Your Free Quilt Pattern – Winter Bliss

Posted on November 20, 2022 by Luana

Many of you have been humming this tune over the last few days:

Oh, the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we’ve no place to go
Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Here’s a holiday Free Quilt Pattern that celebrates a Winter Wonderland, so you can fill up that mug with hot cocoa and shout “Bring it on!” to the storm outside.

To make this magical Forest-in-a-Snowstorm 55″ x 65″ quilt design, you will start with the atmospheric 36″ x 44″ central panel from Hoffman. We’ve added a carefully curated group of blenders- (skies, snowflakes, and a Hoffman Hand-Dye) to make the pieced diamond border.

The overall effect of soft twilight hues in the silence of a snowfall in the forest, is just the peaceful break we could all use during the busy holiday season. Enjoy!

…from the ‘Winter Bliss’ collection by Hoffman 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 ‘Polar Bear Majesty‘ and ‘Christmas Tree Kitty‘ 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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Fierce, and a Force for Good

Posted on November 19, 2022 by Luana
We are having some frigid temps and snowy weather, to put us in the holiday mood. Thanksgiving really crept up on me this year. My sense of time is still so warped from the pandemic. You too? Today I managed to drive through the icy streets to get my snow tires put on my car. The sun came out and we had one of those impossibly gorgeous Boulder Winter days….with blue skies and the mountains blanketed in snow…sparkling in the sunlight.

Yesterday we sent out an invitation to join our “Back in Stock” list. (To those of you not already subscribed to this email.) As I mentioned earlier this week, we are one of the very few businesses that restock hot sellers when they sell out quickly. If you subscribe to the Back in Stock list you can be the first to jump on these hot products when they come back into the warehouse.

Our house and our offices are in a rural-suburban area, and lately we’ve had lots of wildlife which is exciting. In the last week or two we’ve had several fox and raccoon sightings, a bobcat behind our house a few days ago, and a mama bear and cub traveled through our neighborhood 2 nights ago. This is normal for homes in the mountains nearby, but not so much here in suburbia. There’s a fox behind the eQuilter warehouse often, and I always feel blessed when I see him galloping by at dusk.

We also feel blessed by your support of our family-owned business, and you are part of our charity story. As you may know, we have now raised over $1.95 million for our list of charities and arts non-profits, and we are on track to hit $2 million by next Fall, maybe sooner. YOU have helped us in 2022 to help so many affected by natural disasters, war, poverty and illness. You have helped us to raise over $330K for breast cancer research over 23 years. Our active partnership with the Wild Foundation and Ocean Conservancy, has led to my upcoming collaboration on Art and Activism with the Endangered Species Coalition. Together we are FIERCE, and an amazing Force for Good in the World.

That’s what I am thankful for this year. You.

Sharing your love of 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:
Dec 1-2 – Clinton Presidential Library – Artist Reception
Feb 22-25 – QuiltCon – Atlanta
April – Pour l’Amour du Fil – Nantes
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Free Quilt Pattern – Polar Bear Majesty

Posted on November 18, 2022 by Luana
This absolutely gorgeous Free Quilt Pattern is inspired by the artwork of one of our favorite wildlife artists, and is appreciated even more after Luana’s trip up to Churchill. The majestic Polar Bears are overlords of the Arctic landscape, framed by swirling snow and distant Northern Lights, perched on an iceberg and surveying their frozen kingdom.

To make this stunning 55″ x 65″ quilt design, you will start with the 34″ x 44″ digital printed panel. Piece 3 of the collection’s coordinates, plus 2 deeply saturated Blue Hoffman Hand-Dyes, to make the crystalline border.

This Blue and White quilt makes a great conversation piece as a wall hanging, or consider using a flannel backing for a cozy wintertime nap quilt. For a wall hanging you might consider silver or blue metallic thread to add a crystalline sparkle!

…from the ‘Polar Frost’ collection by 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 ‘Color Play‘ and ‘Christmas Tree Kitty‘ 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 Day At The Museum

Posted on November 16, 2022 by Luana

Quilters have an incredibly long attention span, I have found. We have the ability to look at one amazing quilt for the longest time, appreciating and dissecting every little stitch, every color choice, every shape and proportion. Do we do this when we look at a painting by a master artist in a museum? I hope so. The same principles apply.

We can go to a quilt festival and spend hours looking at every single quilt, reading the artist statements, taking photos, wandering up and down the aisles, eavesdropping on others’ comments about our favorite quilts, and taking mental notes so we can bring inspirations home to our own quilt making.

But sometimes, it is wonderful to just go into a quilt museum, be stunned by one quilt that totally captures our imagination, and just sit down to absorb what it is that has grabbed our attention. It is these quiet reflective moments that perhaps will nudge us to our next level of artistry, creativity, and mastery. It might be that ‘Aha!’ moment when we realize…..that’s the kind of quilt I want to be making!

(And if we are lucky, we have the chance to study with that artist in a workshop someday.)

Having the luxury of time, to sit and take a long deep look at a remarkable quilt, is one of life’s great pleasures for us. It ranks right up there with sitting on the beach watching a sunset, wandering through a fragrant flower garden buzzing with bees, or gazing at the Milky Way on a moonless black night. When our eyes and hearts and souls are filled with beauty and wonder, creative inspiration can’t be too far behind.

It is our goal to give you that kind of visual creative inspiration in eQuilter e-newsletters each week, but we also hope that you can take the time to visit museums, galleries, and exhibits, to constantly be watering your own creative garden.

This photo is from my recent visit to the International Quilt Museum, where I observed this quilter sitting and soaking up the details of this master quilt:

Forest Flowing, by Karen Perrine, from the John Walsh “Water” Collection.

Sharing your love of fabric,
Luana and Paul

Quilt/Travel/Sponsor Calendar:
Dec 1-2 – Clinton Presidential Library
Feb 22-25 – QuiltCon – Atlanta

See Luana’s Flickr Photo Pages for travel images, watch our videos, or follow us on Facebook.

Visit eQuilter’s Instagram, Pinterest or Twitter pages for Color and Design ideas.
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Free Quilt Pattern – Majestic Eagle

Posted on November 15, 2022 by Luana
A majestic Eagle soars over a dream-like mountain landscape, in this weekend’s Free Quilt Pattern. The alcohol ink paintings of artist Melanie Samra have been a huge success with eQuilter customers, so we have restocked her enigmatic paintings, and designed this exclusive quilt design for Melanie’s fans.

To make this 49″ x 64″ quilt design, you will start with the central 24″ x 44″ landscape panel. Then piece “Soar” collection blenders to create the “Mountain Range” triangle inner border, and the outer textured border.

Is Eagle your spirit animal? The Eagle messenger encourages us to soar high and see things from a broader perspective. Native American tribes credit the Eagle as bringing wisdom, vision and courage. Spiritual traditions see salvation and hope in the Eagle’s message. The soothing colors of this Eagle artwork may bring these messages of hope and vision to those inspired by Melanie’s artwork. We are inspired as well.

…from the ‘Soar’ 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 rather eccentric quilt pattern
(orders $100 and over, no coupon needed).

Don’t miss the ‘Kitty Tea by the Sea‘ and ‘Christmas Tree Kitty‘ 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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Holidays on the Horizon

Posted on November 15, 2022 by Luana
Save big on our Floral Fabric and Animal Closeout sales!
Over 410 products at 40% off!

Sunday is the last day of Our Batiks & Blender & Tonal Sales.
Don’t miss these savings at 40% off.

Perhaps you have noticed there is a serious lack of Asian fabrics the last several years. Many have become collector items. This is why we are leading with the Imperial Collection at the top of this week’s e-newsletter.

Have you ordered any of our seasonal Artisan Chocolate yet? We restocked all your favorites this week and they not only make great stocking-stuffers for discriminating chocophiles, but they also are good to have on hand for holiday sewing emergencies. As you know, Chocolate researchers claim many benefits including the ability to lower cortisol and boost mood-impacting hormones, serotonin and dopamine. Kinda like quilting, huh? *grin*

Last weekend was a big week for quilt festivals! While I was at the Intl Quilt Museum in Lincoln, the Houston Quilt Festival was happening, and one of the first post-pandemic Japanese quilt festivals was held in Yokohama. We are seeing lots of images of beautiful quilts posted on social media which is so inspiring!

Now is the time when we are finishing up our quilted gifts for the holidays, and planning our projects for the Winter/Post-Holiday season. Have you ever entered a quilt in a show? Maybe 2023 is your year? You can start taking a look at possible Calls for Entry from your local and regional guilds, to national and international quilt festivals. If you want to challenge yourself and try to shoot for a higher level, you can also look at the SAQA Call for Entry page and see if one of the many opportunities is for you. I encourage you to start thinking about this now!

This week I decided to ditch Twitter and open accounts on TikTok for @eQuilterFabrics and @LuanaRubinArt – feel free to follow both accounts. I am going to focus on the eQuilter account first, and plan to post on my account once I get eQuilterFabrics up and running. Like me, you might need a Gen Z helper to get started to avoid all the loud nonsense, but there is an avid quilt community developing there.

If you are already on TikTok, please come join/follow us while we learn how to make TikTok videos while maintaining our sense of humor – ha! If you have not jumped on the crazy TikTok bandwagon yet – maybe this is a good place to start! I have some funny ideas which my kids find embarrassing so you know…that is a good place to launch right?

Sharing your love of fabric,
Luana

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:
Dec 1-2 – Clinton Presidential Library – Artist Reception
Feb 22-25 – QuiltCon – Atlanta
April – Pour l’Amour du Fil – Nantes
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Free Quilt Pattern – Spectacular Solar System

Posted on November 11, 2022 by Luana
Today we are taking a dazzling journey through the Solar System, with our exclusive Free Quilt Pattern featuring the detailed artwork of Adrian Chesterman.

To make this 75″ x 67″ quilt design, you will start with the fantastic central panel with a mind-blowing image worthy of a Sci-Fi movie! Then add the coordinate Planet Stripe, the starry Northern Lights, a star print and a Kona Solid Black, to make this eye-popping quilt.

Whether you are a fan of NASA and the Webb Telescope, or just a die-hard Star Wars/Star Trek/Sci-Fi nerd, this is a great quilt to hang on the wall or use on a bed, for galactic dreams!

…from the ‘Universe’ collection by Adrian Chesterman for Northcott Fabrics.

PLUS – you’ll receive Free USA / 50% off INTL shipping
when you order the fabrics for this rather eccentric quilt pattern
(orders $100 and over, no coupon needed).

Don’t miss the ‘Kitty Tea by the Sea‘ and ‘Sea Turtle Reef‘ 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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Clothed in Gold & Warmed by the Sun

Posted on November 9, 2022 by Luana
The Golden Hour, golden sunlight, sunflowers, golden wedding rings, smiley emojis, daffodils, butter, lemons, corn, dandelions, butterscotch, honey, bumblebees, pineapples, golden ale, cheddar cheese, goldfinches, golden eagles, bags of gold, gilded treasure, the Golden Fleece, the One Ring in LOTR, and the Grimm’s Fairytale of The Golden Bird.

How many ways can we celebrate and describe the glorious color of Golden Yellow that surrounds us and fills our imagination? How many stories and myths feature this legendary hue?

Gold metallic has been a favorite printed textile embellishment on quilt fabrics for decades. 20 years ago we had to worry about metallic prints washing out of our quilts, but these days new printing technology means that the opulent gold (and silver) metallic screen printing will last through dozens of washings. Hooray!

Yellow and Gold have a history of being used in vintage quilts, but fell out of favor for many decades. Some of us were traumatized by the Harvest Gold of the Seventies. We thought we couldn’t wear Yellow, and therefore we couldn’t use Yellow in our quilts.

But this warm comforting optimistic color has come back to us just when we need it the most. We began to use Yellow and Gold in highlights and accent colors in our quilts, often using it as a complementary hue to Purple and Plum. In the last few years it has been embraced fully by the fashion industry, and now we see more and more Gold Metallic, Sunny Yellow and Honey Gold in our quilting fabrics again.

You just might be a super-embellisher who free-motion quilts with gold metallic thread! Top-stitching with yellow thread brings the eye to its shimmering light, especially when used in contrast against darker or cooler colors.

We all have Yellow and Gold all around us, all the time. Are you inviting these colors to come and play in your stash, and under your sewing machine needle?

Sharing your love of fabric,
Luana and Paul

Quilt/Travel/Sponsor Calendar:
Dec 1-2 – Clinton Presidential Library
Feb 22-25 – QuiltCon – Atlanta
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Free Quilt Pattern – Steampunk Undersea

Posted on November 8, 2022 by Luana
Take a deep drive into the underwater world of Desiree’s Steampunk World with
this week’s exclusive Free Quilt Pattern…an octopus in a top hat, a sea turtle with a propeller beanie hat, and other punked-out marine life are floating or swimming amidst funky copper piping.

To make this 64″ x 72″ quilt design, you will start with the 36″ x 44″ detailed digital panel for the center, then cut up a second 24″ x 44″ block panel to make the corner pieces. Use the steampunk stripe and 3 blender coordinates to complete the border.

We love the whimsical steampunk world of this artist, and now that her collection is back in stock, we are excited to offer this fun pattern for all of you steampunk fans!

…from the ‘Aquatic Steampunkery’ collection by Desiree’s Designs for Quilting Treasures.

PLUS – you’ll receive Free USA / 50% off INTL shipping
when you order the fabrics for this rather eccentric quilt pattern
(orders $100 and over, no coupon needed).

Don’t miss the ‘Tea for Two‘ and ‘Sea Turtle Reef‘ 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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New Tula Pink, Quilting Treasures, Northcott – Batik, Blender CLEARANCE

Posted on November 8, 2022 by Luana
Save on Batiks & Premium & Blender & Tonal Sales.
Over 325 products at 40% off!

Sunday is the last day of our Quilt Backing Bonanza Sale!
Don’t miss these savings at 20% off.

Turn Your Clocks Back One Hour Tonight!
I just walked in the door, after flying home from a couple days at the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln NE. They have 2 stunning new exhibits on now – “Uncovering Black History” from the collection of Dr Carolyn Mazloomi (we are a sponsor), and “Water Featured” from the John M. Walsh Collection. I am also enjoying the photos many of you are posting from the Houston Quilt Festival, including images of the special exhibits we sponsored. We hope you enjoyed the quilts and the show!

Once we get past this contentious election cycle, we can really start to prepare for the holiday season. Going to a quilt festival or quilt exhibit always gets my creative juices flowing. I’ve been busy sketching and taking notes and hopefully can get back into the studio soon. I know many of you are busy making Christmas gifts, and some of you are making items to sell at craft fairs. Table-Runners and Pillowcases have been popular ‘quick and easy’ holiday gift items, and of course you know about our Free Quilt Pattern e-newsletters with more ‘quick and easy’ quilt projects for those of you who just never seem to have enough time.

This is “peak” holiday fabric season for serious fabric collectors, and we have 500 holiday fabrics currently in stock for your Fall/Winter sewing projects. Many of these seasonal products are “One-and-Done” because the manufacturers do not reprint, so if you fall in love with something I recommend you snap it up. We do try to restock popular seasonal items but it is hit-or-miss.

If you are living in a state with Daylight Savings, tonight is the night to turn your clock back one hour and get an EXTRA HOUR OF SLEEP! Woo hooo!

Sharing your love of fabric,
Luana

Visit eQuilter’s Instagram, Pinterest or Twitter 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:
Dec 1-2 – Clinton Presidential Library – Artist Reception
Feb 22-25 – QuiltCon – Atlanta

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