I Can See Clearly Now, The Smoke Is Gone

Posted on August 16, 2021 by Luana

For those of you longtime friends and customers, we are turning the page on another chapter of Sophie’s life. By this time next week she will be moved into her new college apartment for her sophomore year of college. We can only hope that, with vaccine mandates in place at the university, she will have a semi-normal first year ‘away’ at college.

My mom had a fall and fractured her clavicle, and there were a couple calls in the middle of the night from the nursing home this week. However the smoke has cleared up here today (after weeks of dangerous air quality) so I had a lovely ‘picnic’ visit with her outside her building, which has locked down again due to new Covid cases. I am sick and tired of the whole thing as I know you are, but as my Swedish great-grandma said, we just have to keep-a-goin’ when we are tested like this. We count our blessings and send our prayers out to so many around the country and around the world who are experiencing fires, floods, war and famine. I am grateful that through our charity program we can continue to help so many families in such desperate need. I know that Mission of Love and Doctors Without Borders are doing important work on the front lines, and I am grateful for their courage and compassion…and commitment.

You will notice that we have a Nature theme going this week, with so many fabrics depicting wild animals and birds. The UN came out with a grim warning about what humans need to do to stop climate change and pollution, to save both humans and the creatures who share this one precious planet with us. Again, I am somewhat heartened that together, through our charity program, we can support organizations like The Wild Foundation and Ocean Conservancy. The forests, the oceans, the Arctic, and the pristine eco-systems need all of us to fight to preserve these precious and irreplaceable wild places. I have taught my kids, that when you feel powerless and hopeless, that is the time to stand up and speak for those without a voice. I promise, it will make you fell better.

So I thank you again for supporting the eQuilter charity program. Together we have raised over $1.8 million and we are truly making a difference around the world. Together we are saving children’s lives, saving endangered species, and bringing Hope.

…sharing your love of fabric,
Luana and Paul

Quilt/Travel Calendar:

Aug 23-27 – Santa Fe
Sept 27 – Anchorage Log Cabin Quilters Guild – Lecture.
Oct 23-30 – Houston Quilt Market & Festival
Dec 4 – Zoom lecture “Intl Quilt Trends” – Quilt Canada
Jan 12 – Apr 9, 2022 – New England Quilt Museum (NEQM) “For the Love of Gaia” exhibit
Sat, April 9 – “International Quilt Trends” lecture – NEQM


See my Flickr Photo Pages for travel images, comment on our blog, or follow us on Facebook.

Visit Pinterest, eQuilter’s Instagramor Twitter for more Color and Design ideas.

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

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Free eQuilter Pattern – Beach Day

Posted on August 13, 2021 by Luana

That walk along the beach is just outside the window, with
this week’s Exclusive Free Quilt Pattern! Calm waves reach the sand, inviting you to a breathtaking vista of sea, sand and sky, featuring Hoffman’s exquisite ‘Beach Day’ panel.

The main panel is combined with Hoffman’s Beach Day coordinates, and is the framed and surrounded by a mitered Seashell Stripe.
This 65″ x 65″ quilt makes a fantastic wallhanging, bringing a relaxing outside view to the inside of your home…or perhaps a lap quilt in your snug beach cottage.

Listen – you can almost hear the waves breaking on the shore.

…from the ‘Beach Day’ collection by Timeless Treasures.

Don’t miss the ‘Hungry Animal Alphabet‘ & ‘Hidden Mountain Majesty‘ 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.

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Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful….

Posted on August 11, 2021 by Luana

The weather outside is frightful (heat waves, drought and wildfires) but the snow is so delightful, so this week I am bringing you to a Winter Wonderland.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!
(Hoping that earworm will keep you cool for the rest of the week….thank you Dean Martin.)

I am sure you have heard about the supply chain disruptions that have interrupted production and delivery of a wide range of products during the pandemic, from toilet paper to car parts. Well guess what? It is still impacting our industry, although things have been improving a bit over the last month. However the deliveries of Christmas fabrics has been severely impacted, with Holiday fabrics being delayed anywhere from 2 to 4 months. Normally our peak stock levels of Christmas collections would come in May and June at the latest, but this year it is coming in August.

Christmas collections are seasonal products, i.e. they are mostly ‘one and done’, so we buy extra of what we think will sell best. There is generally no opportunity to reorder a holiday design once it sells out for the season.

Since we are experiencing ‘Peak Christmas’ right now, I thought it would be good to point this out and give you that insider tip that you should snag your favorites now while you still can.

I have a particular fondness for snowy scenic panels, and we know many of you do too, so we stock up on those lovely landscapes and Santa scenes. Many of them are digital prints these days, and I have to tell you the technology of these digital prints has come such a long way in the last 10 years. If you are still harboring fears about the quality of digital prints, I invite you to come on in …the water’s fine!….and these digital-printed fabrics are colorfast and have beautiful saturated colors with exquisite illustrative and painterly details. Gosh, it is such an exciting time to be in this industry, and to see digital technology having reached this level of artistry and high quality.

The best part about these digital scenic panels is that they tell a story, and to a starry-eyed child on Christmas Eve, you can get wonderfully lost in the magic of the story as you take in all the details that are packed into these amazing works of art. Take a peek at our ‘Peak Christmas’ categories and you’ll see what I mean. You just might need to make a cup of hot cocoa!

…sharing your love of fabric,
Luana and Paul


Quilt/Travel Calendar:

Aug 23-27 – Santa Fe
Sept 27 – Anchorage Log Cabin Quilters Guild – Lecture.
Oct 23-30 – Houston Quilt Market & Festival
Dec 4 – Zoom lecture “Intl Quilt Trends” – Quilt Canada
Jan 12 – Apr 9, 2022 – New England Quilt Museum – “For the Love of Gaia” quilt exhibit
Sat, April 9 – “International Quilt Trends” lecture & closing reception at NEQM

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Free eQuilter Pattern – Whispering Pines

Posted on August 10, 2021 by Luana

Follow us to the ethereal mystery of the ‘Whispering Pines’ this week, for
our exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern, based on this wildly popular collection. We just got a shipment from Northcott so we would like to offer this free quilt design before it sells out again!

To make this 59″ x 72″ quilt, you will start with the 28″ x 44″ misty landscape panel. Then you will piece 6 more impressionist coordinates from the collection, to make the mountain-themed border. (The mirror-image triangles create a sense of mountains reflecting in water.)

The soothing colors and Nature-themed scene is sure to bring a calming vibe to any room where the quilt is hung, or used to sleep or snuggle.

…from the ‘Whispering Pines’ collection by Melanie Samra for Northcott Fabrics.

Don’t miss the popular ‘Hungry Animal Alphabet‘ and ‘Illuminated Mosaic‘ 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.

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Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

Posted on August 9, 2021 by Luana

My mother-in-law used to always say – Life is what happens while you are busy making plans. But my mom always taught me to Look on the Bright Side. So I have tried to teach my kids to aim somewhere in the middle of those two philosophies. Sophie is house-sitting this week, and on the first night a skunk apparently let loose on the front porch in the middle of the night. I went over to help her air out the house, came back home and realized my clothes smell like skunk. Well it could be worse. One of us could have been sprayed directly!

Even though the news has been bad this last week, the flow of beautiful new fabrics just kept coming, so that’s what we focus on from day-to-day. The air quality from the Western wildfires is just terrible today, but I keep thinking about those who are directly threatened by the fires that are belching out smoke now. I pray our family and friends in the Western states will be safe…and that we will not have another terrible wildfire season here in our area. As our exhibit “For the Love of Gaia” is being packed up in England now, I know that the message of the artists’ quilts resonated with the viewers there. We have got to start listening to what Mother Earth is saying to us.

Please Note:
My Zoom lecture “International Quilt Trends” is this Monday August 9. (11 am Mountain Daylight Time, 6 pm British Summer Time.) You can pre-register now…on the Festival of Quilts site. Follow this link for information on how to register, and a DISCOUNT code just for eQuilter subscribers. Join me for an overview of the best quilts from the last year of virtual quilt festivals – you’ll be full of juicy creative inspiration afterwards!

…sharing your love of fabric,
Luana and Paul

Quilt/Travel Calendar:

Aug 9 – Zoom lecture “Intl Quilt Trends” for Birmingham Festival of Quilts
Aug 23-27 – Santa Fe
Sept 27 – Anchorage Log Cabin Quilters Guild – Lecture.
Oct 23-30 – Houston Quilt Market & Festival
Dec 4 – Zoom lecture “Intl Quilt Trends” – Quilt Canada
Jan 12 – Apr 9, 2022 – New England Quilt Museum (NEQM)
“For the Love of Gaia” quilt exhibit
Sat, April 9 – “International Quilt Trends” lecture – NEQM


See my Flickr Photo Pages for travel images, comment on our blog, or follow us on Facebook.

Visit Pinterest, eQuilter’s Instagramor Twitter for more Color and Design ideas.

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

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Free eQuilter Pattern – Illuminated Mosaic

Posted on August 6, 2021 by Luana

Perhaps you have seen this gorgeous digital panel in our newsletters or on our website and wondered what to do with it…and now we have an answer!
This week’s exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern gives you a beautiful but simple path to a quilt that will elicit gasps of awe and wonder from your friends and family.

This 59″ x 59″ quilt design takes full advantage of the rich sweep of colors in the selvedge-to-selvedge design, flipping cool and warm colors to create a complementary color pattern that is opulent and lush. It is made with the intricate digital panel, plus 2 collection coordinates, and a Solid Jet Black. It will be hard to cut up this fabric, but so worth it!

…from the ‘Flourish’ collection by RJR Fabrics.

Don’t miss the popular ‘Hungry Animal Alphabet‘ and ‘Santa’s Arrival‘ 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.

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Strong Women, Inspiring Women

Posted on August 4, 2021 by Luana

Clearly we are living in times when we need to support each other and give each other strength. These days I am drawing on the wisdom that I have received throughout my life, from the strong women I have known. Many of us are having to be strong not only for ourselves, but for others around us. Through Faith, Community, and Sheer Stubbornness we are going to get through this pandemic and this year….Together.

If you have made any study of powerful women throughout history, you know that in order to persevere and stay strong, we can’t always be ‘nice’. To speak up, to name the Truth, to stand up for those without a voice, sometimes we have to be louder than our mothers taught us to be. As mothers, as grandmothers, as teachers and mentors, as guardians of young people in our communities, sometimes we have to step out of bounds for the Greater Good.

Many of us are fighting for human rights, for the environment, for social justice, and sometimes just for basic Truth. It can be a struggle to fight for something as simple as Truth sometimes. It can be painful to shine a bright light in dark corners. It can be exhausting to support and comfort so many people who need help now. But it also is incredibly empowering and uplifting. And I know these are times where many of you are discovering a strength you never knew you had. Our hearts are stretched to bursting, then forged in the fire of the moment, to a tenacity and courage we could not have imagined a couple years ago.

Within the approximately 150,000 designs I look at each year (and the appx 14K we buy for eQuilter), there are a precious handful that are about inspiration, strength, healing, and finding one’s Creativity and Truth. I snap them all up, because I know they will mean so much to someone who is going through a tough time. This one is dedicated to YOU, and know that you are not alone. We are ALL connected and we are all moving towards the same future together. You know what I mean.

…sharing your love of fabric,
Luana and Paul

* Please join me for an overview of International Quilt Trends at my virtual lecture for the Festival of Quilts (Birmingham UK) – and please note the date has been changed to Monday August 9th at 11 am Mountain Time, 6 pm British Summer Time. Follow this link to registration and a discount for eQuilter customers. Hope to see you there!

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Free eQuilter Pattern – Black Cat Halloween

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Luana

Are you part of the Black Cat Fan Club? Did you know that black cats are the kitties who are slowest to be adopted at rescue centers….are people still superstitious about beautiful black kitties? There’s nothing like a sleek black cat with big green eyes, who has the soul of a panther.

We love black cats and we celebrate them in this week’s Free Quilt Pattern, with a sweet kitty contemplating a Full Moon, surrounded by orange, cream and Harlequin Jack-O-Lanterns.

To make this 60″ x 78″ Halloween-themed quilt, you will start with a 24″ x 44″ panel. Piece 3 coordinates from the collection, plus Kaufman Kona Solid Black for the inset squares on point. The clever engineered border is made from the matching stripe!

…from the ‘Black Cat Capers’ collection by Andrea Tachiera for Northcott Fabrics.

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).

Don’t miss the fabulous ‘Animal Alphabet Picnic‘ and ‘Hidden Mountain Majesty‘ quilt patterns!

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Here We Go Again

Posted on August 2, 2021 by Luana

Unless you’ve been off the grid for the last week, you probably know that the Delta variant is spiking across the country. Several quilter friends have told me this week that they are getting back to work on making masks, so I just want to remind you that we still have plenty of mask-making supplies in stock.

If things were different, I would have been writing to you from the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham UK, and greeting those of you who stopped into our gallery exhibit of “For the Love of Gaia“. If any of you are there and can take some overall gallery shots of our exhibit, please send the photos to us so I can share with the artists.

Please Note:
My Zoom lecture “International Quilt Trends” has been rescheduled for Monday August 9. You can pre-register now…on the Festival of Quilts site. The in-person event is happening this weekend in Birmingham UK. Follow this link for information on how to register, and a DISCOUNT code just for eQuilter subscribers.

We’ve set the time you it is easy to watch whether you are in the US or Europe. (11 am Mountain Time, 6 pm British Summer Time) I’ll be giving an overview of the virtual quilt exhibits over the last year during the pandemic, and talking about the trends that are coming out of this crazy last year. Hope you can join us!

It has been very difficult to source Asian-themed fabrics over the last year, so I want to point out that we have TWO Asian-themed new collections this week – the Snow Leopard latest collection from Philip Jacobs, and Soho Sushi by Hope Yoder. We are always watching for beautiful Asian fabrics and you can always check out our current stock on this page.

…sharing your love of fabric,
Luana and Paul

Quilt Calendar:

Aug 9 – Zoom lecture “Intl Quilt Trends” for Birmingham Festival of Quilts
Sept 27 – Anchorage Log Cabin Quilters Guild – Lecture.
Oct 23-30 – Houston Quilt Market & Festival
Dec 4 – Zoom lecture “Intl Quilt Trends” – Quilt Canada
Jan 12 – Apr 9, 2022 – New England Quilt Museum (NEQM)
“For the Love of Gaia” quilt exhibit
Sat, March 19 – “International Quilt Trends” power point lecture – NEQM


See my Flickr Photo Pages for travel images, comment on our blog, or follow us on Facebook.

Visit Pinterest, eQuilter’s Instagramor Twitter for more Color and Design ideas.

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

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Virtual Lecture: International Quilt Trends

Posted on July 31, 2021 by Luana

Please Note:
My Zoom lecture “International Quilt Trends” has been rescheduled for Monday August 9. You can pre-register now…on the Festival of Quilts site.

The in-person event is happening this weekend in Birmingham UK.

We’ve set the time you it is easy to watch whether you are in the US or Europe. (11 am Mountain Time, 6 pm British Summer Time) I’ll be giving an overview of the virtual quilt exhibits over the last year during the pandemic, and talking about the trends that are coming out of this crazy last year. Hope you can join us!

Use the promotional code luana10 for a 10% discount for eQuilter customers, when registering at this link:

https://www.immediatelive.com/products/craft/international-quilt-trends/

@thefestivalofquilts @immediatelive

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