Sew It Seams

EQUILTER

Boulder, Colorado, is a beautiful city perched right beneath the Flatirons at the base of the Rockies.


It is filled with gorgeous old homes and enormous trees, and it boasts some of the healthiest and most athletic outdoor adventurers anywhere.  It also has a mail order warehouse that many a quilter might  mistake for fabric heaven.

We were privileged to receive a tour of EQuilter, which, according to buyer Betty Murray, houses more than 22,000 items at any given time, most of which are bolts of fabric.

The 15,000 square-foot warehouse has hundreds of shelves of fabric, all grouped by vendors, which they call their “fabric library.”  We found our section right away!


Orders are pulled by hand, and cut at 12 cutting tables, with each bolt going right back on the shelf.


Each order is hand wrapped and shipped, usually the same day.

Owner Luana Rubin was unfortunately not in town when we visited (she travels extensively), but her husband Paul was busily scanning hundreds of fabrics (about 300 per week) to upload to their web site. 


The company recently reached its goal of donating a million dollars to charity, in addition to collecting quilts for fire victims in Colorado.  They had already delivered 40, and were continuing to collect more.

They previously collected and delivered over 2100 quilts for Japanesee tsunami survivors.

The warehouse is not generally open to the public, which made the visit all the more pleasurable. Quilt guilds and groups can schedule tours on Friday afternoons, but they must be booked in advance.

FYNN

Fynn is the second in our series of dot-centric fabric collections. Every single piece is completely dotty! The fresh, clean colors inspire a cheerful vibe, and the dots are just plain fun. Three of the prints have elements of both dots and stripes (or dots lined up in stripes), and two are allover dots……lots and lots.

This cute little dress is a Kwik Sew pattern #K3934.

The pillow on the left was sewn by Judy Woodfill, and the green one on the right was designed by Jessica Weisen and sewn by Joyce Lopez.

The quilt on the chair is by Corey Yoder.  You can download the free pattern right here!

 

We couldn’t resist a baby quilt as well, which is by Elizabeth Allocco.

"Baby Fans" – Aren’t they just too fynn…fun??

GAIL MARIE

Guest Designer Gail Marie, who created the gorgeous Galeria Encantada collection, has sent us a blog about her life in beautiful Mexico.  It sounds muy bueno!

I began my career working as a photo assistant to a busy advertising photographer.  The excitement in the studio helped me to realize exactly what I wanted to do the rest of my life.  I dreamed that someday I would be the creative force behind the image. 
Over the years my husband Bob and I have developed three successful creative businesses:  Advertising Photography, Stock photography and finally our Gail Marie Licensed Art Brand.  Our sentimental and inspiring designs have been licensed on stationery, gift and home décor products.  We are passionate about our company and the quality of each and every design.

(click on the quilt to download the pattern)

This elegant quilt was made by Heidi Pridemore.  Soft and gentle colors and detail are perfect for any home.  Thanks Heidi for making such a beautiful piece!

In 1996 we moved to San Miguel de Allende.  It had been a dream of ours to live and work in Mexico.  It was there that my artistic aspirations began to form.  We live just outside of town in the countryside in an all green home, totally solar, on 12 acres.  We have an art studio, an office, and a greenhouse where we grow organic vegetables.

San Miguel de Allende is about 3 ½ hours north of Mexico City.  It is a very unique city and is considered the jewel of colonial architecture and a national treasure for all the Mexican people.  The town is full of art galleries, terrific restaurants, and constant celebrations and festivals.  We love it here for its cultural diversity, beautiful surroundings, and its perfect year-round spring like weather.

We have two beautiful kitties, Gia and Marco, who lie in their baskets next to our computers.  They remind us daily that it is the simple things in life that make all the difference, and that you should nap when you need to.

I love cooking, giving dinner parties, making gourmet chocolates, scuba diving, movies and sitting under the stars and being with friends and family.  I am currently studying Spanish, which is a very big challenge for me.

We have never been more excited and determined about creating designs than we are today.  The more we learn, the more excited we become and the more fun we have creating images that people love.  We feel totally blessed to have our wonderful son Nicholas with us, to be making our living creating art, and to be living in San Miguel de Allende.