The Electric Quilt Company is 30!
The Electric Quilt Company’s Story – How It All Began
We’re celebrating 30 years! Since the pearl is the traditional symbol for 30 years, we’re sharing EQ Pearls of Wisdom from our friends! See all Pearls of Wisdom posts. We hope you enjoy the tips and tricks you learn along the way and discover some new quilters or catch up with your favorites! Also, we’d love to hear about YOUR journey with EQ so feel free to tell us your story in the comments on any post! A big THANK YOU to all our customers for your support over the years. We’re looking forward to many more! 
This week’s featured friend: Anita Grossman Solomon!
Tell us a bit about yourself Anita!
Originally from Niagara Falls, NY, I live in midtown Manhattan where I was a painter and then an art curator before I took up quiltmaking in 1990. I had stumbled upon scrap bags of beautiful French fabric. My plan had been to assemble the scraps into a quilt but first I needed to learn how to quilt. Very late one evening eleven years later my life took a new direction. I got up from my desk and walked away from a simple block I had quickly drawn in EQ. I wondered how I might piece it. Falling asleep, I saw the answer in my head and then thought I could write a block technique book about it and that I could travel internationally to teach. It was the beginning of a new career.
Two-Color Pineapple designed by Anita in EQ
When did you start using Electric Quilt and how has it changed your quilting life?
During the past 28 years I have not worked out a quilt idea without using Electric Quilt. From day one it has saved me from potential disasters. I used it to create innovative foundation patterns for my first book. My Make It Simpler® quilt patterns, products, quilts, and methods wouldn’t exist without EQ. Simply put, I wouldn’t be where I am or the artist I became without the Electric Quilt Company.
Anita Grossman Solomon
What is your EQ “Pearl of Wisdom” for EQ users?
I make EQ templates durable by laminating them front and back inexpensively with layers of shipping tape, before cutting them from the printout. Using colored paper makes them easier to spot. Write the pattern name and rotary cutting information on the template before laminating.
Example of Anita’s Pearl of Wisdom
What are you up to now and what do you have coming up?
I’ll be teaching a week at the at the John C Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC in the summer for 2021 and 2022, and leading a Quilting and Textile tour in Japan in May 2022.
Key West Beauty, Times Square 2009
Giveaway
My giveaway is my Splash project file, and, courtesy of Robert Kaufman Fabrics, the pattern for the Splish Splash quilt. Check out the pattern because you might not expect the simplicity of my piecing technique.
Splish Splash Pattern from Robert Kaufman Fabrics
Splash designed by Anita in EQ
Hope you enjoyed this “pearl” of wisdom. Feel free to share your EQ story or a “pearl” of your own in the comments! Stay tuned for our next post!
