Celebrating Beauty

Posted on May 31, 2023 by Luana

This last weekend I was in Ohio at the opening reception for Quilt National at the Dairy Barn Arts Center. It was so wonderful to see so many artists/friends after the pandemic years. We recorded my talk on Art and Activism, and that video will be available later this week. We will also have the show catalog soon. Contact Customer Service if you are interested in a copy!

Memorial Day is considered the start of the Summer season here. This is my favorite time of year in Colorado, when the foothills are green from the Spring rains, and the peaks are still white with snow. On my way to work each day (my 1 mile commute) I appreciate the view and am grateful to be able to live in a place of such natural beauty.

Sometimes the world around us is not so beautiful, but we can learn to look for beauty in everyone we meet, and in everything we see. Some quilt artists literally focus on capturing and expressing inner and outer beauty, and Galla Grotto is one of those artists. You may recall her Mother Earth quilt which was in the exhibit I curated – “For the Love of Gaia”. It reminds me of a Russian Madonna icon painting. Which is not surprising because…she is Russian. I met her and first saw her Mother Earth quilt at Quilt Canada in 2017.

Galla fled Russia for her artistic freedom, and ended up in Ukraine, but then she had to leave again for similar reasons. She ended up in France, and that is how I finally met up with her again, at the quilt festival last month in Nantes. When the war started, she had to help evacuate her daughter from Ukraine. She has certainly seen a lot of ugliness in her life.

However Galla is known for her beautiful stylized portraits of women. You can see one of them in the image above, set in a collage of eQuilter fabrics. I am uploading images of her gallery in Nantes for you to enjoy. (You will see one image of her Mother Earth, and my Stardust Mothers, hanging side by side in this show.) The good news is that she will also have a gallery at the Quilt Festival in Houston this Fall!

Galla is hand-carrying her exhibit to Houston 2 weeks before the show, and she is looking for teaching opportunities in the US while she is waiting those 2 weeks in October. She is very well known as a teacher and artist in Europe, but she is just being introduced to the US this Fall. Would your guild possibly be able to host her for a workshop? If so please send us an email so we can connect you. (She would need a translator from French, Russian or Ukrainian.)

Thank you for supporting our family-owned business.

Sharing your love of fabric…and color…
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.

Travel/Quilt Calendar:
June 6-11 – Quilt Canada – Halifax, Nova Scotia
July 4-12 – Helsinki & Savonlinna, Finland
August 18-24 – Bear Camp in Alaska (via Homer)
Sept 28-30 – AQSG Seminar – Louisville, KY

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Free Quilt Pattern – Call of the Wild Winter Wolf

Posted on May 29, 2023 by Luana

Savvy quilters know that Summer is the time to get started on holiday gifts, and
our exclusive eQuilter Wolf Patterns are one of our most popular project categories for gifting. Wolves live in tight family units – the wolf pack represents a beautiful combination of loyalty and freedom. The wolf is highly intelligent and represents a deep connection to instincts and intuition. Does this remind you of someone?

To make this 61″ x 74″ quilt design, you will start with the intensely intimate Wolf portrait in a 30″ x 44″ digital printed Hoffman panel. Use a gray stone texture and 2 Hoffman Hand-Dyes to create the top and bottom panel representing the wolf tracks of the pack. Finish the border with these same 3 tonal fabrics.

If you have not played around with the eQuilter Free Pattern Designer, we invite you to get started with this particular design. There are so many color options – for instance by adding Red this could become a unique Quilt of Valor project. (See link below to customize.)

…from the ‘Call Of The Wild’ collection by Hoffman 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).

Don’t miss the ‘Bijoux Kitty‘ and ‘Golden Pals‘ quilt patterns!

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.

Luana and Paul Rubin

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Free Quilt Pattern – Winged Glory

Posted on May 28, 2023 by Luana

Nothing beats the thrill of seeing a Bald Eagle in the wild, a symbol of freedom as the American National Bird. The American Bald Eagle is an Endangered Species comeback story, and to many of us it also represents not only patriotism, but also our commitment to save those species who are still on the brink.

This week’s Memorial Day Free Quilt Pattern features Northcott’s Glory triptych panel with majestic eagles soaring over rocky mountain peaks. The superimposed American Flag makes this panel a Patriotic treasures.

To make this 69″ x 55″ quilt design, you will piece coordinating cloud borders around the central 30″ x 44″ panel, then miter the fabulous eagle and mountain stripe, and finish with a Stonehenge Gradations Mystic outer border.

…from the ‘Winged Glory’ collection by Rick Kelley for Northcott 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).

Don’t miss the ‘Bijoux Kitty‘ and ‘Golden Pals‘ quilt patterns!

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.

Luana and Paul Rubin

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Memorial Day at Quilt National

Posted on May 27, 2023 by Luana

Hello from Athens Ohio, where Quilt National has just opened up at the Dairy Arts Center. This prestigious and very competitive art quilt exhibit never fails to impress and delight. I can see all the pent-up creativity from the pandemic, being expressed in this group of stunning quilts. eQuilter is a sponsor, and this afternoon I gave a talk on “Art and Activism” as a fundraiser for the organization. We recorded the talk so if we were successful, I’ll have a link to the talk available for all of you in about a week.

I know 2 of the 3 jurors this year – Irene Roderick and Dr Carolyn Mazloomi. I got to chat with Irene over lunch today which was great because we know of each other, and we know all the same people, but we’ve never been able to sit down and visit. I said “Irene, It seems like you came out of nowhere, but I know that can’t be true … what’s your story?” She laughed and said it was indeed true – she started quilting in 2016! She was encouraged by Kathy York to enter her work in shows. She not only was juried in – she won awards! We carry Irene’s book and it is one of my favorites.

Mary Mattimoe won Best of Show here, with her quilt “Not Enough Time” which is about the loss of 2 co-workers to gun violence. She came and spoke to me last night at the Artist Dinner, and said she is a longtime eQuilter customer! Please Note: We will be carrying the Quilt National catalog book as soon as possible – in the next month but hopefully sooner!

We hope you are having a relaxing Memorial Day weekend. We pause to remember those we have lost, not only veterans, but also those we have lost over the pandemic, and I am also thinking of those lost in the Ukraine war. It gives me comfort to know that through the eQuilter charity program, we are sending money to help those affected by the war. Mission of Love has been sending containers with food, medical supplies and your donated quilts to Poland. In collaboration with local authorities, emergency teams from Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) are at the scene of the missile attacks in Ukraine, providing medical consultations, psychological first aid, and essential relief items to those affected.

I’ve been in contact with Diane Bonnet in Uvalde this last week (the one year anniversary of the school shooting) and they have received thousands of quilts for the community. For those of you who sent

I’ve been in contact with Diane Bonnet in Uvalde this last week (the one year anniversary of the school shooting) and they have received thousands of quilts for the community. For those of you who sent quilts, she sends her deepest gratitude.

Together we remember those lost, and we take action on their behalf, and to honor their memory.
We wish you a peaceful and creative holiday weekend.

sharing your love for 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, comment on our blog, or follow us on Facebook.

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

Travel/Quilt Calendar:
June 6-11 – Quilt Canada – Halifax, Nova Scotia
July 4-12 – Helsinki & Savonlinna, Finland
August 18-24 – Bear Camp – Homer Alaska
Sept 28-30 – AQSG Seminar – Louisville, KY

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Free Quilt Pattern – Bijoux Kitty

Posted on May 26, 2023 by Luana

This luminous tabby cat is the center of attention for this week’s exclusive Free Quilt Pattern, in glowing gemstone hues of turquoise, amethyst and sapphire…..with jewel-like accents of rich gold metallic.

To make this 48″ x 66″ quilt design, you will start with the screen-printed 24″ x 44″ central cat portrait. We’ve added 3 collection coordinate blenders and a Hoffman Hand-dye to create the diamond border, and a matching stripe for the binding.

“Bijoux” means jewels or jewelery in French.
What is your pet name for your precious kitty?

…from the ‘Bijoux’ collection by Chong-A Hwang for Timeless Treasures.

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).

Don’t miss the ‘Out of This World‘ and ‘Golden Pals‘ quilt patterns!

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.

Luana and Paul Rubin

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Free Quilt Pattern – Golden Pals

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Luana

If you’ve been lucky enough to know a Golden in your lifetime…you know.

This exclusive Free Quilt Pattern is for all of our fellow Golden-Lovers whose hearts have been captured by this loyal, loving, goofy breed of dogs. They are just pure love, pure joy, pure fun.

To make this 68″ x 60″ quilt design you will start with this incredibly detailed realistic portrait of 2 Golden Retrievers, who are undoubtedly giving an attentive loving gaze to their Human. (A 36″ x 44″ digital-printed panel.)

You will fussy cut a multi-breed allover dog print for the corner blocks, then use 3 Hoffman Hand-Dyes to create the clever ‘Dog Bone’ borders. This makes a great gift for someone who adores, or remembers, a great Golden.

…from the ‘Charming Animals’ collection by Four Seasons for David Textiles.

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).

Don’t miss the ‘Out of This World‘ and ‘Star Wars Mandalorian & Grogu‘ quilt patterns!

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.

Luana and Paul Rubin

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A Celebration of Color

Posted on May 20, 2023 by Luana

We are excited to announce the winners of the “Celebration of Color” contest and exhibit, which you can see at the Long Beach Quilt Festival July 6-8. and again at the Houston Quilt Festival in late October.

eQuilter is once again the sponsor for this brilliant exhibit, and we’d like to congratulate the winners, who were announced this week:

Best of Show: Cole Whitaker
First Place – Art: Betty Busby
First Place – Modern: Jodi Murphy & Teresa Silva
First Place – Traditional: Sharon Engel

While in the Netherlands I traveled out to the warehouse for our Dutch Wax Print supplier, and HAND-PICKED another batch of these fabulous designs which are produced for the West African market. The shipment came in this week and I urge you to take a look now. This company does not reprint so the products come and go quickly.

Next weekend I will be at the opening of Quilt National, at the Dairy Barn in Athens Ohio. This prestigious textile art exhibit is a bi-annual event, and one of the most competitive exhibits for art quilts. I will be giving a power point lecture on “Art and Activism” at 3:30 pm Saturday, which is followed by a SAQA Member reception at 4:30 pm. I hope to see many of you there. Tickets are on sale on the Dairy Barn site, and will benefit the arts center.

We did get some sad news this week about the Art Quilt Quarterly. There will be 2 more issues and then they will cease to publish. We do try to carry back issues so now is the time to collect copies of this fine publication. We will certainly miss this beautiful quarterly magazine.

sharing your love for 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, comment on our blog, or follow us on Facebook.

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

Travel/Quilt Calendar:
May 27 – Dairy Barn, Athens OH – Quilt National – Art & Activism Lecture
June 6-11 – Quilt Canada – Halifax, Nova Scotia
July 4-12 – Helsinki & Savonlinna, Finland
August 18-24 – Bear Camp – Homer Alaska
Sept 28-30 – AQSG Seminar – Louisville, KY

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Free Quilt Pattern – Morning Light

Posted on May 18, 2023 by Luana

Capture that sublime moment when the first rays of light begin to filter through the forest,
in this week’s exclusive Free Quilt Pattern. This delicate artwork uses alcohol ink and has a distinctive atmospheric vibe, and soothing cool colors.

To make this 55″ x 71″ quilt design, you will start with the central landscape which is cut from a large scale forest image on running yardage. We’ve combined 2 absolutely gorgeous abstract blenders, with 2 leaf prints, and a Hoffman Hand-Dye, to complete this meditative forest scene quilt design.

…from the ‘Morning Light’ collection by Deborah Edwards and Melanie Samra for Northcott 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).

Don’t miss the ‘Queen of Halloween‘ and ‘Art Journal‘ quilt patterns!

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.

Luana and Paul Rubin

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Dutch Inspirations

Posted on May 17, 2023 by Luana

This week I bring you more inspirations from my recent trip. The first part of my trip was to the quilt festival in Nantes France, which had a theme of The Netherlands. There were Dutch quilts, Dutch quilters, and a Dutch-themed quilt contest. (I was one of the jurors)

One of the charming quilts in the Dutch quilter gallery, was a Baltimore Album type quilt, but each block had a Dutch theme. This quilt was made by Jacqueline Neeft and the title was “Dutch Baltimore“. (bottom left image)

It had famous Dutch motifs such as Tulips, Windmills, Vermeer’s “Girl with the Pearl Earring”, Amsterdam row houses, and this famous Swan painting by Jan Asselijn. (top right) This is a famous historic and patriotic painting, and it hangs in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam in the Gallery of Honor with the Rembrandt paintings. I photographed the painting during my day at the museum, which included viewing the temporary (sold out) Vermeer exhibit. What a day!

I also photographed this windmill (bottom right) in the little town of Nuenen. This town is about 90 minutes outside of Amsterdam, and is famous because Van Gogh and his parents lived here for a time. You can still see the little church where his father was a minister, the brick house where they lived, and the shed out back which was Vincent’s studio during those youthful years. This was where he painted what is considered his first masterpiece – The Potato Eaters – depicting the peasants of the rural area. It is now home to a Van Gogh Village Museum, across the street from the vicarage.

Watch for more travel and quilt photos this week on my photo pages. Both video interviews with Paula Nadelstern are now uploaded to our video pages. Enjoy!

As always, we thank you for supporting our family-owned business.

Sharing your love of fabric…and color…
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.

Travel/Quilt Calendar:
May 27 – Dairy Barn, Athens OH – Quilt National – Art & Activism Lecture
June 6-11 – Quilt Canada – Halifax, Nova Scotia
July 4-12 – Helsinki & Savonlinna, Finland
August 18-24 – Bear Camp in Alaska
Sept 28-30 – AQSG Seminar – Louisville, KY

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Free Quilt Pattern – Out of This World

Posted on May 16, 2023 by Luana

Whirling balls of gas and matter sizzle with movement and color, in this week’s exclusive Free Quilt Pattern from eQuilter. Astronomers and Sci-Fi fans will get a kick out of this eye-popping quilt, with bright hues set off by the black background of space.

To make this 54″ x 54″ quilt design, you will start with the central 24″ x 44″ fantasy Solar System panel. Then fussy cut planets for corner blocks and diamond set-in blocks for side panels. Finish with space-themed coordinates from the collection.

…from the ‘Out Of This World’ collection by Chong-A Hwang for Timeless Treasures.

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).

Don’t miss the ‘Queen of Halloween‘ and ‘Art Journal‘ quilt patterns!

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.

Luana and Paul Rubin

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