Undulating waves of Rainbow hues are the theme for tonight’s Free Quilt Pattern, bringing joy and laughter with a tsunami of COLOR.
To make this 69″ x 69″ quilt design, you will start with the eQuilter exclusive 45″ x 44″ Butterfly panel. Add layers of Solid Black, Multicolor Dots, and a Rainbow Stripe to make the zingy border. Bind with a fractal flaming rainbow.
This is a fast and easy project and makes a great quilt project for a young child, or a special friend who needs to bring some wild and crazy colorful energy into their life!
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.
If you go to my Flickr page you’ll see that I’ve uploaded a couple more big batches of photos from QuiltCon 2023. I still have a couple more batches to upload, but you can see lots of beautiful Modern Quilts in the album already.
Today I am sharing one of the quilts that caught my eye at the show: “Afterall Improv” by Catherine Bonnichsen Quilted by Lane Hunter
“This quilt is such a joint collaboration. It started with all the blocks I had left over from a year of teaching improv techniques at my local quilt store. I spent a while working out how to put them all together…playing with layout and trying to get a pleasing flow to the colors. In the end the process became a rehab exercise for my brain as I had a stroke half way through finishing the top. This quilt ended up re-teaching me to do Y seams, quilt off grid and to let go. When the top was finished I handed it over to a colleague at the store, Lane Hunter, to quilt. I thought he would do a computerized all over pattern but instead he blew me away with the ‘It’s a Small World’ inspired free-motion quilting. He took my quilt top and made it magic”
Indeed he did Catherine, but I also see the magic of your healing process in this quilt. Perhaps it caught my eye because I’ve been a fan of the Disney ride (and yes, the earworm song) since I first went to Disneyland as a little girl right before we moved from So Cal to Colorado. I really appreciate that Catherine was willing to share her story about her healing process, and indeed that she finished the quilt and shared it with all of us at QuiltCon!
I’ve paired up the quilt image with a couple favorite fabrics that arrived in our warehouse in the last few days. These colors remind me of the brilliant colors of Springtime that are just around the corner. Some of you may already have these colors blooming in your early Spring gardens. I hope you enjoy the quilt photos, and watch for my essay about our 24th anniversary in Saturday’s e-newsletter.
Sharing your love of fabric, Luana and Paul
Travel/Quilt Calendar: Mar 21-24 – Washington DC April 18-26 – Pour l’Amour du Fil – Nantes, France May 27 – Dairy Barn, Athens OH – Quilt National June 8-10 – Quilt Canada – Halifax, Nova Scotia August 18-24 – Bear Camp in Alaska – Sign up Now to travel with Luana!
A luminous flying Owl emerges from a rainbow-hued mandala, in tonight’s exclusive Free Quilt Pattern….in a shimmering prism of light and color.
To make this 57″ x 50″ quilt design, you will start with the 32″ x 44″ central panel. The pieced border emulates the shimmering colors, with 3 Hoffman Hand-Dyes and 2 Northcott blenders, giving the effect of expanding waves of energy.
If The Owl is your spirit animal, or the Owl is bringing its symbolism as a medicine animal, it brings the power of wisdom and intuition, to help see the truth behind an illusion. Owls have been revered since ancient times, in folklore and indigenous storytelling, as mysterious creatures that have a magical vision in the darkness.
Whether this is a Lap/Nap quilt, or an inspirational wall hanging, this quilt is sure to bring dreams of mystical insight and transformation.
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.
This beautiful Free Quilt Pattern leads you to take a walk along a pier, to listen to the waves lapping on the shore, and perhaps to stroll along the sand to collect seashells. That’s what coastal vacation memories are made of, and perhaps this exclusive quilt design will take you back to pleasant thoughts of a beach vacation.
To make this 52″ x 72″ quilt design (perfect for a nap on the couch at an oceanside cottage) you will start with the central 23″ x 44″ Boardwalk Panel. We just adore the coordinate stripe, with jars full of seashells, and rows of starfish. Piece together with a sandy blender to make the border, and bind with a coordinating Seaglass print.
Whether you are remembering a special island vacation, or anticipating a coastal getaway, this quilt will lead you out to that far horizon to breathe in the salty air, and smile as you surrender to that beachy vibe.
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.
This afternoon I returned from my 24 hour trip to Lincoln Nebraska. Last night I attended Paula Nadelstern‘s lecture, and saw her exhibit at the International Quilt Museum. We are longtime fans of Paula’s work, and she very kindly mentioned us as the place to find the largest selection of her fabrics. It is true – we carry her collections as long as possible because we know she has a huge fan club, including many students around the world who have taken her classes on making Kaleidoscope quilts. Marianne Fons was in attendance also, and we all had dinner last night. Many interesting quilty topics were discussed! Paula’s exhibit is up through April 9th. Marianne is working on a novel, and we can’t wait to read her future publication!
For all of you buried in snow in California – wow hang in there! I am seeing posts on Facebook about houses buried in 7-12 feet of snow. We can get 3-6 feet of snow in our mountain towns of Colorado, but you are obviously getting a lot of Pacific moisture pumped into your weather system.
Lately I’ve had a lot of interest in the topic of Art and Activism. I’ll be speaking in Nantes France, and at Quilt National/Dairy Barn on this topic in the next few months. My trip to Washington DC the end of March is partially to collaborate with the Endangered Species Coalition on this subject. It is a huge trend, not only at QuiltCon, but at every quilt festival and exhibit I have attended the last 5 years. (albeit with a 3 year break for the pandemic) So many of you are thinking about how you can use quilting and the textile arts to express your feelings about topics like climate change and human rights. I do believe that if we all speak up together, we can make a difference.
If you have not seen my Quilting Arts TV segment on this topic, be sure to visit our eQuilter video pages. I also have many writing projects this Spring, and I’ll let you know about them as they are published.
Travel/Quilt Calendar: March 21-24 – Washington DC April 18-26 – Pour l’Amour du Fil – Nantes, France May 27 – Dairy Barn, Athens OH – Quilt National June 8-10 – Quilt Canada – Halifax, Nova Scotia August 18-24 – Bear Camp in Alaska
Tonight we are featuring the whimsical artwork of Laurel Burch. This exclusive Free Quilt Pattern is for all of you who love dogs and the joy they bring to our lives.
To make this 51″ x 57″ quilt design, you will start with the colorful 24″ x 44″ panel. Cut up the 2nd block panel to make the side sections. Use the coordinate stripe to make the border, and join everything together with Solid Kona Black. The vivid hues and rich gold metallic are set like jewels on the black background, making a stunning overall design.
This collection has a Pop Culture flavor, also reminding us of the artwork of Peter Max. This makes a great Lap/Nap quilt for a dog-lover, or would make a great gift for the wall of your favorite vet’s office! Smiles and wagging tails are in your future when you start this project!
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.
Color is at the heart of everything we do at eQuilter. We know that you respond to color emotionally, and there is a hunger for new color trends expressed in high quality artwork. Returning from QuiltCon, I was impressed and inspired by the artwork and color trends that Modern Quilters are expressing in their work. I tend to be drawn to the bold quilts that are full of movement and contrasting hues.
Here is a quilt (above) made from Solid Cotton, that won an award at QuiltCon. It is “Sunshine Daydream” by Karen Stone. I love the energy of the hot bright colors bursting diagonally across a darker purple/plum background. The complementary colors and the arcing design carry the eye across the quilt, up and across. It is uplifting!
If you look closely you will see the dense quilting designs in each leaf. These solid leaves are not empty space. They are Negative Space, filled with intricate stitching. We see this bold quilt from a distance, we are drawn in closer, and then we examine the freemotion stitching with awe and delight. Karen has communicated to us in the Language of Color, and no words are needed.
Would you like to see more quilts from the QuiltCon show? In addition to the QuiltCon Magazine now in stock, you can follow my photos from the show as I upload them to my Flickr pages.
This Friday I’ll be in Lincoln Nebraska for Paula Nadelstern‘s lecture at the International Quilt Museum. Perhaps I will see some of you there?
Sharing your love of fabric, Luana and Paul
Travel/Quilt Calendar: March 3 – Intl Quilt Museum – Lincoln Nebraska Mar 21-24 – Washington DC April 18-26 – Pour l’Amour du Fil – Nantes, France June 8-10 – Quilt Canada – Halifax, Nova Scotia August 18-24 – Bear Camp in Alaska – Sign up Now to travel with Luana!
Enter the esoteric world of Steampunk Jewels in this week’s exclusive Free Quilt Pattern, featuring our own digital-printed panel full of exquisitely detailed gears and jewel-like treasures representing a dragonfly, seahorse, hummingbird and butterfly.
To make this 59″ x 67″ quilt design, you will start with our exclusive 36″ x 44″ panel. Fussy-cut the Steampunk allover to make the corner blocks, then piece 2 gear prints and a Turquoise Hoffman Hand-Dye to create the borders. The Golden Yellow and Blue/Turquoise colors really pop on the Espresso/Taupe contrasting background. Hardcore Steampunk fans will just adore this unique and highly-stylized quilt design!
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.
Alphabet quilts in bright contrasting colors are some of our most popular quilt designs, so we know many of you will jump on this eye-catching Free Quilt Pattern with Baby Animals, an Airplane, Hot Air Balloon, kids playing a Guitar and Violin, Ice Cream Sundae, Rocketship, Sand Castle, Unicorn, Dinosaur, and other illustrated Letters of the Alphabet.
To make this 50″ x 64″ quilt pattern, you will start with the 24″ x 44″ central educational panel. Then cut the corner blocks from a 36″ x 44″ block panel and finish each block with the red dot sashing. Create the border with the coordinating stripe, plus Solid Sky & Electric Blue and the Alphabet Toss. Bind with a Rainbow Plaid.
We love this quilt design because it will grow with Baby, from the high-contrast artwork that is recognized by infants, to pre-school years when your little one is learning their ABCs. And the artwork is so adorable and just plain FUN ….happy smiles are on the way with this exclusive eQuilter quilt pattern!
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.
I am writing to you on my flight from Atlanta to Denver, flying back home from QuiltCon in Atlanta Georgia. Wow, so much energy and so many smiles and hugs! eQuilter is a Gold sponsor so we are so happy and proud that the event is such a success. However I struggled to get all my photos done because I ran into somebody I knew every couple minutes. However I got the job finished early this morning so I’ll be sharing photos and thoughts about the quilts, over the next few weeks. It’s good to be back in the Quilt Festival groove!
One of the highlights of the event was meet a Facebook friend from Nigeria – Uzoma Samuel Anyanwu – who rocketed to stardom at this show. I was there this morning when the Nigerian ambassador and her retinue visited him to see his artwork. Look for him on Facebook, and I expect you’ll be hearing about him in the future. He is a painter who started doing fabric collages, and one of his pieces was stitched and finished by volunteers from the Social Justice Sewing Academy, so it could hang in the show. Several of us are in the process of supporting his venture into the quilting world. I’ll be posting photos of his work soon.
It is always interesting to see how the creativity flows and mutates at each QuiltCon…expanding our concept of what it is to be a Modern Quilt. I’ll be telling you about the trends and techniques that I’ve seen at the show, in our newsletters. Stay tuned!
Travel/Quilt Calendar: March 21-14 – Washington DC April 18-26 – Pour l’Amour du Fil – Nantes, France June 8-10 – Quilt Canada – Halifax, Nova Scotia August 18-24 – Bear Camp in Alaska – Last 2 openings!
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