Free Quilt Pattern – Mountain Sunrise

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

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

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

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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Spring Colors for Winter Sewing

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 SongbirdRaptor/WaterfowlPeacock 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

“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

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

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

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

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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