Sandyhook Quilts, Bernina and Instagram

Buried by that giant winter storm?
Grab a hot cuppa, get inspired, and go dive into your eQuilter Stash! (and stay SAFE!)

I've been playing around on Instagram ("luanarubin") for awhile (thanks to Dennis at Andover), and now that I have the hang of it, I've created an Instagram page for eQuilter. ("equilterfabrics") If you love Pinterest, be sure to check out my Luana Rubin and eQuilter accounts there too!

If you follow my travels in my newsletters or on my blog, you know it's been a busy Fall season. 2 weeks in India, Quilt Market & Festival in Houston, Color Marketing Group in Palm Springs, photographing polar bears in Churchill (and speaking in Winnipeg), and my last trip this week was the Bernina Ambassadors Reunion in the Chicago area. Whew!

It is always an honor and a creative joyride to meet up with all the super-talented teachers and artists at the Bernina reunion. We get to hobnob with some of the biggest celebrities in the business, we work/play on Bernina's top of the line machines, and then they thank *US* for coming! I got to spend a few hours playing around on the new 880 that is shipping to Bernina stores now, plus explore features on the new automated system with an 830 on a longarm rack. The new cutwork and crystal setting tools are just awesome, and more than anything it is just fun to drive a powerful machine in a room with a bunch of my talented friends who share that simultaneous buzz of working on a Bernina.

Many thanks to Jeanne, Connie, Debbie, and the whole Bernina Education Team! You girls ROCK!

This week we distributed another 40 quilts to Colorado Flood victims, bringing the total to almost 150. We are so grateful to all the quilters who stepped up and sent beautiful comfort quilts to those who lost their homes in Lyons. Many quilts went to Boulder area schoolteachers who had lost their homes and/or possessions. They asked me to pass on their deepest gratitude for these precious quilts.

Today is a very sad one year anniversary of the shooting at Sandyhook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut. One of my friends in the industry lives down the street from where the shooter lived, and so we asked Frank to receive the 10 memorial quilts which 6 groups created over the last year. Those quilts were then delivered to Newtown's First Selectman – Pat Llodra – and they are placing them with their Cultural Arts Commission for display. Please visit my Sandyhook Memorial Quilt folder on my photo pages, to see some of these heartfelt memorials that were created for the 26 lost at the school one year ago. Our hearts and prayers are with Newtown today.