Jackie Kunkel

Jackie Kunkel

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Don’t you love great quilting books? You can’t ever have enough! And the quilts inside are always so unique and creative. Jackie Kunkel used EQ7 to create the quilts in her book, Splash of Color. Enter to win a copy at the bottom of the post!

EQ: Hi Jackie! We just loved your article in the newest issue of American Patchwork & Quilting about color. Tell us a little bit about your thoughts on color and how you go about selecting a color palette.

Jackie: One thing I know is that I LOVE color! The more saturated the color, the better for me! However, that is not to say that only saturated color serves a purpose for me, all color does. When I am selecting a color palette, I tend to gravitate towards the saturated colors, but if I need to strike a balance, I will draw in more subtle tones or a color that compliments what I am using. In my book Splash of Color: A Rainbow of Brilliant Black and White Quilts, you will see that I used mainly very saturated colors. I wanted the colors to POP off the black and white fabrics. They really shine against the black and white as their backdrop. I will tell you that my favorite color is pink and really almost every shade of pink. However, the deep more saturated tones of pink like magenta or fuchsia are my hands down favorites!

Splash of Color

Splash of Color by Jackie Kunkel

EQ: Splash of Color is a book EVERY designer should have, don’t you think?!

Jackie: Of course! I think it is a great jumping off point for anyone really, who might be afraid to use color. Learning how to pair up great color, I think is essential to any good quilting design. But having fun with your color is even more important. This book is about fun and playing with your colors to make them pop!

Twirling

Twirling

EQ: What are your favorite quilts in the book and why?
Jackie: One of my most favorite is Proud Mary, it is an ode to my Nana. I miss her everyday. She was one of the most influential women in my life. She was strong and creative too! I have fun teaching this class all across the country and the quilt is being really well received! Another of the quilts that I love, is also an ode to my Nana and Pop-Pop…. Twirling (pictured above). (Read in the book as to why this is an ode to my grandparents) This one I designed in EQ and love it. It is a Dresden Plate quilt with a great “border” added. The quilt appears to have a border, but they are just blocks. The whole quilt is designed to be put together in rows, no separate borders added. I love to design quilts that way, because for some quilters it is a challenge to add borders. But joining blocks into rows is a fantastic way to complete a quilt top with the look of borders.

Jumpin Jax in EQ7

Jumpin Jax in EQ7

Jumpin Jax finshed quilt

Jumpin Jax finshed quilt

EQ: What was your design process like using EQ7 for some of these quilts?
Jackie: So, that is an interesting question. I am a Mac user and for years, I didn’t have EQ. Right before my contract came through with Martingale for the book, EQ launched the Mac version! I was thrilled and jumped on the bandwagon immediately. Some of my designs that I had sketched out, I then put them into EQ and it made my life so much easier. I could see what fabric actually looked like in the quilts. And I was able to change up a few things when I found that it worked better than I had originally planned. Most of the designs didn’t start in EQ, but 7 ended up being either redone, completed, or just out and out designed in EQ! It was delight to use EQ.

EQ: We know EQ7 is great for creating layouts and blocks, editing photos and calculating fabric yardage, but tell us how EQ helped you with color.
Jackie: The color part is the best. It was so easy to get the color placement where I wanted it. And sometimes what I thought I wanted, I didn’t like. EQ gave me the ability to change it up and see the quilts in different ways/looks. EQ is an eye opener in this arena. It makes swapping things out exponentially faster than try to color and re-color with pencils. I am not saying that colored pencils do not have value, but that EQ really opens up the doors for quilters to explore.

Crossroads in EQ7

Crossroads in EQ7

Crossroads finished quilt

Crossroads finished quilt

EQ: How did you learn to use the program?
Jackie: I learned how to use it by following the tutorials within the program as well as some of the awesome books that EQ has! But even better, I still feel there is a lot to learn. So my friend, Lisa and I are coming to the Denver EQ Academy in September, 2016 to learn even MORE! We are super excited. One piece of advice… never stop learning… never!

Climbing Mountains in EQ7

Climbing Mountains in EQ7

Climbing Mountains finished quilt

Climbing Mountains finished quilt

EQ: What advice would you give to someone who is on the fence about buying EQ7?
Jackie: Go for it! What are you waiting for? EQ has so much to offer and I feel like I have just touched the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more. If you want to get creative and see what you can do, EQ can definitely help you.

EQ: Thank you so much for doing this interview with me, Jackie. Where can people find more information about you and your book?
Jackie: It was my pleasure! I would love for people to visit me on my website. From there, they can visit all my social media outlets too. I am literally everywhere… Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Flickr, Google+, and Bloglovin too! They can get a signed copy of my book right from my website too! I also send along a couple little surprises if they order a signed copy from me. But they can also find my book on Amazon, and Shop Martingale too! I hope they will come and visit me and say hello and grab a copy of Splash of Color too!!!

Giveaway time!

Win Jackie Kunkel’s Splash of Color book by answering this question:

Do you actively use social media? If so, which forms?
(i.e. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.)

Comment below! We’ll choose a random winner on Monday, May 2nd!