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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Happy Mother’s Day!

Posted on May 13, 2023 by Luana

This is a special weekend – with graduations happening all over the country – and tomorrow we celebrate Mothers Day. Congratulations to all of the families celebrating a graduation this week!

If you need to drop a hint for a Mothers Day gift – our eQuilter Gift Certificates can be immediately emailed just in time for the holiday.

You can now view my long chatty interview with Paula Nadelstern Part 2.

Both Part 1 & 2 are now on this page. Part 1 (posted in April) is about Paula’s career as a quiltmaker and textile designer. Part 2 is a little more…gossipy. When we get together for dinner we have so many things to talk about, and then we thought…we should record this conversation! So we did. Enjoy!

As you know, Paul is my husband and business partner. Today is also our wedding anniversary. We’ve been married for 28 years, and eQuilter is 24 years old. Running this business together with all the ups and downs, has been the major part of our marriage so far. All 3 of our kids have been raised in the business. All 3 have worked here at some point in their young lives. Sophie Quinn has traveled with me to many quilt festivals so many of you have met her over the years. She is turning 21 next month! I know many of our longterm customers have followed her story since we adopted her in April 2003. Amazing how the years fly by, hmm?

Many of us are also caring for our own aging mothers, and that has become a big part of my life the last 10 years. My mother was a pianist, a real estate broker, and the president of the local chapter of ABWA – the American Business Womens Association. My mom accompanied me when I performed on my cello, and she introduced me to all of her business women friends in the 70s and 80s. Because of her, I was supported in my explorations of having a career in the arts. Because of her I could also see myself as a future business owner and entrepreneur. She took care of me, and now I am taking care of her.

For all of you who are caretakers, on top of everything else in your lives, I just want to acknowledge that Mothers Day has extra meaning for us. To you, I send a very heartfelt Mothers Day greeting.

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 8-10 – Quilt Canada – Halifax, Nova Scotia
August 18-24 – Bear Camp in Alaska

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Free Quilt Pattern – Fox Family Love

Posted on May 12, 2023 by Luana

Is the Fox your Medicine Animal?
Have you ever had foxes gamboling in your back yard?
Are you a fan of fox rescue videos with the laughing foxes?
We have a resident fox that trots through the back lot of our eQuilter warehouse, so we kind of consider the Fox as our mascot.

This week’s Free Quilt Pattern features our exclusive digital panel, capturing a tender moment between a Mama, Papa and baby fox. With a misty sunrise in the background, and dewdrops in the grassy foreground, there is a feeling of capturing that moment when the world begins to awake, and a birdsong is heard in the distance.

To make this 57″ x 57″ quilt design, you will start with the central 36″ x 44″ wildlife portrait panel. You will use 2 Hoffman Hand-Dyes and 2 digital fur prints to create the 4 Fox Paw corner blocks, and the coordinating border.

This exclusive pattern captures the sweet wonder and joy of a new baby, and would make a great gift for a new family!

…from the ‘Animal Wonder’ 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).

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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Sleeping Beauty Castle – Le Chateau d’Usse

Posted on May 10, 2023 by Luana

Last week I shared photos from my few days in Amsterdam, and posted photos for you on my photo pages. This week I am working on photos from the Nantes quilt festival, and my brief foray into the Loire River Valley from Nantes in France. I was able to tour some of the Loire Valley Chateaus for a couple days, and it was a treasure hunt of historic tapestries and other embroidery and textile delights. While I work on editing these photos this week, I wanted to share my day at the Sleeping Beauty Castle – Le Chateau d’Usse.

This castle was considered so beautiful and magical that it was the inspiration Charles Perrault took for his tale of Sleeping Beauty. (“La Belle au Bois Dormant”) The image above combines 2 photos from this chateau. The top is a landscape tapestry hanging inside (I was told it was original to the castle) and also below the lovely herd of cream-colored cows that walked out into a green meadow as I left the grounds. Between the tapestry and the pastoral scene, I could imagine how it might have looked in the 17th century. The castle was filled with 16th and 17th century tapestries from Brussels. In fact I saw many of these historic Belgian tapestries on this part of my trip, which were pointed out by the proud group of Belgians in my tour group.

Charles Perrault (1628-1703) was a leading intellectual and author of his time. Perrault could have not imagined that his reputation for future generations would rest on a slim book published in 1697 containing eight adapted stories, titled “Stories from Times Past – Tales of Mother Goose”. He did not publish under his own name but rather under the name of his son Pierre.

He did not invent these tales — even in his day these folktales were well known — but he gave them literary legitimacy. These stories included Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, Cinderella, Bluebeard, and others. The version collected and retold in German by the Brothers Grimm 100 years later were from Perrault.

Watch for my travel and quilt photos this week on my photo pages. I have a fantastic chatty interview (Part 2) with Paula Nadelstern that will also be uploaded to our video pages later this week. 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 8-10 – Quilt Canada – Halifax, Nova Scotia
August 18-24 – Bear Camp in Alaska

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Free Pattern – Queen of Halloween

Posted on May 9, 2023 by Luana

This week’s exclusive Free Quilt Pattern is a collection of spooky sassy Victorian ladies, rendered in a pen-and-ink vintage style, by artist J. Wecker Frisch. Inspired by the Gothic horror genre of literature, this type of artwork mimics etchings from the dark side of a prim and proper era.

To make this 56″ x 78″ quilt design, you will start with the central large 24″ x 44″ figure panel (“Sewing Potions”), then cut up 2 different block panels (with small and medium-sized blocks) to make the top and side panels. Sew together with Solid Kona White, and finish with collection coordinates.

…from the ‘Queen Of We’en’ collection by J. Wecker Frisch for Riley Blake Designs.

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 ‘Halloween Kitty‘ 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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Call for Entry – Colorado Artists – Little Creatures

Posted on May 7, 2023 by Luana

As you must know by now, I am passionate about conservation, and I am working on collaborations with the Endangered Species Coalition based in Washington DC. They are sponsoring this exhibit “Little Creatures” which will open at the Boulder Library later this year. I’d like to share this Call for Entry with Colorado-based artists:

https://www.coolboulder.org/littlecreatures

(scroll down and click on the Golden link for submission info)

Deadline for proposals is May 31.

Artists may submit a proposal for new or incomplete artwork, as long as the work is complete by July 2023.

Artwork must be available late July – early October 2023, on display for public viewing at the Boulder Library August – September 2023.

Artist notification: Mid-June 2023

Seeking artists, writers, performers, creatives and educators!

Please SHARE with your Colorado-based artist friends!

Thanks! – Luana

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