Free Quilt Pattern – Mystic Kitty

Posted on March 31, 2024 by Luana

Behold the green eyes of this mystical kitty, who sees all and knows all, in this week’s Free Quilt Pattern. This mesmerizing portrait captures the intensity of this cosmic cat’s gaze, surrounded by marbleized colors and opulent embellishments.

To make this 71″ wide x 55″ high quilt design, you will start with our exclusive 28″ x 44″ digital-printed panel. We have used 3 analogous colors of Paula Nadelstern’s “Poured Color” marbled prints, combined with Kona Solid Black, to construct the pieced border.

As a wall hanging, this is a real conversation piece for the true Ailurophile. (Cat lover) Or use this as a Nap quilt or small bed coverlet for fantastical feline dreams. The jewel tones of Emerald, Peridot and Citrine really ‘pop’ against the solid black in the pieced frame. This just might be your cat’s favorite new quilt!

…from the ‘Mystic Animals’ collection by the Rubin Design Studio, designed exclusively for eQuilter.

PLUS – you’ll receive Free USA / 50% off INTL shipping
when you order the fabrics for this exquisite 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.

Click Here for a Video Tutorial of the Free Pattern Designer.
Download Instructions for the pattern at the bottom of the pattern designer page.

Sharing your passion for fabric and color,
Luana and Paul Rubin

Share Post:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
Posted in Animals, Art, Free Quilt Patterns, Quilt Pattern | Leave a comment

Spring Chocolate Sale

Posted on March 30, 2024 by Luana

Well, the time has come to clear out our Artisan Chocolates for the season, and I know from experience they go fast. Place your order now for 30% off. If you order 5 chocolate bars and a spool of thread, we won’t tell anybody. Or, you can order 5 spools of thread and one bar of chocolate for a low-cal dopamine hit. *giggle*

I want to make sure you don’t miss these special new products this week:

Evolon 58 gsm – 40″ wide Back in Stock, New 80″ wide by the yard!
Goofy Cherry Blossom new tea towels.
Caryl Bryer Fallert‘s Ombre collection back in stock – 24 colors + Fat Strip Precut
2 New SAQA Books – Fierce Planets & StitchPUNK

This week I am busy prepping for a one-week art quilt retreat in SW Colorado – the Allegre Retreat which was founded by Katie Pasquini Masopust. I met her 20+ years ago at Art Quilt Tahoe. I am finally going to check off this bucket list item, and hopefully get a lot of work done there. I am not in a class, but I am doing an independent study retreat. One of the teachers is Susan Carlson, who we had scheduled to teach here in 2020, but had to cancel (along with Paula Nadelstern) because of the pandemic. Sigh…..

Today I was out at the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, gathering signatures for a ballot initiative to ban Trophy Hunting of Big Cats in Colorado. On the walk back to my car, I saw the new residents: beautiful silver foxes who were rescued from a fur farm. eQuilter is a “Founder” – we have donated to their huge wildlife refuge in SE Colorado where lions and tigers and bears live in outdoor acreage after being rescued from horrendous abusive situations. They have started a Horse Refuge for mustangs that are rounded up destined for a tragic demise – but are saved at the auction and sent to the refuge to run free again.

If you would like advance notice of my Textile & Costume tour in Italy in early December, contact Customer Service and they will put you on that list.

sharing your love for fabric,
Luana and Paul

Travel/Quilt Dates:
April 7-12 Allegre Retreat
May 1-7 – England
August – World Wilderness Congress
December – Textile/Costume Tour – Italy

Visit eQuilter’s Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok pages for Color and Design ideas.

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

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

Share Post:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
Posted in Animals, Art, Holidays/Events, Quilts, Travel, Trends | Leave a comment

Free Quilt Pattern – Barnyard Babies

Posted on March 28, 2024 by Luana

Celebrate the arrival of Spring with this adorable collection of baby animals, in this week’s Free Quilt Pattern. Each block is a sweet portrait of a little baby animal, featuring a bright-eyed lamb, fuzzy pink piglet, soft yellow chicks, carrot-nibbling bunny, curious calf, and sassy kid. (goat)

To make this 63″ x 69″ quilt, you will start with two 24″ x 44″ Barnyard Babies block panels, piecing blocks to make 3 rows in the central section. Join blocks with coordinating blender. Use matching Barnyard Stripe to create border, with outer border of blue blender. Finish with coordinating red paisley print for the binding.

This a fun Nap/Lap quilt for a retired farmer, maybe a wall hanging in the barn, or a delightful gift for a new baby. Also makes a great gift for your vet who will be delivering some of these baby animals this spring!

…from the ‘Barnyard Babies’ collection by South Africa designer Clint Eagar for P&B Textiles.

PLUS – you’ll receive Free USA / 50% off INTL shipping
when you order the fabrics for this exquisite 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.

Click Here for a Video Tutorial of the Free Pattern Designer.
Download Instructions for the pattern at the bottom of the pattern designer page.

Sharing your passion for fabric and color,
Luana and Paul Rubin

Share Post:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
Posted in Free Quilt Patterns, Quilt Pattern | Comments Off on Free Quilt Pattern – Barnyard Babies

Feelin’ Groovy

Posted on March 27, 2024 by Luana
This week, for you avid Midweek newsletter readers, I am giving you a little sneak peak of a beloved collection we just got back in stock:
Caryl Bryler Fallert-Gentry’s “Gradations” which is 24 different color combinations of Ombre prints.

If you have ever played around with gradient prints, you know that every cut of these fabrics yields several different colors and/or values, so one colorway is like 4 or 5 colors or shades. Gradient prints have been embraced by Modern Quilters for the luminous quality they add to a quilt. Contemporary quilters love them because they give a 3-D effect.

We’ve cut all 24 colors into 5″ strips and packaged them in-house for a palette-stretcher precut that will expand your color options in a heartbeat.

Today I am featuring this delightful quilt from the Maximalism exhibit at QuiltCon. As you may recall, I wrote an article about Maximalism awhile back, so I was excited to see this batch of quilts!

This quilt is by Linda Hungerford, and is titled “Feelin’ Groovy“. (center image in the collage above.)

Linda writes:

“An abandoned box of already-pieced quarter circle, and triangle-in-a-square blocks triggered this design that needed more. So, to meet a Central Florida MQG Challenge of using half-rectangle triangle (HRT) blocks in a quilt, I made two sizes of them using only stripes and solids.”

Part of what makes this busy quilt so fun and eye-catching is the juxtaposition of Solid Brights with Black-and-White stripes. For those of you who have attended my trend lectures, you know this Black-and-White-and-Color trend is ongoing and mutating. As a result, we have been expanding our selection of Black and White stripes because they are so fun to work with – give it a try!

If you are looking for more gradient prints, go to our Color Palette and scroll down – there are 4 different color categories of these Ombre fabrics.

Be sure to check out my photos from QuiltCon 2024!

Sharing your love of fabric…
Luana and Paul


Visit eQuilter’s Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok pages for Color and Design ideas.

Follow Luana’s Flickr Photo Pages for quilt & travel images, or follow us on Facebook.

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

Subscribe to Luana’s Artist Website blog for more creative inspiration.

Travel/Quilt Dates:
April 7-12 – Allegre Retreat
May 1-7 – London UK
August – World Wilderness Congress
Share Post:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
Posted in Color, Creativity, Quilts, Trends | Comments Off on Feelin’ Groovy

Free Quilt Pattern – American Spirit

Posted on March 24, 2024 by Luana

Today’s exclusive Free Quilt Pattern captures the spirit of freedom with a bald eagle decorated in the American red, white, and blue posing proudly against a star spangled frame.

To make this 65″ x 72″ quilt design, you will sew American Stripe strips between blue hand dye strips, and attach American Spirit Frames to the corners. Sew solid black borders, which accentuate the patriotic colors, along with a red hand dye binding.

…from the ‘American Spirit’ collection by Dan Morris for Quilting Treasures.

PLUS – you’ll receive Free USA / 50% off INTL shipping
when you order the fabrics for this exquisite 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.

Click Here for a Video Tutorial of the Free Pattern Designer.
Download Instructions for the pattern at the bottom of the pattern designer page.

Sharing your passion for fabric and color,
Luana and Paul Rubin

Share Post:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
Posted in Animals, Free Quilt Patterns, Quilt Pattern | Comments Off on Free Quilt Pattern – American Spirit

Do You Love Textiles?

Posted on March 23, 2024 by Luana

Just in case you missed the Wednesday e-newsletter, I now have photo albums up for both the DAR Museum opening of “Sewn in America”, and QuiltCon exhibits.

For many years I’ve been researching a very unique Textile & Costume tour in Italy, and right now I’m putting together a holiday season trip (including Christmas Markets) around the 2nd week of December. I’d like to give our avid eQuilter fans first crack at this amazing tour, so if you’d like to have a 48 hour advance notice to reserve a place when registration opens, contact Customer Service and get on the list! This is not a tour for those of you who have never been to Italy before. It is more an in-depth study (and celebration!) of textile history and costumes. It is going to be AWESOME. There just might be some wine tasting involved….

This morning I attended a live streaming performance of Gounod’s ‘Romeo et Julette’ from the Met in New York. It was a gorgeous costume piece, with 18th century style, written by a 19th century French composer. The costume designer Catherine Zuber did a fantastic job. I know that many of you are not only avid quilters, but also costume (and opera) aficionados…because if you love textiles it is hard not to love costumes and historic fabrics.

There were several transmission interruptions during the first half (the image on the screen froze) and during the intermission the executive director of the Met came on and apologized, saying they were having severe thunderstorms and torrential rain which interrupted the satellite transmission….and he blamed it on climate change. I see there is still a flood watch in place. Oh the times, they are a changin’…..

For those of you who attended the online SAQA webinar on embellishments, we are highlighting our Milliner needles this week. We also carry the Perle 8 cotton embroidery threads in gorgeous color collections, and those handy heavy-duty thimbles that are beloved by handwork experts. Enjoy!

sharing your love for fabric,
Luana and Paul

Travel/Quilt Dates:
April 7-12 Allegre Retreat
May 1-7 – England
December – Textile/Costume Tour – Italy

Visit eQuilter’s Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok pages for Color and Design ideas.

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

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

Share Post:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
Posted in Activism, Animals, Art, Creativity, Design | Comments Off on Do You Love Textiles?

Free Quilt Pattern – Mystic Owl

Posted on March 21, 2024 by Luana

Stare deep into the eyes of the all-knowing Cosmic Owl, with this week’s Free Quilt Pattern. The powerful image captures the magic and wisdom of this nocturnal raptor, in vivid kaleidoscopic colors and ornate embellishments.

To make this 71″ wide x 55″ high quilt design, you will start with our exclusive 28″ x 44″ digital-printed panel. We have used 2 complementary colors of Paula Nadelstern’s marbled “Cosette”, combined with Kona Solid Black, to construct the pieced border. A 3rd color of Cosette is used for the binding.

As a wall hanging, this is a real conversation piece for the true Strigiformesphile. (Owl lover) Or use this as a Nap quilt or small bed coverlet for soaring raptor dreams. Did you know the Japanese word for Owl is Fukuro? In Icelandic it is Ugla. Maltese – is Kokka. What will you name your owl?

…from the ‘Inspirational’ collection by the Rubin Design Studio, designed exclusively for eQuilter.

PLUS – you’ll receive Free USA / 50% off INTL shipping
when you order the fabrics for this exquisite 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.

Click Here for a Video Tutorial of the Free Pattern Designer.
Download Instructions for the pattern at the bottom of the pattern designer page.

Sharing your passion for fabric and color,
Luana and Paul Rubin

Share Post:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
Posted in Animals, Art, Free Quilt Patterns, Quilt Pattern | Comments Off on Free Quilt Pattern – Mystic Owl

Happy Spring!

Posted on March 20, 2024 by Luana

Happy Spring Equinox!

Today is the first Full Day of Spring which is always a cause for celebration here in Colorado. Our mountains are cloaked in snow, but our bulbs are pushing up through the ground, and the tree buds are swelling with our sunny mild weather. I am including a collage of a new collection of Sea Turtle/Ocean prints that just arrived this week….with warmer weather I think about visiting the coast later this year!

In Washington DC the cherry blossoms are at peak bloom, and I have just come back from an opening reception at the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) Museum which is a couple blocks from the White House. I was there for the first day of “Sewn in America” which will run through December 31.

As you enter the exhibit, you read this description:

“Sewn objects surround us. They clothe us from birth, cover our bodies day and night, furnish our living spaces, line our coffins. Until recently, nearly every woman knew how to sew – knowledge imparted in childhood and employed through a lifetime.

Without formal art training, women used needle arts to express themselves. In quilts, embroidery, and other fancy work projects, they beautified their surroundings, made gifts of love and friendship, expressed emotion, proclaimed their identity, and conveyed their support for causes.

Sewn in America examines the way in which American women (and men) from the 18th and 19th centuries learned and deployed their needle skills to furnish their households, earn livings, and express themselves, with contemporary examples of the themes explored.”

My quilt “Stardust Mothers” is one of the contemporary examples chosen for this historic 2024 exhibit, and I also wrote a chapter about Craftivism in the companion book. If you are planning a trip to our nation’s capital this year, please stop to visit the DAR to see this exhibit, and all their other quilts on display from all the states, over the last 200+ years.

Be sure to check out my photos from QuiltCon 2024!

Sharing your love of fabric…
Luana and Paul

Visit eQuilter’s Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok pages for Color and Design ideas.

Follow Luana’s Flickr Photo Pages for quilt & travel images, review our blog, or follow us on Facebook.

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

Subscribe to Luana’s Artist Website blog for more creative inspiration.

Travel/Quilt Dates:
April 7-12 – Allegre Retreat
May 1-7 – London UK

Share Post:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
Posted in Art, Creativity, Design, Holidays/Events, Museum, Trends | Comments Off on Happy Spring!

Free Quilt Pattern – Floral Kitty Portrait

Posted on March 17, 2024 by Luana

Our Fabulous Floral Kitty panel displays charm and elegance, dressed in a classic Victorian hat. This week’s exclusive Free Quilt Design is full of gorgeous details and a captivating kitty surrounded by graceful, painterly flowers.

To make this 58″ x 64″ quilt design, you will start with our ever-popular 43″ x 44″ digital panel. The central masterpiece is framed by mitering our detailed wood grain print, and then bordered with a deep Amethyst Hoffman Hand Dye.

…from the ‘Adorable Pets’ collection by the Rubin Design Studio, designed exclusively for eQuilter.

PLUS – you’ll receive Free USA / 50% off INTL shipping
when you order the fabrics for this exquisite 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.

Click Here for a Video Tutorial of the Free Pattern Designer.
Download Instructions for the pattern at the bottom of the pattern designer page.

Sharing your passion for fabric and color,
Luana and Paul Rubin

Share Post:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
Posted in Animals, Free Quilt Patterns, Quilt Pattern, Quilts | Comments Off on Free Quilt Pattern – Floral Kitty Portrait

I’m in a SemiQuincentennial Mood

Posted on March 16, 2024 by Luana

When you receive this email, I’ll be flying back from Washington DC, where I attended the opening reception for ‘Sewn in America – Making-Meaning-Memory’ at the DAR Museum. My quilt ‘Stardust Mothers’ is hanging in this exhibit, next to a quilt made by fellow artist Dr Carolyn Mazloomi. The exhibit will be open through December 31st. I hope you can see this beautiful exhibit if you are visiting DC, which has both historic quilts and contemporary quilts illustrating ‘craftivism’.

You may have heard that we got about a foot of heavy wet snow on Thursday. I was supposed to fly to DC Thursday morning, but was able to switch my flight to Wednesday to get out of town ahead of the storm. Here in Washington, the magnolia trees and daffodils are in full blossom, and the cherry blossoms are just starting to open. DC is about one week from ‘peak blossom’. Of course with the cherry blossoms come the huge crowds. They seem to get bigger every year. I am getting out of town just in time.

I also learned this week that my ‘Uncompahgre Fritillary’ quilt has been accepted into the SAQA ‘Camouflage’exhibit, which will open at the Intl Quilt Festival in Houston this Fall. Also just finished an article on color trends, that will be in the July/Aug issue of Quiltmaker, which we will of course have in stock in a a few months.

Do you remember the Bicentennial celebrations in 1976? That is the year that I graduated from high school. It was also the Centennial year for our state of Colorado. When I went to the AQSG seminar last year, I heard a lecture by a historian studying a Bicentennial quilt from 1976. Well guess what? We have the semiquincentennial coming up: 2026 will be the 250th anniversary of the American experiment. Start working on your semiquincentennial quilt now, and maybe in 2076 somebody will give a lecture on the history of YOUR quilt! If you have a centennial or bicentennial quilt in your family, send us a picture and I might know a historian or curator who would like to know more about your historic quilt.

The quilts we make today will potentially become part of history some day. Be sure to label your quilts today, for those who are curious tomorrow. Always put a label on the back of your quilt, with your name, date, town, and any other pertinent information. Was the quilt made to celebrate a wedding or a baby? Was it for a kid going off to college, or graduating? Is it a friendship quilt, a memorial quilt, or to document another important event in your life? Some day, that information will fascinate someone admiring your quilt. For myself, I am starting to plan a semiquincentennial quilt!

sharing your love for fabric,
Luana and Paul

Travel/Quilt Dates:
April 7-12 Allegre Retreat
May 1-7 – England

Visit eQuilter’s Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok pages for Color and Design ideas.

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

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

Share Post:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
Posted in Art, Creativity, Design, Holidays/Events, Quilts, Travel, Trends | Comments Off on I’m in a SemiQuincentennial Mood