian (Longevity Noodles) to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Never ever cut up your Longevity Noodles because then you are at risk of cutting short the lifespan of the noodle-eater. That’s how the story goes….
Personally I have always been fascinated that dragon stories exist all around the world, from antiquity. Egypt, West & South Africa, Celtic, French and German Dragons, and forest dragons called Lindworms. Greek, Hungarian, Polish and Slavic Dragons…Arabian, Armenian, Mesopotamian, and Persian Dragons….Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and Tibetan Dragons….Polynesian and Aboriginal Dragons….Brazilian and Inca Dragons. So dragons have existed in the human mass consciousness for eons.
Did you know that Free Spirit designer Philip Jacobs recently found a 6-foot fossil skull of a pliosaur? It was featured in a David Attenborough documentary but Philip’s name was not mentioned until the credits at the end which is just terrible. If you see the documentary you will believe it is a Sea Dragon!
So did Dragons exist long ago? Ponder that question, while you ‘Gung Hei Fat Choi’ for a prosperous Lunar New Year this weekend!
Travel/Quilt Dates: Feb 21-24, 2024 – QuiltCon in Raleigh, NC – eQuilter is a GOLD Sponsor. March 6 – Canadian Quilters Association – Zoom Lecture “Intl Quilt Trends” April 7-12 – Allegre Retreat
We’ve captured the essence of Wild Horses in this exclusive Free Quilt Pattern, combining beautiful equine artwork from Dan Morris and Elise Genest. These finely detailed illustrations are full of evocative details, featuring the free spirit of galloping horses.
To make this 67″ x 67″ quilt design, you will start with the central 36″ x 44″ Stallion Song Block panel. Then cut up another panel with smaller horse vignettes to make the corner blocks. Use the galloping horse stripe to piece the borders, with a Slate texture blender.
This gorgeous artwork is a delight for a true horse lover, as a wall-hanging or Lap/Nap quilt. If you are a horse-owner this also might be the perfect gift for your vet, farrier or trainer!
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.
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, perhaps you are whipping up a crafty confection this week for the object of your affections. Sometimes an embellished stitched handmade card is most appreciated by a significant other. However, if you wish to drop a hint for *your* Valentine gift, there’s always eQuilter Gift Certificates, and we still have our seasonal Artisan Chocolates in stock.
We are finally having a proper Snow Day today. If it was a weekday, the kids would have had the school day off. It rained until noon, and now we are having a heavy wet snow, more like what we usually get in the Springtime. It is very disorienting because usually we get frigid temps and powder snow in February. The tree-snapping Spring snows are not supposed to happen now!
However our pup is very excited by the snow. She spent the whole afternoon at the back door, whining anxiously. “Mom, I want to go out and play in the snow!”
Hopefully you are staying warm and dry, deeply engaged in a creative project. This is quilting weather and the sewing season! I hope you saw last night’s Flash Sale email – our large cones of Aurifil 50 wt Rainbow Colors are 30-33% off through Sunday night 11:59 pm. It is a great deal for those of you who need to stock up for your machine quilting and longarm projects this year! You guys tend to buy mostly neutrals, but I am challenging you to try some new brilliant hues in your work this year.
If somebody told you long ago that you should stick to grey and beige in your quilting, maybe it is time to branch out. A great way to kick start your thread color collection is to buy a set of special hues, and then challenge yourself to design quilts that use these colors. When I am machine quilting a piece, I change my thread color every few minutes. And picking out new thread colors is like going to the candy store. One new snazzy thread color can inspire a whole new cycle of creativity!
Don’t forget to clean your machine and change your needle – you can stock up on machine needles here. You’ll thank me when that needle in your machine breaks. These days I am trying out titanium and teflon needles which work really well with fusibles. Make sure you get the right needle size to go with the right thread size. When you order Schmetz needles this month, we will include a FREE Schmetz Thread Booklet which is a handy info source when you’ve got your pedal to the medal on a sewing binge.
sharing your love for fabric, Luana and Paul
Travel/Quilt Dates: Feb 21-24, 2024 – QuiltCon in Raleigh, NC – eQuilter is a GOLD Sponsor. March 6 – Canadian Quilters Association – Zoom Lecture “Intl Quilt Trends” April 7-12 Allegre Retreat
This just might be the perfect quilt gift for the little person who is learning their animal names, color names, and alphabet letters. The contrasting colors are perfect for an infant. The sassy baby animals are playful and engaging, and they are matched up with bright letters of the alphabet.
To make this 73″ x 63″ quilt design, you will start with the 36″ x 44″ central panel. Then finish this Quick and Easy quilt with Kona Solid White, an allover animal/letter coordinate print, and the Rainbow Stripe. This quilt easily transitions from an educational play mat, to a youth bed quilt, as Baby grows into a Toddler and Pre-Schooler.
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.
It used to be that the QuiltCon magazine was not available until the show opened in late February. In case you are not familiar with QuiltCon – it is the annual conference and showcase for the Modern Quilt Guild. This year it is being held in Raleigh, North Carolina. As usual, eQuilter.com is a Gold sponsor, and we are delighted to support this festive event. I will be at the Award ceremony, and hope to see some of you eQuilter customers collecting ribbons on stage.
If you are a fan of QuiltCon, or curious about the Modern Quilt Guild, I urge you to pick up a copy of the 2024 show magazine….which we have in stock now! When you open up the first page, you will have a delightful surprise. (Hint – it has something to do with the image above.)
Tonight I am featuring a Meow-fest. We just got a shipment of our crazy-popular (exclusive) Cat Panels. We know that many of you have kitties at home who ‘help’ you with your quilting projects.
Cats are a necessity if you want to have your own home. I mean, there is no homeownership without Meow! (ho-meow-nership)
And if you want to enjoy your home here on Planet Earth, remember there is no Earth without Art! Or you could say….Earth without Art is just…Eh.
Ok those are a couple of groaners, but I hope you will enjoy our latest shipment of exclusive Kitty Panels, with a choice of themes and color palettes for all cat lovers.
Here at the Rubin house, we have 3 rescue kitties…a Tuxedo, a Snowshoe, and Bi-Color Tabby. They sleep in a furry purring pile of pussycat sass. The youngest one – our pandemic rescue – likes to taunt the puppy Rosie who is now almost 7 months old and about 55 lbs. She used to be the same size as the cats, but now she is ‘regular dog-size’ as Paul likes to say. What would we do without our furry helpers?
Anyway, you can see our love of cat fabrics comes from our love of cats! Just keep that Lint Roller handy when you are sewing….
Travel/Quilt Dates: Feb 21-24, 2024 – QuiltCon in Raleigh, NC – eQuilter is a GOLD Sponsor. March 6 – Canadian Quilters Association – Zoom Lecture “Intl Quilt Trends” April 7-12 – Allegre Retreat
To make this 50″ x 64″ quilt design, you will start with the 24″ x 44″ central panel, featuring a detailed foreground and an expansive view off into the distance. Then you will piece fluffy white clouds, and shells on the sand, with a pale misty blue Hoffman Hand-Dye, to create the border sections. Finish with a Lake Blue Hand-Dye for the binding.
This would make a beautiful wall hanging on a wall where you wish you had an ocean view, or a lovely Nap/Lap quilt for peaceful seaside dreams. Just turn on the sound of Ocean Waves and dream of a holiday by the beach.
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.
My condolences to the James family on the loss of their patriarch Bob James, who founded the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln Nebraska along with his wife Ardis. Our paths crossed more than once as sponsors of Quilt National, and I was fortunate to have a 3-hour lunch with Bob at ‘the club’ in NYC many years ago. We are all indebted to these 2 visionaries who have created such a valuable foundation for our quilting community. Bob and Ardis are together now…..no doubt wrapped in a comforting quilt.
Longtime Colorado quilters will have known Bobbie Aug, who we also lost in the last week. You could always spot her across a crowded room by her long flowing hair. She served three terms as President of our state guild CQC: in 1989, 2000 and 2001. She was a certified quilt appraiser, historian, speaker and author. Bobbie was a passionate quilter and a fellow Bernina ambassador. It is a loss for our community.
One thing I have found in the quilting world, is that there is always someone older than you, and younger than you. Seems that way, anyway. Just about the time I worry about hitting Medicare age, another quilter friend laughs and says I am just a spring chicken! The most important thing is stay young at heart, and keep making friends of all ages. For those younger quilters who felt unwelcome in quilt shops, and started their own Modern Quilt Guild, they have created a community that quilters of all ages want to join now! As you find younger friends with an interest in sewing and quilting, don’t waste any opportunity to teach and mentor. I am told it is harder to find beginner quilting classes in many communities these days, so we have to rely on quilt guilds, grandmas & aunties, friends and neighbors to teach the next generation to sew. It takes a village.
So age is all relative, and being a creative social person in the quilting tribe is what keeps so many of us joyful and productive. Long live the tribe!
Speaking of which, we had a lovely group of SAQA members come for a tour yesterday. Every one of them has that twinkle in their eye. I look forward to hangin’ with the tribe at QuiltCon next month!
sharing your love for fabric, Luana and Paul
Travel/Quilt Dates: Feb 21-24, 2024 – QuiltCon in Raleigh, NC – eQuilter is a GOLD Sponsor. March 6 – Canadian Quilters Association – Zoom Lecture “Intl Quilt Trends” April 7-12 Allegre Retreat
