With the Independence Day holiday coming up, I though a patriotic theme was in order.  There are so many wonderful blocks in EQ that are available to use.  Sometimes, however,  I have an idea that looks close to one of the block designs, but I want to change it up a bit and make it my own.  Using the power of  EQ8 , you can edit and tweak the block to design your own creation.  In this lesson,  we will deep dive into editing a block several ways.  We will update the drawing, resize a few things, draw a block, merge some blocks, and combine an easy draw block with applique to get to this super cute 4th of July design!

We are going to start with a vintage farm truck and take it up a notch with a patriotic spin.

Let’s get started.

Patriotic Parade Table Runner

Skillset: Advanced Beginner/ Intermediate

Size: 13″ x 40″

Skill Builders:

  • Searching Blocks
  • Editing Blocks
  • Merging Blocks
  • Combining an Easy draw block with Applique

On to the DESIGN…

  1. Open EQ8.
  2. Let’s name the Project.  The project name appears at the top left of the EQ8 Window. Right now the project says Untitled – EQ8.
  3.  On the left side toolbar, click the New project button.  
  4.  On the Create a new project tab, type in the project name field Patriotic Parade.
  5.   Click OK.  The box will close.  Notice the project name Untitled has been replaced with Patriotic Parade.
  6.   From the Home Page, under DRAW BLOCKS, select Search for Block Patterns.
  7. Search > By Notecard
  8. Enter “Truck’ in the text window.  All the blocks with truck in the notecard will display.
  9. Select the “Pickup Truck”in red that is facing left and looks the most like a vintage farm truck.  Add to Sketchbook.
  10. Select Current Sketchbook while still in the block libraries.  You will see the pickup truck we just added.  Select it, then select the Edit to Block Worktable button.  Hint: If you double click the pickup truck, it will take you to edit on the block worktable as well.
  11. Select the Applique tab to show the pickup truck applique pieces.  Take a look at the precision bar and make sure the block is 12″ x 12″,.  Snaps and Graph paper cells horizontal and vertical should be 48.  Make sure the first two snap tools are pressed. They will show a solid blue background when pressed.
  12. I want to make the truck bed of the truck a little larger so we can put  something into it.    First, we will select the whole truck and move it to the left.
  13. Select the Pick tool.  Click to the top left of the block and drag a marquee square around the entire truck to select it.  Once it is selected, hover over the center of the truck until you see the large cross hairs and move the truck to the left leaving about 1/4 ” from the block edge.
  14. Select the edit tool, then click on the back end of the truck bed.  We are going to drag the points to make it larger, pull it until you have just a 1/4′ before the block edge.  Add to Sketchbook.
  15. I want to put a block in the bed of the truck.  We can’t merge applique blocks, so we are going to be clever.    We need to get the coordinates from the truck applique picture of where the square should be drawn in order to make it look like it is sitting in the bed of the truck.  Then we can use those coordinates to draw a new easy draw block.  We will merge that easydraw block with a star block in the little square we created for the truck bed.  To figure out the coordinates, we will shift from the truck applique tab to the truck easy draw tab and draw some lines.  These are guide lines to determine the coordinates only, we are not going to use this drawing.  Because we can see the truck applique here, it is easier to figure out the coordinates and placement of the little square.  That was a long explanation!  Let’s try it step by step.
  16. Select Easydraw tab.  I was able to draw a four inch square sitting on the truck bed.  Here are the coordinates we will need for the next step.  A ->(2″, 7.5″ ) B ->(2″, 11.5″) C ->(6″, 7.5″)  D ->(6″, 11.5″)

  17. Lets draw a new Easydraw block with those coordinates to create the little square.  New Block > Pieced > Easydraw
  18. Start by choosing the Line drawing tool and drawing two horizontal lines from edge to edge, one at the 2″ mark and one at the 6″ mark.
  19. Draw one vertical line from edge to edge at the 7.5″ mark.
  20. Draw the final vertical line to finish the small square starting at your 2′, 11.5′ coordinate and down to the 6′, 11.5″ coordinate.
  21. Go to the Color tab and color in the background of the block.  I used a light blue.
  22. Add to sketchbook.
  23. Now we will use this block to merge with a star block to put in the bed of the truck.  While still in the block work table, Choose Create Serendipity > Merge Blocks
  24. On the left side, scroll down to the easydraw block we created and select it.  On the right side, pick the block to merge, the EQ Default Ohio Star.  EQ8 will look for blocks in the first block to drop the second block into in order to merge.  You may have to click on the little square to get it to show in there.  Once you have it, Click the button to Add to Sketchbook.
  25. Now that we have the combined or merged block with the star.  We are going to add the truck back in.
  26. View Sketchbook, open the truck block we edited earlier. Make sure you are on the Applique tab. Select the Pick tool.  Click to the top left of the block and drag a marquee square around the entire truck to select it.  Once it is selected,use the copy shortcut keys to copy it.  For Windows use CTRL + C, For Mac, use CMD + C.  It is magically saved behind the scenes.
  27. View Sketchbook, open the easydraw block with the little ohio star to Edit.  Make sure you are on the Applique tab.  Paste the truck onto the block with the shortcut keys.  For Windows CTRL + V, for Mac CMD + V.  It should paste onto the block.  While it is still highlighted and the whole thing selected, hover over to get the large cross hairs and arrange the truck so that the little star is resting on the bed using the 1/4″ edges as a guide.  You may have to practice these steps a few times to get the hang of it.  Once you have the truck successfully placed with the little star showing in the truck bed, we can color the block.
  28. Go to the Color tab and color in the truck and star.
  29. Quilt Worktable >New Quilt, > Horizontal
  30. Layout > No of Blocks 3H. 1V, Finished Size of Blocks is 12″ x 12″, Sashing width only 1.5″
  31. Border > Mitered, .5″ all around to mimic binding
  32. Design > Block Tools, Set Block, Drop in your finished block.
  33. Design > Fabric Tools, Paintbrush, color your blocks, sashing and border.

Congrats!  You can use this block how you like!  Make the table runner or how about one on a pillow, or all three on a bench pillow for summer?   I changed the coloring on the stars for each truck on this to add interest.  The copy and paste technique can be used for other blocks or in different ways, experiment!  Happy Designing!

Questions or Feedback

Please share your ideas, questions and feedback in the comments. I would love to hear from you. Thanks!

Lori J. Miller lives in Oxford, Michigan, where she designs, stitches and sews quilts and quilty things. She loves experimenting with fun colors and designs to make playful and clever products for the modern sewist.  Lori continues to share her knowledge with others teaching quilting and EQ8 classes around the country.  A self professed EQ8 superfan, you can follow her quilting adventures on her blog at lorimillerdesigns.com or on instagram @lorimillerdesigns