Enter the Magical Treasure Box of Laurel Burch’s Jungle, in this week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern. Jewel tones and Gold Metallic are set against a velvety Solid Kona Black to create a dramatic effect.
To make this 52″ x 61″ quilt design, you will start with the 24″ x 44″ central panel, which is screen-printed with opulent Gold Metallic. Fussy cut coordinates to create the diamond corner blocks and the border lozenge shapes, and set with the Solid Black. Finish with a jungle print, and a stripe binding.
This quilt design has a big “WOW!” factor…the brilliant hues and lush metallic details are even more gorgeous in person! Whether you hang it on a wall or use it as a Lap/Crib quilt, Laurel’s joyful artwork will fill the room with sunshine and smiles.
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.
Friday night I was delighted to attend the opening reception of the Biennial Men’s Exhibit at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum (RMQM) in Golden. I had to go back on Monday to photograph the show, because the party was so crowded! (See my blog from Saturday)
When I reviewed my photos, this quilt stood out. The lighting in the museum really showed off the stitching in this marvelous improvisational curve-pieced abstract design, by Carl Brown.
Carl has been sewing and quilting for 5 years, and managed to get this beautiful quilt into this juried show, despite being a relative newbie. He named this piece “To Paradise” – perhaps he is inspired by his residence in Palm Springs. It has that vibe, right? We also give credit to Becky McCoy who machine quilted this beautiful piece!
The artist says: “This fiber art started with one curved piece and grew into a quilt with planets, water, plants, mountains and rays of light and dark depict what the entrance of paradise might look like. This was my first attempt at improvisational piecing where I allowed the art to simply emerge and colors truly rule!”
Bravo Mr. Brown. We expect to see more of your work in the coming months and years.
The Men’s Exhibit, and Christine Copenhaver’s Necktie Quilts, are on exhibit at RMQM through April 20. If you live near Golden, or are passing through, I urge you to stop in and enjoy these 2 new exhibits!
Travel/Quilt Dates: Jan 26 – SAQA NOCO Tour at eQuilter 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
Over the years we’ve carried several collections that feature Paris and the Eiffel Tower. This is one of our favorites… capturing that Joie de Vivre and special romantic ambiance that one can only experience in the iconic City of Light. The focus panel is full of lush floral hues and depicts landmarks like the Arc de Triomphe and Notre Dame.
To make this 54″ x 60″ quilt design, you will start with the 36″ x 44″ scenic panel. For the pieced border, fussy-cut 2 coordinate prints, and set on point in a White-on-White butterfly print. The inner sashing and outer border use a bi-color Hoffman Hand-Dye, and we’ve used a starry night print for the binding finish.
This exclusive quilt design is so yummy, you’ll want to eat it with a big spoon! Whether you are remembering a beautiful visit to France, or anticipating a future Parisien trip, the Francophile in you will love this dreamy French fantasy.
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 our sub-zero storm in the rearview mirror, I got out for a couple fun activities in the last 24 hours. Friday night was the opening reception of the Men’s Quilt exhibit at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden. I was the juror for this show about 7 years ago (not exactly sure – the pandemic has wrecked my sense of time) and it is a delight to come back to see old and new artists alike. It is so great to go to a room full of male quilt artists, and match the sartorial style and stylized facial hair with the piece hanging on the wall. Our Colorado-based male quilter celebrity Ricky Tims was in attendance (fellow Bernina Ambassador) and as a sponsor, they let me say a few words to the crowd. It was a splendid evening full of smiles and hugs. Maybe a couple mustache tickles on the cheek. Bravo to the boys!
Today I went to a local farm to take a class on planting seeds for pollinators. I’ve been paying attention to this issue about pollinators being wiped out by pesticides and herbicides. It is not just bees and butterflies that are being lost, but also birds! Did you know it takes 6000 to 9000 caterpillars to raise one nest of chickadee hatchlings, for instance? Did you know that seeds sold by commercial nurseries are coated in pesticides, that spread into the plant and can kill the visiting pollinators? So I wanted to learn about chemical-free seeds & native plants for migrating and local pollinators.
My last quilt was made for an exhibit about Endangered Pollinators, in the Boulder Library Canyon Library. It just came home from the Animalia show at the New England Quilt Museum.
Well, by the time I left the farm, I had discussed not only our honeybee and bird and fruit and vegetable fabrics with the farmer’s wife/partner, but had stepped into their steamy mushroom incubating pods, tasted their honey, patted their massive ginger cat (invited them to join my Fabriholic Kitty Club on Facebook), and joined their weekly Mushroom Club!
I am sure you have noticed that we carry a wide variety of categories, with thousands of themes and motifs. I tell people, basically we sell art on fabric. I know that you have a variety of interests, as I do. My parade of creative passions, including gardening, baking, travel, pets, wildlife, astronomy, sci-fi/fantasy, books, having tea/coffee with friends, museums, costumes, and kids in music and soccer…..have led to this huge collection of novelty fabrics that hopefully will supply designs for any quilt ideas you all can dream up!
But like Ms. Farmer and other crafty makers, you may also be making hot rice packs, aprons, curtains, children’s clothing, or funky Aloha shirts with our crazy inspiring collections of Art-on-Fabric. We know that whatever you are sewing and making, you will smile when you unwrap your next package from eQuilter.
sharing your love for fabric, Luana and Paul
Travel/Quilt Dates: Jan 26 – SAQA NOCO eQuilter Tour 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 exciting quilt captures that breathtaking moment when the hatchlings emerge from their shells, dig up through the sand, and race to the water’s edge to start their aquatic life.
To make this 54″ x 65″ exclusive quilt design, you will start with the horizontal scenic 24″ x 44″ panel. Then cut up a second block panel to create the top and bottom sections, piecing together with a Sandy Beach blender print. Finish with a framing border of Seagulls in the sky, and an Ocean Blue swirling tonal binding.
Choose Ocean Conservancy as your 2% donation when you check out!
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.
Wow, that was quite a cold snap! This morning was -19 F and the weatherman says it will be a balmy 45 F tomorrow. We hope the storm has passed you by, without any frozen pipes or slips on the ice. Our 6 month old puppy is now 54 lbs and I have to be careful she doesn’t pull me off my feet when it snows. She just chewed up the carved clawfoot leg of my Victorian-repro couch in my office while I was upstairs brushing my teeth, and so is currently canine-non-grata. Good thing she is so cute….
Today was a day of beginnings and endings, balancing each other but still bittersweet. I was happy to learn that I’ve been accepted into the SAQA JAM program. (Juried Art Members) However we just received the very last issue of SAQA’s Art Quilt Quarterly which is deeply saddening to me. I have to thank Martha Sielman and Sandra Sider, and everyone else who has worked to publish this beautiful magazine. We have the current/final issue online now, plus a few back issues. If you are a SAQA member (Studio Art Quilt Associates) you will still receive the wonderful member publication.
These frigid months are a good time to stay indoors to sew, but many of us also take the start of the year to reorganize our work space. My studio has been in disarray for the last week, as I put together a flannel-covered 8′ x 8′ design wall. It is ready to be mounted on the wall tomorrow, after much reconfiguring and stash purging. As I went through boxes of fabrics, I found fabrics from the turn of the century (!) – back when we were all scrambling to get our hands on “2000” New Year collectible designs. Everything else in that box was a trip down memory lane. Wow, that last 24 years went by fast! In fact, our eQuilter 25 year anniversary is coming up in March. How did that happen?!?
During my years in the garment industry, when I lived in New York’s East Village and worked on Seventh Avenue, I visited some pretty amazing workspaces of designers who had been collecting fabrics for 50 years. They were cramped rooms with tall ceilings, and rolls of fabrics stacked up to the ceiling, under every table, and boxes of buttons and trims and every notion imaginable spilling out of drawers and cubby spaces. I loved to just go and sit quietly, soaking in the history and all the cutting/draping/stitching that took place in each of those rooms. I also soaked up that deep love of textiles in those design rooms, and I feel so lucky to have had a career where I can indulge in that passion, and share it with others.
Lately I’ve been viewing images of beautiful flowers and lush gardens, before I go to bed. That way when I close my eyes, I see those floral images…and I imagine walking along fragrant pathways as I fall asleep. The image above is a combination of a floral double border, and a lemon tree panel…with some solid yellow, blue and white…makes a lovely imaginary view of a garden through a picture window. Dream on!
Travel/Quilt Dates: Jan 26 – SAQA NOCO Tour at eQuilter 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
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This refreshing outdoor scene with beautiful Paint and Bay horses in a lush pasture, reminds us of Colorado horse country, but could be just about anywhere. Long grasses tickle the tummies of this happy herd…with wildflowers, shade trees and a lake in the distance.
To make this 63″ x 67″ quilt design, you will start with the 24″ x 44″ central panel with 5 large block vignettes. Extend the windowpane effect with Kona Black Solid sashing, and an allover galloping horse print. Then finish the border with a Southwest geometric stripe and a Hoffman Hand-Dye binding.
This would make a great wall hanging in a tack room or barn office, or a sweet gift for a horse vet. As a Nap/Lap quilt it is comforting to snuggle up with the herd, when you can’t be out in the saddle.
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.
While much of the country is locked in a snowy deep-freeze, people like you and me are happily stitching/quilting/making with a cuppa something hot, staying safe at home. They don’t call this the Sewing Season for nothing!
This weekend I am putting together a large design wall, covered with flannel backing. I am back in my studio, prepping for some larger works. This year I am challenging myself to work in bigger dimensions. So far I’ve been making 40″ x 60″ pieces with my Bernina Q20 and B790, but my imagination is expanding. I have a list of 4 quilts I am making for 4 projects/exhibits. You can follow me on my artist page and sign up for my blog at luanarubin.com if you are interested. Of course, I get all my supplies at eQuilter….except for the insulation board and Gorilla Tape…ha.
If you are just now getting back to your sewing machine, be sure to review the manual’s instructions for cleaning and oiling your machine’s inner workings. Some of you may have more than one machine that need an annual tuneup and cleaning from your local dealer. If your local dealer is backed up with machine repairs and you can’t afford to be without a machine for more than a week, sometimes you can find a local machine tech who makes house calls and can take care of all of your machines in one visit. Serious quilters usually have more than one machine, because Murphy’s Law is sure to spring into action if you only have one machine and you are on a deadline. I learned that lesson long ago! As your quilting progresses from intermediate to advanced, and you upgrade to a better machine, don’t trade in your previous machine if it is the only other machine in-house. Keep it as a backup. Trust me – you will thank me for this!
Our 6 month old puppy is now over 50 lbs, and early this morning was her first experience with sub-zero weather. It was not a good experience. I think we’ll have to get her some snow booties for her tender little paws.
sharing your love for fabric, Luana and Paul
Travel/Quilt Dates: Jan 26 – SAQA NOCO eQuilter Tour 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
Our exclusive Free Pattern tonight is some of the most gorgeous wildlife artwork we have ever seen – with evocative Owl portraits and luminous forest backdrops with a mysterious ambiance.
To make this large 79″ x 88″ bed quilt, you will start with the central 36″ x 44″ panel with 4 large Owl blocks. Use the second 35″ x 44″ panel with smaller blocks to create the inner border featuring Owl vignettes, using Kona Solid Black for sashing. Fussy cut the corner blocks, and piece the rest of the border with Kona Solid Black and the coordinating Owl Stripe.
Owls have always had a magical reputation, even before Harry Potter books and films. As a Medicine Animal, they represent Wisdom, Independence, Intelligence, Protection, and Patience. They have super clear vision in the dark, and urge us to trust our instincts. Sleeping under this Owl quilt may bring dreams that bestow their clear-eyed insight. Sweet Dreams!
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.
For those of you who like to plan ahead, Mardi Gras is Tuesday Feb 13. Of course the celebration starts a week or two beforehand, depending on which country is hosting your choice of celebrations. I have only been to New Orleans off-season, and also in Venice during Carnivale. Both are a riot of color, fabric, costume, and posing for photos. The whole point is that it is a big long excuse for a party, for people who don’t seem to need an excuse. If you are a costume maker, it is the finish line for your busiest season.
In New Orleans I visited the Mardi Gras Museum which is where they store and also create the floats and characters for the annual festivities. It was fascinating to see how their artisans carved into gargantuan columns of styrofoam to create the stylized float figures, then painted them in brilliant hues. During the 2 weeks of Carnivale in Venezia, it is probably best to visit on the ‘off’ week so you are fighting moderate crowds rather than ridicuous crushing mobs of people, which can be scary. (Speaking of Venice, we have just received this luscious new “Murano” collection by Odile Bailloeul.)
I knew from a photographer friend who lived on Lido Island just off Venice, that people come from all over Europe, and the world, to dress in costume, promenade, and attend private costume balls with high-priced elusive tickets….held in in golden historic palazzos. As a photographer, it is an adventure. I wandered through mist-shrouded ancient alleyways, only to turn a corner to find a masked figure in 18th century garb swishing by in a rustle of satin, feathers and sequins. There is a lot of silk jacquard, lace and velvet involved. The elaborate bejeweled masks are often the highlight of the ensemble.
I did spend a month in Brazil in 1987, buying gemstones for my NYC jewelry store/gallery at the time. Sadly it was not during Carnival, but there were scintillating hints of the carnival costumes and samba music during my time in Rio.
This year we happen to have a great selection of Mardi Gras fabrics in stock. If you are a Carnival aficionado, or have fond memories of a New Orleans party, you might want to acquire some of these because they are seasonal collector items. Mardi Gras and Carnivale culminate on Fat Tuesday, from Vegas to Trinidad, and once you’ve experienced the costumes and music you will never forget that Samba Beat.
Laissez les bons temps rouler! (Let the good times roll)
Travel/Quilt Dates: Jan 26 – SAQA NOCO Tour at eQuilter Feb 21-24, 2024 – QuiltCon in Raleigh, NC – eQuilter is a GOLD Sponsor. March 6 – Canadian Quilters Association – Zoom Lecture “Intl Quilt Trends”
