One of our favorite wildlife artists – Abraham Hunter – has created this delightful Summer Woodland collection featuring the antics of those furry masked raiders – the Raccoons. In these vignettes a mama raccoon tends to her young in a tree hollow nest, and 2 more raccoons are smelling the flowers.
To make this 51″ x 56″ quilt design, you will start by cutting up a 35″ x 44″ digital-printed panel. Then piece together and create the border using 2 Rubin stone textures, 2 Hoffman Hand-Dyes, and the coordinating Raccoon stripe, which also has Chipmunks, Toadstools and Wildflowers!
Our home and warehouse are in a rural/suburban area where wildlife overlaps with humans. We have definitely encountered mother raccoons crawling up trees with their babies, staring inquisitively from a safe high branch, so this collection also brings back happy Nature memories for us.
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.
If you are a True Quilter, you have a stash of Fat Quarters, and likely a raft of Fat Quarter jokes to explain your stash to the uninitiated.
Why do we love Fat Quarters so much?
Because the more colors and fabric designs we have on our shelf, the better equipped we are to start a new project. As we start our journey as a quilter, we realize we need to collect not just all the colors of the rainbow, but all the colors in-between (like Turquoise, Orchid Pink, and Lime Green…and don’t forget the Earthtones and Neutrals) and all the values of these colors (Pastels, Midtone, and Darks) to free our creative imaginings.
So it is easier to fill out this basic palette with a wide variety of small pieces, than to buy several yards of each. (But don’t worry, that part comes later.)
Whether you are an ardent scrappy quilter, or a textile artist always adding to your color palette, we are always on the hunt for the perfect collection of luscious fat quarters to add gravitas to the glorious melange we refer to as our…ahem….fabric collection.
Maybe you don’t know yet, that we have our own line of Fat Quarter collections that are curated and cut right here in our warehouse. Over the years we have developed a selection of Precut FQ’s that are personally selected by me, because as a quilter, I could never find exactly what I wanted for my Fat Quarter stash. So I created these for me, and for you. When you wake up in the middle of the night from a pastel dream, muttering “I need a collection of rainbow ice cream solids!” …..we will have exactly what you need.
Over 23 years our Precut selection has expanded exponentially to include many cherry-picked collections of charms, strips, 10″ squares and Fat Quarters from our beloved fabric manufacturers. But you’ll know which ones are exclusive to eQuilter because of our distinctive product images (as you see above) which were designed by Paul. We really have fun putting these together, and we just hope that you enjoy them as much as we do!
There’s nothing like a stack of colorful Fat Quarters to lift your spirits, so I invite you to explore our Precut Department and you just might find out why Fat is Good when you are a quilter. *wink*
To make this quick and easy 44″ x 63″ quilt design, you will start with the central 24″ x 44″ panel, then add 4 more coordinates from the collection to make the borders. This creative muse might be just what you need to hang on the wall of your work space, to keep you company as you are sewing your way through 2022!
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.
Yesterday I heard that Zen Master and peace activist Thich Nhat Hahn had passed from this world into the next, at 95 years old. I had to drop everything and meditate on the wisdom I have absorbed from him over the years. I feel very fortunate to have heard him speak in person twice. In fact I find that in the most challenging times, I return to those lessons full of so much deep insight. Teachers who speak of compassion, love, and mindfulness have helped me to form a solid foundation in this life. So I am taking this weekend to meditate on my gratitude for the Light he shared with our world.
This week the Art Quilt world lost one of our matriarchs. Judith Trager was active locally and nationally, and she was one of the first people I met when I discovered Art Quilts before eQuilter was hatched. She achieved the last thing on her bucket list though – her latest fiber art piece got into the Visions Art Museum show. She will be sorely missed by our creative community.
This weekend I am finally starting to recover from a badly sprained ankle and a fall on the ice. I know many people who have fallen or struggled with icy conditions the last couple weeks – so here’s hoping we’ll have more crunchy snow and less slipping and sliding! Those of you who live in areas of Black Ice know that feeling of dread when the tires go silent because the wet roads have frozen into a solid sheet of glassy ice. Be careful out there! We are not used to Black Ice storms here in Colorado.
Sending our deepest gratitude to those of you who have dropped off quilts or are making comfort quilts for the 1000+ families who lost everything in the December 30th #MarshallFire.
We have posted guidelines for donation here, and this effort will run for many months, for the thousands of people affected. This has hit our community hard and we are still trying to comprehend the depth of destruction and the many layers of recovery that will be required.
My curated exhibit “For the Love of Gaia” opens Jan 28 at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, Mass. It will run through April 9th. This will be the final stop for this exhibit, and we thank all the artists for their beautiful and thoughtful works of textile art.
To make this exclusive eQuilter quilt design, you will splice together two 60″ x 60″ digital panels (one Blue, one Purple), then add 3 Hoffman Hand-Dyes to make the border for this 68″ x 68″ finished quilt.
This Bees-Eye-View of a luscious Dahlia bloom will keep your creative juices flowing through the remainder of Winter, so you can dream and plan for your garden in a few months. Enjoy!
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.
One of the great thrills for wildlife photographers is being able to capture a great shot. It is as thrilling as the experience of an avid birder, spotting that one bird they’ve been searching for all their life. Whether we are a photographer or a birder, sometimes we have traveled great distances to capture that moment that can never be repeated but will always be in our heart.
But in order to get that beautiful shot or spot that rare bird in your binoculars and get that rush of adrenaline, you have to prepare, sometimes for years. You buy the right equipment, you spend time with those fellow fans who are more experienced to absorb their wisdom, and you practice taking photos or learning to spot birds in the wild. This is what I call watering the garden of the creative soul. It is the same as a musician practicing scales for years and years so someday they can play in the orchestra.
These days out West we have to plant a xeriscape garden that will still attract the birds, or pollinators. (We are in a drought.) We prepare our soil, we plant the seeds or young seedlings, we water carefully, and in time we are rewarded with that moment of magic when the stars line up, the flower blooms, and the migrating hummingbirds stop to feed right outside your window, and your camera is within reach.
Creativity is much the same. We plant the seeds, we water the garden, we wait for the ripening fruit and seasonal migration to coincide. We collect fabric & notions, we invest in a good sewing machine, we learn and practice our skills, we find our local quilting tribe (guild), we have a creative brainwave, we set a goal to make something in time for an exhibit deadline or an event like a wedding or a birth….and the thrill we feel from this accomplishment is something we never forget. But it is more about the journey than the destination. We are always thinking of our next creative project!
For those of you avid birders, I want to remind you that we are constantly collecting 3 categories of bird fabrics for you, so you can put those avian dreams and bird-watching memories into your own quilts. (See the 3 small images/links above.)
In times such as these, we need to constantly water the Creative Soul. What can you do to water your Creative Garden now, so you can harvest the sweet juices later this year?
…sharing your love of fabric, Luana and Paul
* The Owl photo at the center of the collage was taken by Luana in June 2021.
To make this week’s 62″ x 80″ Free Quilt Pattern, you will start with the adorable 24″ x 44″ Hugs & Kisses Gnome panel, then add the Gnome stripe, a border of pieced Hearts, and another stripe border. We’ve added a dark Wine Red Hoffman Hand-Dye to set off the different border layers.
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.
Celebrate Joyful Days and the return of artist Julia Cairns, with this week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern, with scenes of abundance from an African village.
To make this 49″ x 61″ quilt design, you will start with Julia’s image of a family on its way to Market, balancing baskets of chickens, fish and flowers on their heads. This easy quilt adds the African Beauty Stripe, and a stone texture, to create a quick project filled with exuberance and movement.
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.
As I mentioned in the Saturday e-newsletter, we are launching a quilt drive for the fire victims in Boulder. Please visit this link for details if you are interested in contributing. Thank you.
There is a short list of things that can restore my joy for life, when stress or exhaustion seem to have sapped the lifeblood out of me. I am sure you can relate. Every couple months of the last 2 years of the pandemic, I hit the wall and have to find a way to crawl out of the hole.
Our community has had some terrible traumas in the last year, but for sure there are plenty of other communities around the world that have suffered worse – things like war, famine, typhoons, etc. With this new year I am just giving up my desire for a return to ‘normal’ any time soon, and meditating on finding a place of balance amidst the fray.
I know that being creative is one of those things that bring me joy. And no it is not a Kondo kind of ‘sparking of joy’. Rather, it is making a big colorful mess and wallowing in the deep end. That’s what I am doing right now, since I was finally able to get back into my studio. I am finishing a big project in the next 2 weeks, and then continuing and finishing another important project for another show. Any time I go spend a few hours with fabric, I come out with a calm smile and a singing heart.
Over the past 2 years I’ve been kind of beating myself up about not being more creatively productive, which was kind of dumb. I’ve been working long hours the whole pandemic, and I am just now coming up for air. I decided to give myself a break and focus on what I accomplished, rather than all the things I wish I could have done. Can you relate?
So here is my celebration of creativity, in collaboration with several other artists:
“For the Love of Gaia” opened in Lincoln NE (never got to see it), then traveled to Birmingham UK (never got to see it), and on Jan 27 is scheduled to open at the New England Quilt Museum. (I hope to go to the closing reception April 9th) I curated this environmental-themed exhibit, and my quilt “Rocky Mountain Poison” has been acquired by the Intl Quilt Museum, where it will go to live when this show closes.
“A Better World” is opening in a few days at the Visions Art Museum, after traveling to 5 other venues. My quilt celebrating Kathy Price and the Mission of Love is hanging in this show.
My quilt “Women’s Rights are Human Rights” will be in the “Womens Voices, Womens Votes” exhibit opening at the Clinton Presidential Library in late March.
And as you may know, my painted 54″ fiberglass bear “If Mama Bears Ruled the Earth” is in a public art display in Chautauqua Park in Boulder now.
So if you are in San Diego, Lowell Mass, or Boulder, I invite you to see my work along with the beautiful artwork by other talented passionate artists. I’ll let you know the details when the next show opens at the presidential library.
I guess I will cut myself a break and then get back to that short list of things that make me calm and happy. I am going to update that list and tape it up on the wall. That is my list of New Year Resolutions.
The image of a strong beautiful tree can represent so many things…a family tree, a magical forest, an old wise soul. This week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern captures an iconic image in soothing cool colors of twilight, with a swirling confetti of leaves to indicate the passing of time.
To make this 51″ x 56″ quilt design, you will start with the Cobalt Blue 24″ x 44″ Tree panel, which is sparkling with Gold Metallic. Piece luscious coordinates in Blue, Violet, and more Gold Metallic, to make the diamond side panels and border.
This would make a lovely contemplative wall-hanging, or a comforting Lap/Nap quilt. For those who love the healing power of a walk in the forest, this quilt will have special meaning.
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.
