Tokyo Springtime 2020

Dear Friends,

We have gone down the rabbit hole and it seems we have a long way to fall before this journey is over.

It doesn’t seem like just 2 months ago that Sophie and I were in Tokyo for the Quilt Festival. Now Japan’s cherry blossom festivities and the Tokyo Summer 2020 Olympics have been cancelled. So I wanted to share one of the beautiful quilts from this year’s festival, along with some seasonal Japanese fabrics. This too shall pass. Spring will flow into Summer, and we can only hope that by Fall the world will have returned to some normalcy.

eQuilter remains open at this time, and we are still shipping out orders. As we’ve mentioned the last couple weeks, we are disinfecting, social distancing, washing hands, and following all virus protocols very strictly. The health of our staff remains a priority. We are in touch with the governor’s office and local hospital, working to support local healthcare workers as a collection point for masks.

We are stocking up on requested fabrics for those who are sewing masks and gowns for their local hospitals. We have curbside pickup for local customers, but starting today we also have curbside drop off for those making DIY face masks for local healthcare workers. Many have requested elastic for face masks and we will be restocked in about a week. If there is something you need give us a call or email, and we will try to get it for you.

Despite the current chaos, the Earth will still blossom with Spring flowers as temperatures warm. I hope that you can find time to step outside and go for a walk in Nature, while social distancing. Many of you are sewing masks like crazy but don’t forget to take a break to fill up your soul with the beauty of the season.

If you are sewing face masks for your community, please check out this page where we have gathered lots of information from around the country and around the world regarding the construction of these masks. I’ve been in touch with many doctors and nurses to put together a page which I hope will be of help. Please feel free to share this page with others who are organizing to help those needing PPEs (personal protection equipment) in your community. I am continuously updating this page and it has received over 50K visits in the last few days.

sharing your Passion for Fabric…
Luana and Paul

*The red and white quilt “2020” above was photographed by Luana at the Tokyo Quilt Festival in January. The artist’s name is printed in Kanji in the top right corner. The righthand border features Spring fabrics currently in stock. For more photos visit her photo page.

eQuilter Classroom:
June 1-5 2020 – Paula Nadelstern – Kaleidoscopes & Quilts – Registration OPEN
July 20-23 Betty Busby – Transfer Dyeing
August 6-9 – Cindy Lohbeck Returns
October 5-9 – Susan Carlson – RESCHEDULED
2021 – Jacqueline de Jonge

Luana’s Travel Calendar:
June 19 – Quilt Canada – “Intl Quilt Trends” presentation
June 26 – Intl Quilt Museum – Lincoln NE – Opening Reception & Lecture “For the Love of Gaia”
July 29 – Aug 2 – “Love Your Mother” Gallery in Birmingham UK (Lecture 8/1)
Sept 26 – Quilters Take Manhattan
Oct 16-17 – Visions Art Museum – San Diego (Lecture 10/16)