Spring Colors for Winter Sewing

Posted on January 28, 2023 by Luana

Late January and February are the hardest months for me, because we have a seemingly permanent layer of snow and ice in our yards and streets. I am not complaining. It is what it is when you live in a place with 4 seasons, but it is the time when I most need a colorful uplift. The colorful birds visiting our neighborhood bird feeders, bring me cheer as I gaze outside with my cup of coffee or tea. I know that many of YOU are bird enthusiasts, which is why we expanded our offering of Songbird – Raptor/Waterfowl – Peacock prints into 3 categories several years ago. Not to mention your obsession with Chickens!

We are busy stocking up on Spring and Summer Floral prints (over 5 categories) for the same reason, but of course many of them are in stock now so you can have some cheerful summer/garden fabrics to brighten up your sewing projects in the shorter and chillier days of Winter. I really love mixing those luscious marble prints with bright florals, and I am grateful that our suppliers have embraced the artistic talent that is flowing now because of the creative freedom that comes with digital printing technology. Yay for more COLORS!

I need to point out 2 groups of new products this week:

We have a one-time-only shipment of Valentine Chocolates. The Oat Milk Pink Chocolate bar is my fav.
(Also Strawberry, Rose Petal Cardamom, & Icelandic White Toffee Chocolate are new also.)

Also students and fans of Betty Busby will be happy to hear that we have one of her favorite substrates in stock now: Evolon 58 gsm

We are starting with packages of 20 sheets – a smaller Sample pack and a larger Artisan pack.
Next week we will introduce Evolon by the yard – 40″ wide. It is en route now. I am super excited to start painting and cutting on this incredible non-woven product. If you have taken one of her classes you know she uses a Silhouette Cameo digital cutting machine to cut out her intricate shapes. For all of you who have looked at her work and wondered how she does it – this is the answer! We also carry Fosshape for Betty’s students and fans.

We have another group of special products coming in a couple weeks, for SAQA fiber art customers.
Watch this space!

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 – 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!

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Free Quilt Pattern – Animal Safari

Posted on January 27, 2023 by Luana

“Sweet” – is the word that comes to mind with this Baby Animal artwork by South African designer Clint Eagar. This exclusive Free Quilt Pattern uses 7 fabrics from his “Baby Safari Animals” collection, to create this 56″ x 67″ quilt design.

We ran this pattern last Fall and it sold out, but we now have a reorder of this delightful collection so grab it before it sells out again!

We love the soft colors of sand, sky and water….but the expressions on the young animals’ faces are just precious. Gently wrap your favorite little person in this charming wildlife quilt for sweet dreams and quiet playtime.

…from the ‘Baby Safari Animals’ collection by South Africa designer Clint Eagar 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 ‘Mystic Tree‘ 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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Quilt With a View

Posted on January 25, 2023 by Luana

Some of my most precious memories are spectacular views of stunning landscapes, that I’ve been privileged to experience. I am sure you have similar memories. Sometimes being at the right place and the right time….sometimes after a long journey…sometimes simply because you took the time to stop and look.

It might be the view of a misty valley from a mountaintop, or a golden sunset reflecting off the ocean waves. It could be sitting on a rock deep in a forest listening to the birds in the trees. It could be a memory of sitting on your grandma’s porch watching bumblebees buzzing in her flower garden. Those memories are where we go when we close our eyes and ‘go to our happy place’ or perhaps when we meditate. From what I have seen over almost 24 years of selling fabric at eQuilter, that is also where many of you go when you make a scenic quilt and hang it on the wall.

This time of year we are meeting with sales reps from many of our suppliers, and I am struck by how many of these ‘happy place’ views are being offered by these companies. I think that is a good thing! Today was one of those appointments, and I shared several of the samples with our staff, and with Paul, who is always busy planning our future Free Quilt Patterns. We were excited to dream up the next round of Free Quilt Patterns when these collections start shipping in the Summertime.

I try not to watch the News so much that it keeps me awake at night, but I need to keep up to date with events as a responsible business owner. We’ve sailed this ship through the choppy waters of supply chain issues, pandemic ups and downs, and labor market upheavals, partially because we anticipate what crazy turn our industry and our economy might take next. We are so proud to have stayed open and employed a full crew through the whole thing. But how do I go to sleep at night? I always look at a peaceful calming image, often a view of a beautiful landscape, and I do a meditation in that setting. And like I said, I think many of you do the same thing, considering how many peaceful landscape views we’ve sold over the last several years!

For those of you who follow our daughter:
Sophie has just now transferred to MSU Denver at the Auraria campus, and is commuting to downtown Denver, which was a very sudden and rather traumatic change when her violin professor died of cancer Jan 9. However she just learned she is the assistant concertmaster of the MSU orchestra, and she is excited to get on with this next chapter of her life. She is determined to get her Music Education degree and become a music teacher. Follow your dreams!

Sharing your love of fabric,
Luana and Paul

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 – Peacock Symphony

Posted on January 24, 2023 by Luana

Graceful paisley peacock feathers undulate like the cascading notes of a beautiful symphony, in this week’s exclusive Free Quilt Pattern. This luscious collection is by another one of our favorite designers – David Galchutt – a talented artist who is a relatively new licensed designer in the quilt fabric industry.

To make this 46″ x 66″ quilt design, you will start with the luscious 24″ x 44″ Peacock panel. Create the ‘peacock feather’ corner blocks with 3 Hoffman Hand-Dyes, then use Kona Solid Black and the coordinating stripe to create the border. Finish with a frame using a cool green hand-dye.

…from the ‘Peacock Symphony’ collection by David Galchutt for Benartex.

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 ‘Mystic Tree‘ and ‘Whale Song‘ 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 – Wolves and Pups

Posted on January 22, 2023 by Luana

A family of wolves cuddles beneath a Howling Full Moon, in tonight’s Free Quilt Pattern. Wolf Medicine reflects the family bonds of the pack, symbolizing loyalty, teamwork, protection and playfulness. Native American lore sees wolves as sacred animals…instinctual and intuitive.

To make this 54″ x 62″ quilt design, you will start with the 36″ x 44″ central panel, with 2 parent and 2 wolf pups in a bed of wildflowers with a silhouetted forest background. Cut and piece 3 Hoffman Hand-Dyes to make the striking ‘wolf tracks’ in the upper and lower sections, then add the border strips.

This beautiful Lap/Nap quilt is a great gift for a Lobo-Phile who dreams of running wild and free! Remember the book written by Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estes – “Women Who Run With the Wolves”?

Here is a quote from this book:
“The doors to the world of the wild are few but precious. If you have a deep scar, that is a door, if you have an old, old story, that is a door. If you love the sky and the water so much you almost cannot bear it, that is a door. If you yearn for a deeper life, a full life, a sane life, that is a door.”

…from the ‘Wildlife Wonders’ collection by Bridget Voth 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 ‘Mystic Tree‘ and ‘Whale Song‘ 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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Year of the Rabbit

Posted on January 21, 2023 by Luana

It is the Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year (although it is celebrated in many other places besides China) and this weekend we are entering the Year of the Rabbit. In Chinese culture the Rabbit is a symbol of peace, prosperity and hope. Chinese astrology is based on a 12 year cycle – so every twelve years you have a new crop of Rabbit people being born. After the Year of the Tiger, the Rabbit year is a year for self-reflection, rest, and thoughtfulness. The Rabbit is also a symbol for intellect and cautiousness, patience and inner wisdom, diplomacy and building bridges. But the quality that give me the most hope is….Peace. This is the year of the Water Rabbit, which rules teachers, artists and musicians.

I’ve celebrated Lunar New Year in Hong Kong, Korea, the Philippines, Hawaii, and Chinatown in New York. When I worked in the garment industry in Asia, the factories would shut down for 10 days and workers would go home to their families for the holiday. In Hong Kong, we would wish each other the traditional New Year greeting in Cantonese – “Gung Hei Fat Choi!” as strings of red firecrackers exploded all around us on the streets.

After we adopted Sophie from China, we would take her for CNY celebrations including lucky long noodles, red envelopes with cash, and a Lion Dance. I have vague recollections of Chinese New Year as a kid in the San Francisco Chinatown as well. It is a colorful exciting holiday!

We have rabbits in our neighborhood, and it is not unusual to see baby bunnies in our yard in the Springtime. In the Western world, we associate rabbits with fertility, Springtime and Easter. Whatever your affinity for Rabbits and Hares, you’ll find a large selection of Bunny fabrics here, featuring these gentle lovable little creatures.

May the Year of the Rabbit bring Peace to our world.

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 – 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!

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Free Quilt Pattern – Mystic Tree

Posted on January 20, 2023 by Luana

Mystical shimmering colors emanate from this forest scene, in today’s exclusive Free Quilt Pattern. We are featuring the artwork of Tara Turner, a self-taught artist who lives in the Similkameen Valley in British Columbia, Canada.

Her artworks are inspired by the colors of changing seasons and the magical energy flow of the forest. She spends her free time roaming the mountains and along the banks of the Similkameen River, where she creates artworks inspired by the colors and textures of fallen leaves, driftwood, wildflowers, and river stones.

To make this 43″ x 50″ quilt design, you will start with the beautiful 24″ x 44″ central panel depicting a dreamlike Forest Sunset. Then piece stars for the corner blocks, and inset coordinated blenders with a Hoffman Hand-Dye for the dramatic borders.

…from the ‘Creation’ collection by Tara Turner for Northcott Fabrics.

Don’t miss the ‘Radiant Rose‘ and ‘Whale Song‘ 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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While Gardens Lie Sleeping…

Posted on January 18, 2023 by Luana

A couple weeks ago we visited the holiday light show at the Denver Botanic Gardens. The trees and shrubs were wrapped in spirals of twinkling lights, and we marveled at the thousands of hours it must have taken to clothe the gardens in shimmering rainbows. As we wondered how long it took to create this fantasy winter wonderland (which was reflecting off the new-fallen snow) it reminded me of the one question that everyone asks when they view an intricate amazing quilt. You know the question! “How long did it take you to make that quilt?”

The answer is not weeks or months. It is years, and decades. How long did it take me to perfect that applique stitch? How long did it take me to be brave enough to use orange and purple together in one piece of textile art? How many hours and weeks and years have I practiced freemotion quilting? How long did it take for me to find the right sewing machine? How long did it take to acquire the palette of colors in my fabric stash and thread collection, to put this quilt design together?

It all starts with fabric, in my personal opinion. If you have the right fabrics, you can go to work with your stash and take an idea from concept to reality pretty quickly, by auditioning fabrics and laying them out side by side. All you have to do is give yourself permission to trust your eyes. When you land on the right combination, you know know it, right?

We have another big snowstorm arriving overnight. Our gardens lie sleeping beneath a blanket of snow, and we dream of summer blossoms as we play with our fabrics on a winter’s day.

Snow Days are the best days to stay indoors and sew!

Sharing your love of fabric,
Luana and Paul

* The collage above has a photo from the Denver Botanic Gardens, plus several fabrics in stock now at eQuilter.com

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 – Whale Song

Posted on January 17, 2023 by Luana

For those of you who share our love and concern for the oceans of our beautiful planet,
we offer this dynamic “Whale Song” Free Quilt Pattern, and we remind you to choose the Ocean Conservancy as your recipient of the 2% donation when you check out.

We are featuring the gorgeous artwork of Jody Bergsma, one the most talented wildlife artists in our industry. Her expressive painting celebrates wild and free Orcas (also known as Killer Whales) as they leap through the waves and frothing bubbles of the ocean currents.

To make this exclusive 55″ x 71″ quilt design, you will start with the central 28″ x 44″ quilt panel. Then use 3 alcohol-ink coordinating blenders and 2 Hoffman Hand-Dyes to piece the border, mimicking ocean waves. The rich jewel-tones and powerful drama in Jody’s artwork make this a real conversation piece!

…from the ‘Whale Song’ collection by Deborah Edwards and Melanie Samra with whale prints from Jody Bergsma 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 ‘Radiant Rose‘ and ‘Hedgehog Hollow‘ 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 – Radiant Rose

Posted on January 15, 2023 by Luana

We are thinking, if you could capture the essence of Pure Love and Joy in an image, this would be it! No words are needed with the gorgeous painting of a lush rose, exuding rainbows of light and color. We also feel like this image has a spiritual quality, with the glowing golden light perhaps representing a guardian angel, or…a creative muse?

To make this 55″ x 63″ quilt design, you will start with the central floral 36″ x 44″ digital-printed panel. Then you will cut and piece the tossed rose corner inset, and the Hoffman Hand-Dye border inset, with Kona Solid Black.

This quilt has such an uplifting exuberance, we know it will bring sunshine and smiles as a lap quilt, or to hang on the wall and fill a room with comfort and cheer.

…from the ‘Rainbow Rose’ collection by Carol Cavalaris for Quilting Treasures.

Don’t miss the ‘Sea Turtle Paradise‘ and ‘Hedgehog Hollow‘ 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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