Good for Your Health

Posted on February 11, 2023 by Luana

This week I was thinking about all the places I’ve traveled where the local gourmet delicacies or drinks were touted as ‘good for your health’. This includes Guinness in Ireland, Whiskey in Scotland, Red Wine like Pinot Noir, Balsamic Vinegar in Italy, Green Tea in Japan, Coffee in Scandinavia, Chili Peppers in Sri Lanka, Garlic (Kimchi) in Korea, Swiss Chocolate, and even Camembert Cheese in Normandy. ( I was told that Camembert Cheese can cure cancer, on a tour in France.) I have to admit I turned down the snake soup in Hong Kong, which was supposed to keep me ‘warm’ in the winter. Nope.

Compared to the long list of things that are supposedly not good for you (which changes over the decades) there is one thing that researchers have studied and have agreed is good for us: Creative Crafting, including quilting, sewing, knitting and crocheting. It is right there next to petting your dog or cat, for lowering blood pressure and stress levels. Well who knew? Of course, we ALL knew that already, but good for those researchers who went out and proved it to be true. *snort!*

Community ties and friendship have also been studied and proven to be good for our health. Research has found that having a variety of social relationships may help reduce stress and heart-related risks. As if we didn’t know that already. One of the best things about the quilting tribe is…the community….or you might say the fellowship. Right now I am feeling very happy just anticipating my trip to QuiltCon, which is right around the corner. (See our full page ad on the back cover of the QuiltCon Magazine!)

Even if we don’t live forever, sipping red wine, eating chocolate, and making quilts…we know there is a good chance our quilts will be around long after we move on to the great quilting hoop in the sky. That’s why it is so important to put a label on the back of your quilts, with your name, location, and date.

Anybody who has found a label on an antique quilt, or a quilt made by a great grandmother, knows the thrill of discovering the provenance of a precious quilt. A quilt with a story from the past captures our imagination and whispers to us across the decades or centuries, especially if we can run our fingertips across hand-stitched or hand-appliqued details made long ago. When my dear friend Mark Lipinski came up with the idea for the Slow Stitching movement, as he was dealing with a serious health challenge, we responded because we recognized the healing benefits of a mindful stitching practice.

So do something good for your health this week!

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:
Feb 15 – Zoom lecture “Intl Quilt Trends” – Victoria BC Quilt Guild
Feb 22-25 – QuiltCon – GOLD SPONSOR – Atlanta
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

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Free Quilt Pattern – Little Darling Safari

Posted on February 10, 2023 by Luana

Back by Popular Demand!
Last time we ran this Free Quilt Pattern, it SOLD OUT but we just managed to get the last few bolts of a 2nd printing…so if you missed it last time, snap it up now.

This charming little quilt has a collection of watercolor portraits of baby animals – delightfully whimsical vignettes of cute creatures crowned with floral garlands…makes a great gift for the Future Zookeeper or animal lover in your world!

To make this 65″ x 68″ Lap/Nap quilt, you will cut up and piece 3 different panels, combining with a coordinating stripe and blender to make the overall pieced quilt. Includes Lion Cubs, Hippos, Giraffes, Rhinos, Zebras, Orangutans, Elephants, and Lemur. Wrap someone in this adorable menagerie and you’ll be gifting them with sweet wild dreams at naptime.

…from the ‘Little Darlings Safari’ collection by Sillier than Sally Designs for P&B 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 ‘Color Play‘ and ‘Baby Safari‘ 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 Magical Childhood

Posted on February 8, 2023 by Luana

Did you have a Magical Childhood?
Did you have a Fun Aunt?
Did you have a mentor who made you the hero of your own story?

As a child I was drawn to books and stories about magical beings, guardian spirits, talking animals, and unlikely heroes…and heroines.

It takes courage to bring your creative identity over the bridge from childhood to adulthood, and even more to make it a livelihood. Our creative bones are strengthened as we mature, by those artistic angels who have tread the path before us, who reach back to pull us forward.

I had a fun aunt who was an artist. I spent a summer with her in Temecula California, as a kid. She lived in a trailer house in the middle of a wildly exuberant flower garden, next to a forest, in a shimmering hot valley. A stream splashed and burbled on the edge of her property, full of tadpoles and long-legged birds.

At sunset we watched the colors in the sky until the stars came out….then we waited for the dancing fireflies and the singing frogs. At bedtime she left the windows open so we could hear the owls hooting. During the day we would go looking for fairies in her garden. She painted her own greeting cards and tablecloths. She painted her garden on her ceramic teacups and saucers, and then we had tea parties under the lemon tree…with giggles and extended pinkies.

She was one-of-a-kind, and she showed me how to be a playful creative adult. She was a dreamer, and she encouraged me to use my imagination to dream a creative adulthood into being. I only stayed with her one summer, but her fierce commitment to being an extravagant visionary has stayed with me. I try to share that spark whenever I can.

The best way to find your inner Fun Aunt is to share your playtime with someone who has a nascent twinkle in their eye. My Great Aunt is long gone, but I like to think I inherited her twinkle.

On behalf of our caring customers we have rushed a $1000 donation to Doctors Without Borders, who are on the ground in Turkey and Syria, treating survivors of the devastating earthquakes. Thank you for supporting our charity program through our family business, so we can respond to emergencies such as this.

Sharing your love of fabric,
Luana and Paul

p.s. If you’ve been noodling about joining me at Bear Camp in Alaska, the trip is almost full, so call Aly and put down a deposit today!

Travel/Quilt Calendar:
Feb 15 – Virtual lecture for Victoria BC Quilt Guild
Feb 22-25 – QuiltCon – GOLD SPONSOR – Atlanta
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!

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.

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Free Quilt Pattern – Safe Harbor

Posted on February 7, 2023 by Luana

Tonight we offer this absolutely gorgeous Free Quilt Pattern, with a stunning ocean-landscape panel that has a deeper meaning…the symbology of the Lighthouse calling us home to a warm “Safe Harbor”.

To make this 65″ x 65″ quilt design, you will start with the 28″ x 44″ scenic panel. Use the coordinating stripe to create the top and bottom panels, then add a Seagull print, a Stone texture, and 2 Hoffman Hand-Dyes to create the Star Corner blocks, and the borders.

The warm colors of the sunset, contrasting with the cool colors of the sky and water, create a rich harmonizing effect. The translucent waves, the glowing windows of the cottage reflecting on the beach, are all details that make this scene a luminous inspiration.

…from the ‘Safe Harbor’ collection by Abraham Hunter 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 ‘Color Play‘ and ‘Kitty Tea by the Sea‘ 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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Your Free Quilt Pattern – Rainbow Animal Alphabet

Posted on February 5, 2023 by Luana

This just might be the perfect quilt gift for the little person who is learning their animal 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 playmat, 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 Alligator, Bumblebee, Iguana, Jellyfish, Norwhal, Octopus, Panda, Quokka, Unicorn, 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).

Don’t miss the ‘Color Play‘ and ‘Baby Animal Wonderland‘ 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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Specialty Products for Special Makers

Posted on February 4, 2023 by Luana

We are always happy to feature Paula Nadelstern’s latest collection in our newsletter. She came and spoke at our state guild in the early 1990s when I was just starting out in quilting, and her slide show was an epiphany. I realized I wanted to be an art quilter! I had just left New York City in 1990, and she was making these amazing kaleidoscope quilts on the kitchen table of her apartment in the Bronx, on the same block where she grew up. Years later we met and became good friends. Our paths have crossed at quilt events around the world over the years. Paula has a very special place in my heart. She is one of the creative geniuses and founding matriarchs of our wonderful quilting world.

Friday was National Golden Retriever Day, and you may have noticed we featured a Golden Retriever panel at the top of the newsletter. In addition to our 3 rescue cats, we have an English Golden and an American Golden Retriever. (Our English girl had eye surgery a few weeks ago.) We sure love our beloved dogs and cats and we know you share that same love, which is why we keep the Dog and Cat categories fully stocked for our Fur-Baby-lovin’ customers!

Right now I am busy working on bringing in lots of specialty products for fiber artists, art quilters, and SAQA members who want to push the creative boundaries in 2023:

We now have 3 versions of Evolon, used by Betty Busby in her fiber art : Evolon 58 gsm is now available in 40″ wide yardage, plus small and large sized precut sheet packages. We will keep these in stock for Betty’s students. It is a fabric-weight nonwoven that can be painted, printed and cut up for your textile art projects.

Watch this space for Felt Batting and Felt Balls coming in the next week or two. With all the crazy weather we’ve had some shipments delayed, but you’ll find them popping up in this new category with Felt Products. In the meantime we have those yummy Wool Felt pressing mats in stock for you.

I know many of you are dealing with ice storms and cold temps this weekend. I can empathize. We’ve had an ice skating rink in front of our house since our big storm in December, and it is finally melting off. However as you know, when the weather outside is frightful, it is a great time to sew and quilt, and also to shop in your bathrobe. Valentine’s Day is not the only holiday on the horizon. Do you know about Galentine’s Day on Feb 13? Yes it is a thing. And yes it is what you think it is. Sounds like a good excuse for a Stitch-n-3itch party to me.

Don’t forget to restock your sewing machine needles, rotary cutter replacement blades, and pick up some new colors of thread, for your next few projects!

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:
Feb 15 – Zoom lecture “Intl Quilt Trends” – Victoria BC Quilt Guild
Feb 22-25 – QuiltCon – GOLD SPONSOR – Atlanta
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!

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Free Quilt Pattern – Mountain Sunrise

Posted on February 3, 2023 by Luana

This beautiful scene captures a Mama Bear and her 2 little cubs at the perfect moment in the Golden Hour, with wildflowers and a forest-covered mountain landscape.

To make this 53″ x 53″ quilt design, you will start with the 36″ x 44″ scenic panel, then use 4 Stonehenge textures to piece the top and bottom sections that echo the mountain theme. The thin border between the panel and borders, captures the fiery sunset colors in a Hoffman Hand-Dye. The complementary colors of Blue and Orange (Cool vs. Warm) are what make this artwork and this quilt design really pop!

…from the ‘Mountain Sunrise’ collection by Abraham Hunter for 3 Wishes Fabric.

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 ‘Color Play‘ and ‘Baby Animal Wonderland‘ 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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Rapturous Color

Posted on February 1, 2023 by Luana

In my years of research out in the field, I have found that there are things that go together in the quilting world, like fabric, chocolate, and cats. Today is National Dark Chocolate Day, and that just might be an excuse to throw in a bar (or two or three) of our Artisan Chocolate in your shopping cart, if you add any eQuilter fabric to your stash this week. They say the kindest love is Self Love, and hey, a girl’s gotta give herself a treat with Valentine’s Day on the horizon…right?

I wanted to give you a sneak peek of this new collection that we will be introducing in the Saturday newsletter. Simon Haiduk is a new designer who has created this stunning Owl in Flight, plus coordinate fabrics. Remember several months ago when I hinted at some of the fabulous artwork coming in 2023? Well, this is one of them. And I can tell you it is even more gorgeous in person! To me it is a very spiritual image. What do you think?

Today while I was driving, that old Disney tune “Whistle While You Work” came on the radio. I don’t remember Snow White’s voice being so high and childish. I guess when I went to see the movie as a little kid, she just sounded like me….like a little girl. But that song threw me into a reminiscence about the way I was raised. I just know that I was impressed with the idea that you should enjoy your work, make the best of your tasks, and try to pursue a career that makes you happy.

Fortunately nobody ever told me that I should not pursue the Arts. Working my way through Music, Art, Design, and then finally landing on Quilting, seemed perfectly natural. Of course that is not true for everyone. The pure natural artistic instincts of a child are usually squashed by puberty, and then we spend the rest of our lives trying to recapture that magic….

Except, I also assume that is NOT true for most of you. I mean, you are here because you have found and reanimated that Inner Artistic Child, and perhaps you have found that it brings you the most joy, the most inner peace, the most comfort and inspiration. Whether you stitch by hand or by machine, it is a way to get us out of our heads and into our heart…and into the moment.

What lights my creative fire is Rapturous Color. And maybe a little salsa music and dark chocolate. Happy February!

Sharing your love of fabric,
Luana and Paul

p.s. If you’ve been noodling about joining me at Bear Camp in Alaska, the trip is almost full, so call Aly and put down a deposit today!

Travel/Quilt Calendar:
Feb 15 – Virtual lecture for Victoria BC Quilt Guild
Feb 22-25 – QuiltCon – GOLD SPONSOR – Atlanta
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!

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.

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Free Quilt Pattern – Baby Animal Wonderland

Posted on January 31, 2023 by Luana

Tonight’s exclusive Free Quilt Pattern is a Peaceable Kingdom of adorable Baby Animals, painting and drawing their world in happy bright colors. These wild little artists are full of playful smiles in a vivid jungle background, from the Moon in the sky, to the coral reef and dolphins in the water below.

To make this 58″ x 58″ quilt design, you will start with the 36″ x 44″ central panel. Fussy cut animal vignettes and set on point, to make the 2 side panels. Then use Solid Kona Blue and a Rainbow stripe to make the border.

This makes a fantastic baby gift, or playmat for a toddler learning about wild animals. And of course it is a sweet nap quilt for a little person who dreams of baby animals!

…from the ‘Painting The World’ collection by Lorella Avinci for Studio E 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 ‘Color Play‘ and ‘Peacock Symphony‘ 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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Your Free Quilt Pattern – Prima Ballerina

Posted on January 29, 2023 by Luana

Do you know a little girl taking ballet classes, or a young adult in a ballet company? Many little girls (and some little boys) want to take ballet lessons, and thanks to Misty Copeland there is much more diversity in ballet schools and professional ballet companies.

Our exclusive Free Quilt Pattern celebrates the graceful athleticism of Ballet, with a 50″ x 53″ (Pink!) quilt design that can hang on the wall or become a favorite Nap quilt for a tiny ballerina with stars in her eyes. It would also make a great gift for a dance teacher, to hang in a dance studio.

You will start with the central Prima Ballerina 24″ x 44″ panel, then cut a second block panel to make the side sections. We’ve added a Faux Satin Swirl blender, plus 2 Kona Solids and 2 Hoffman Hand-Dyes, to make the simple border. This is a quick and easy quilt project that will delight your favorite dance diva!

…from the ‘Prima Ballerina’ collection by Color Principle for Henry Glass & Co.

Don’t miss the ‘Baby Safari‘ and ‘Peacock Symphony‘ 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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