Not too long ago I asked you all to tell me how you use EQ6 for projects other than quilting. Ellen Burleson replied about how she uses EQ to design her hooked rugs. I loved this idea and asked her to share some images with us and how she does it:

This first rug was simple squares with a narrow sashing. EQ helped with choosing colors. The rug has a Belgian linen backing, and the since the pattern was simple squares, I used a permanent black marker and a yard stick to draw the design on the backing. I used 100% cotton t-shirts purchased at Goodwill, cut into ½” strips, and used a primitive rug hook to hook the fabric strips into the backing. First I hooked the borders and sashing, then filled in the squares. I started at the outside edge of each square, and hooked around and around in a diminishing spiral pattern until the square was filled in. The rug resides right inside our front door.

The second rug was made with a block from EQ, printed as an outline of the block, and traced onto red dot tracer fabric. I then placed the red dot tracer pattern on the backing, and used a wide tip permanent black marker to trace the pattern 60 times onto the Belgian linen backing. I used a Craftman’s Punch Needle and Lamb’s Pride Bulky yarn to hook the rug. EQ was a huge help in planning the colors. This rug hangs in our stairway.

Here also, is a small wall quilt that was designed with a stencil in EQ. (I have all seven volumes of the Quiltmaker Quilting Designs for EQ!) I quilted the piece with alternating long and short stitches, including a silver lined crystal Miyuki seed bead on each of the short stitches. The photo doesn’t do it justice – it’s much more sparkly in person.