This year we are laughing over the fact that our wedding anniversary is on Friday the 13th, so to celebrate the day (with tongue firmly planted in cheek) we bring you this spooky Free Quilt Pattern with laughing Jack-o-Lanterns, Black Cats, and Ravens…and don’t forget those stylish striped Witchy Tights!
To make this 54″ x 59″ quilt design, you will start with the central panel, featuring 4 spooky vignettes. You will piece the Black Cat and Pumpkin prints with Kona Solid Black to make the set-in diamonds for the side panels. Then add the hilarious striped sock border.
PLUS – you’ll receive Free USA / 50% off INTL shipping when you order the fabrics for this wonderful 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 week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern is a generous 63″ x 80″, featuring the 54″ x 72″ digital-printed panel with a collection of National Park retro postcard images. We’ve added 4 stone textures to create the Teal border which sets off the warm Earthtones with a complementary color story.
Part of the popularity of this panel is the fact that it is like a cheater quilt – it is easy to sew between the postcards to create the impression that it is pieced. Once you add the border and start quilting, you are off and running on this vintage tour of our nation’s most beautiful wild places!
PLUS – you’ll receive Free USA / 50% off INTL shipping when you order the fabrics for this wonderful 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.
We hope that you had a lovely restful Mothers Day with loved ones, or perhaps in your sewing room….or both! For those days when you need a dose of Forest Bathing but just can’t get outside, we share this exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern.
Just gazing at this quilt on the wall, or maybe snuggling under this quilt for a nap or meditation time, brings a sense of peace. This quilt is like a window or doorway leading out into the woods….you can almost hear the birds twittering in the trees, feel the spongy damp grass under your feet, and smell the wildflowers.
To make this 52″ x 66″ quilt design, you will start with the central scenic large scale print. (which is also one of this year’s Hoffman Challenge fabrics by the way) We’ve added a stone texture, a bark texture, and 2 Hoffman Hand-Dyes to make the lovely border.
PLUS – you’ll receive Free USA / 50% off INTL shipping when you order the fabrics for this wonderful 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.
Every once in awhile a fabric comes along that just totally blows me away. This 36″ x 44″ Geisha panel from Elizabeth Studio is one of them. We just got a shipment restocking this longtime favorite, which I consider a collector item. It is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous and it happens to go beautifully with this new group of Ombre prints from Northcott, which the artist painted with alcohol ink. I really like the combination of the tight precise artwork and gold metallic on the panel, with the loose flowing watercolor effect in the Ombre prints. We’ve stocked up on this Ombre Stripe in both 44″ wide, and 108″ Backing. Yum yum yum.
Today is the 100th episode of the SAQA Textile Talks. We have been an enthusiastic supporter (corporate sponsor) of these virtual talks since the pandemic started. The recordings of past interviews with artists are all online for your viewing pleasure. They are on every Wednesday midday.
If you watch today (12 pm MDT) you can catch my 3 minute talk about my “Polar Bear Eclipsed” quilt which is still traveling in the Endangered Species exhibit. I will also be available later for Q&A on the sponsor panel. If you are not already a subscriber, follow this link to register.
If you are anything like me, you have quite a stash of fabric going in your sewing space. 99% of my stash comes from the eQuilter scrap pile. Just remember that when you see my quilts. You all have first crack at all the eQuilter fabrics, then I go dumpster diving for the leftovers. Ha. Today I was putting together the last section on one of my current projects, and what a pleasure it was to go to the PINK box and spread them out to admire and enjoy all the colors. I auditioned some colors for the project, found a few other pieces that really spoke to me, and I put those aside for the next project. As a non-recovering fabriholic, I feel very blessed that I can make a living by sharing my passion with all of you, and the added plus is that I can cruise the scraps once a week and pull out a few treasures for my collection. Can you relate?
Quilt/Travel/Sponsor Calendar: May 21 – CQC lecture from IQM June 15-18 – Quilt Canada, Vancouver BC July 22-26 – Sacred Threads Weekend, Dulles/Wash DC August 4 – Long Beach Quilt Festival Aug 17-20 – Festival of Quilts – Birmingham UK October 2022 – Luana’s Polar Bear Tour – Churchill Manitoba Canada
Today is a very special day for most of our friends and customers in the US. It is the day we celebrate new mothers, honor our own mothers, and remember our beloved childhood grandmothers…many of whom taught us to sew and quilt. Mothers are often the glue that keeps families together. Mothers try so hard to do everything perfectly right for their children, but of course we fail because we are human, and because life happens while we are busy making plans. But our love propels us to accomplish superhuman feats. Being a mother has taught me more than any other experience in life.
And what do most mothers wish for on this day? Time.
More time to sleep. More time to exercise. More time to read. More time to spend with friends and family members. More time to garden. More time to walk the dogs and pet the cats. And of course…more time to quilt and sew.
One of my favorite quotes is from the Star Trek movie “Generations” – “Time is the fire in which we burn.” But time is also a river that never stops flowing. It can be a blessing or a curse. Making a quilt is a way of measuring time and freezing those hours into an heirloom that will capture a moment and pass it on into the future. It is sending a part of ourself into a future that is opaque. That quilt may see future family gatherings, when we will not be present. But it is a way for a mother’s love to Time Travel. And…it’s not science fiction!
I have a large framed crewel embroidery piece that my grandmother made, and it is sitting behind my desk at work. There is a piece of my grandma who is peering over my shoulder every day. Her love of creating with needle and thread lives on in me, and that makes me smile.
Our hearts and minds are still with those suffering from the war in Ukraine. Many thanks to those of you who dropped off or shipped more comfort quilts this week. We are still accepting donated quilts at eQuilter, and the rest being shipped directly to Mission of Love in Ohio. Bless you.
Quilt/Travel/Sponsor Calendar: May 21 – CQC Zoom Lecture from IQM June 15-18 – Quilt Canada, Vancouver BC July 22-26 – Sacred Threads Weekend, Dulles/Wash DC August 4 – Long Beach Quilt Festival Aug 17-20 – Festival of Quilts – Birmingham UK October 2022 – Luana’s Polar Bear Tour – Churchill Manitoba Canada
Fans of Peter Rabbit will fall in love with the artwork of Petar Meseldzija, featured in this week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern. These adorable bunny vignettes are so sweet and tender, as a celebration of Love and Springtime.
To make this 53″ x 57″ quilt design, you will start by cutting up the 24″ x 44″ block panel. Then you will cut and piece 5 collection coordinates to create this storybook quilt with delightful seasonal colors. Some-bunny special is going to love this charming quilt!
PLUS – you’ll receive Free USA / 50% off INTL shipping when you order the fabrics for this wonderful 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.
Tonight on a late night talk show, I watched Ron Howard and Chef Jose Andres talk about their documentary “We Feed People“. The main point they wanted to share is that everyone has something to give, and getting involved in volunteerism is something that almost everyone can do, to make a huge difference in others’ lives. I appreciate hearing 3 men talk about this, encouraging others to join them in this idea. It is something that mothers do every day. Once we have a baby, those hormones switch on and most of the time we have no choice but to care for and nurture our offspring. As we age, and our kids grow up, we find we can make a huge difference in others’ lives by caring for and supporting a larger circle of our community. We become an integral part of The Village. You know that saying – It takes a village to raise a child. Except… those young people still need support as they grow up and start families of their own. Often we find ourselves mothering and advising others besides our own children.
I am currently finishing a quilt about archetypal Women’s Wisdom, which I feel is one expression of Divine Mother energy. You may or may not be a mother in this lifetime, but everyone has (or had) a mother who brought them into this world. If we are lucky, we have a long relationship with a nurturing mother who supports and protects us, sharing the knowledge passed down through generations of mothers and grandmothers. Nobody wants to see their kids make the same stupid mistakes we made in our youth, right? If you didn’t have a nurturing mother, I hope you found someone who could give you that kind of support when it was needed.
As Mothers Day approaches this weekend, and we think about flowers and brunches, with children and grandchildren, one of the greatest gifts we can give away is to light a spark in others, to think about how they can step up and express that Divine Mother energy. Whether you think of her as Mother Mary, Mother Earth, Gaia or Guadalupe, or simply maternal instinct, we can feel it when we are a Force for Good to bring healing and tenderness to those who need unconditional love.
When we make and give a quilt with no expectations, we are expressing that motherly unconditional love. Of course men and fathers can express that unconditional love as well, and they make comforting healing quilts too. However when that oxytocin (the nurturing hormone) is flowing and it is poured into the stitches of a quilt, every stitch vibrates with Love.
Research shows that oxytocin levels raise in both men and women when they begin caretaking an infant. (that includes grandparents) This is why when I adopted an 8 month old baby on the other side of the world, I started lactating after 3 days. Our bodies possess so much innate wisdom…and love. And on Mothers Day we are celebrating that expression of brain chemistry and Spirit that is manifest in….our Mothers.
Quilt/Travel/Sponsor Calendar: May 21 – CQC lecture from IQM June 15-18 – Quilt Canada, Vancouver BC July 22-26 – Sacred Threads Weekend, Dulles/Wash DC August 4 – Long Beach Quilt Festival Aug 17-20 – Festival of Quilts – Birmingham UK October 2022 – Luana’s Polar Bear Tour – Churchill Manitoba Canada
When the Full Moon comes out, the mysterious world of Owls is revealed. In this week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern, we capture a detailed portrait of this nocturnal raptor, bordered by a series of owl vignettes.
To make this 54″ x 54″ quilt design, you will start with the 29″ x 44″ digital panel, then cut up a 2nd block panel and piece with 2 Hoffman Hand-Dyes to create the border. Whether your Owl fascination comes from being an avid birder, or a Harry Potter fan, this parliament of wide-eyed Owl characters is sure to be a conversation piece!
PLUS – you’ll receive Free USA / 50% off INTL shipping when you order the fabrics for this wonderful 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.
Mother Nature stands sentinel over land and sea, night and day, birds and mammals, in this exquisitely detailed scene by artist Josephine Wall. Dolphins leap and a lion smiles over Gaia’s shoulder, as the Sun and Moon shine over a fertile Earth and the shimmering seas.
To make this 65″ x 73″ quilt design, you will start with the fantastic 36″ x 44″ scenic panel. A second block panel is cut up to make the 4 corners, and the Crescent Moon print makes a dramatic border. Magical dreams await whoever sleeps beneath this enchanting quilt!
PLUS – you’ll receive Free USA / 50% off INTL shipping when you order the fabrics for this wonderful 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.
These four adorable kitties are having fun and maybe getting up to a little baby-mischief in the garden shed. Our exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern features the artwork of one of our longtime favorite animal artists – Bob Giordano.
To make this 56″ x 66″ quilt design, you will start with the central 24″ x 44″ panel. You will use the Kitty Stripe and 2 Powder Blue coordinates to make the engineered stripe which is actually a fast simple border. These furry babies are peeking out of flower pots and buckets, Wellies and wheelbarrows, with spring flowers and butterflies all around. A delightful celebration of a colorful season!
PLUS – you’ll receive Free USA / 50% off INTL shipping when you order the fabrics for this wonderful 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.
