Free Quilt Pattern – Rainbow Animal Prism

Posted on February 1, 2024 by Luana

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.

Also we love the fun critters in this Animal Alphabet, including Butterfly, Dinosaur, Iguana, Jellyfish, Ladybug, Narwhal, Quokka, Unicorn, Whale and Yak!

…from the ‘Baby Animals’ collection by the Rubin Design Studio, designed exclusively for eQuilter.

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.

Click Here for a Video Tutorial of the Free Pattern Designer.
Download Instructions for the pattern at the bottom of the pattern designer page.

Sharing your passion for fabric and color,
Luana and Paul Rubin

Share Post:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
Posted in Creativity, Design, Free Quilt Patterns, Quilt Pattern | Comments Off on Free Quilt Pattern – Rainbow Animal Prism

Meow-Fest!

Posted on January 31, 2024 by Luana

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….

Sharing your love of fabric…
Luana and Paul

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

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

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

Subscribe to Luana’s Artist Website blog for more creative inspiration.

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

Share Post:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
Posted in Animals, Art, Creativity, Design, Pets, Trends | Comments Off on Meow-Fest!

Free Quilt Pattern – On The Beach

Posted on January 28, 2024 by Luana

Enjoy this peaceful view of Seashells on the sand, the ebb and flow of waves, with the horizon and sky beyond…..in today’s exclusive Free Quilt Pattern.

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.

…from the ‘Beach Comber’ collection by Timeless Treasures.

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.

Click Here for a Video Tutorial of the Free Pattern Designer.
Download Instructions for the pattern at the bottom of the pattern designer page.

Sharing your passion for fabric and color,
Luana and Paul Rubin

Share Post:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
Posted in Animals, Art, Free Quilt Patterns, Quilt Pattern | Comments Off on Free Quilt Pattern – On The Beach

It’s All Relative

Posted on January 27, 2024 by Luana

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

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.

Share Post:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
Posted in Activism, Art, Creativity, Design, Mentoring, Trends | Comments Off on It’s All Relative

Free Quilt Pattern – Earth Song

Posted on January 25, 2024 by Luana

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.

…from the ‘Earth Song’ collection by Laurel Burch for Clothworks.

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.

Click Here for a Video Tutorial of the Free Pattern Designer.
Download Instructions for the pattern at the bottom of the pattern designer page.

Sharing your passion for fabric and color,
Luana and Paul Rubin

Share Post:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
Posted in Animals, Art, Free Quilt Patterns, Quilt Pattern | Comments Off on Free Quilt Pattern – Earth Song

From Palm Springs to Paradise

Posted on January 24, 2024 by Luana

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!

Sharing your love of fabric…
Luana and Paul

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

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

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

Luana’s Art & Activism lecture is now online.

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

Share Post:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
Posted in Art, Creativity, Design, Museum, Quilts | Comments Off on From Palm Springs to Paradise

Free Quilt Pattern – We’ll Always Have Paris

Posted on January 21, 2024 by Luana

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.

…from the ‘We’ll Always Have Paris’ collection by Michael Miller Fabrics.

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.

Click Here for a Video Tutorial of the Free Pattern Designer.
Download Instructions for the pattern at the bottom of the pattern designer page.

Sharing your passion for fabric and color,
Luana and Paul Rubin

Share Post:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
Posted in Art, Creativity, Design, Free Quilt Patterns, Quilt Pattern, Travel | Comments Off on Free Quilt Pattern – We’ll Always Have Paris

Out and About

Posted on January 20, 2024 by Luana

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

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.

Share Post:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
Posted in Animals, Art, Classes, Creativity, Design, Quilts, Trends | Comments Off on Out and About

Free Quilt Pattern – Turtle March

Posted on January 18, 2024 by Luana

It’s the March of the Baby Turtles!

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!

…from the ‘Turtle March’ collection by Lisa Sparling for Henry Glass & Co.

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.

Click Here for a Video Tutorial of the Free Pattern Designer.
Download Instructions for the pattern at the bottom of the pattern designer page.

Sharing your passion for fabric and color,
Luana and Paul Rubin

Share Post:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
Posted in Animals, Art, Free Quilt Patterns, Quilt Pattern | Comments Off on Free Quilt Pattern – Turtle March

Dreaming in the Garden

Posted on January 17, 2024 by Luana

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!

Sharing your love of fabric…
Luana and Paul

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

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

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

Luana’s Art & Activism lecture is now online.

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

Share Post:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
Posted in Design | Comments Off on Dreaming in the Garden