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: Melissa Corry!
A bit about Melissa!
Melissa started quilting as a hobby in 2005 but since starting her blog, Happy Quilting, in 2010 her hobby has turned into a passion. Her passion for quilting has lead to creating her own designs that she shares as tutorials, published works, a pattern line, and even her own books, Irish Chain Quilts and Charming Baby Quilts. Melissa loves designing and finds inspiration in just about everything and anything. Melissa, her husband and their five children live in Cedar City, Utah. To see more of her daily quilting adventures check out her blog Happy Quilting.
When did you start using Electric Quilt and how has it changed your quilting life?
I have been using EQ for over 10 years and can’t imagine designing quilts without it!!! I absolutely love the ability to take a sketch on a napkin, and draft up a quilt, complete with my fabric choice. I am truly able to see how the quilt will turn out before cutting the first square. I love this software and use it for every quilt I make, which is a whole lot of quilts.
What is your EQ “Pearl of Wisdom” for EQ users?
A Pearl of Wisdom I would share is to take advantage of the ability to import fabric lines. I love being able to see exactly what a certain fabric line will look like in the quilt design. And I often use it to decide on the layout of my print blocks, so I don’t have to do that with the actual blocks all over the floor. EQ8 has lots of Basic fabrics already imported, like Moda Grunge, and Kona Cottons, and Bella Solids which is super handy. But if you want to see a specific fabric line in your design, you can always import image files. And most fabric companies have a place where you can directly import the jpeg’s of a fabric line, so you don’t have to copy and paste each one into a jpeg. It’s super slick, super convenient, and truly the best way to really get the idea of what your quilt will look like when it is all done!!
What are you up to now and what do you have coming up?
I am always working on something new, it just wouldn’t be fun without a whole bunch of projects being jumbled around. I am currently working on a new book proposal, a few new patterns, some in-person teaching opportunities, including one on a cruise in 2022!!! It should be a great new year. To make sure you catch all that I am up to, be sure and follow me on my blog, Facebook, and Instagram @happyquiltingmc.
Giveaway
This contest is closed. Winners: Judy, Elaine in North Texas, and Debra L Reber! Winners will be contacted via email.
Melissa is giving away a Happy Quilting PDF pattern to 3 lucky winners! Each winner can pick from any of the 28 Happy Quilting Patterns.
Question to enter: What about quilting makes you the happiest?
Comment below to enter. Contest closes Sunday, September 19 at 11:59pm ET. Winners will be chosen at random and contacted via email.
Melissa is also giving away a free project for EQ! You can also view a step by step tutorial for making the project in EQ here.
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!
09-14-2021
10:13 am
The thing that makes the happiest about quilting is giving a quilt to a loved one or to some one in need.
09-14-2021
10:19 am
I am happiest when piecing and the design starts to come together. That said I love all parts of quilting, shopping for fabric picking a pattern or mocking up one and then piecing and quilting. The binding is usually the least favorite task!
09-14-2021
11:20 am
playing on the design wall
09-14-2021
11:21 am
Quilting is my happy place. I am happiest when piecing! I love taking simple shapes and creating so many different beautiful blocks from them. And giving them away is wonderful too.
09-14-2021
11:22 am
Everything about quilting makes me happy. When I started I had parts that I didn’t like but now the whole process is my meditation.
09-14-2021
11:24 am
I am happiest when a project is all finished! I enjoy every part of the process; design, cutting, sewing and quilting.
09-14-2021
11:28 am
I am happiest when I have completed a quilt and give it to whomever it is going to.
09-14-2021
11:32 am
My favorite part of quilting is watching a quilt go from paper to finished block. While EQ8 lets me plug in my fabric for a great preview of the finished quilt, the completed quilt top is always so much better !
09-14-2021
11:54 am
My favorite thing is playing with blocks and esp fabrics to design a layout for the quilt top. I do a lot of scrap quilting using up smaller pieces of fabric, and the results are sometimes surprising.
09-14-2021
12:00 pm
I’m happiest designing patterns and then spending hours in the fabric store selecting colours and fabfrics.
09-14-2021
12:04 pm
What a great question, although I find it a bit of a challenge to answer as I love every aspect of quilting. I guess I have to focus on how my heart warms when I make a quilt for a gift, or for charity. I like to think about how it will be used as I plan the design, select the colors, pick the fabric and thru out the entire quilting process. It brings me joy to think about how it will provide comfort and love as they cuddle in the quilt which I make uniquely for them.
09-14-2021
12:08 pm
Love putting color together in different shapes and patterns and creating a useful piece of art that family and friends can enjoy.
09-14-2021
12:12 pm
I like to quilt with brightly colored fabric. That makes me happiest when I finish and one of my grandkids ask to have it.
09-14-2021
12:18 pm
What makes me the most happy about quilting is being able to gift something I have made to someone I love. It’s like sharing a piece of my heart with the recipient.
09-14-2021
12:21 pm
Stitching with friends, and gifting quilts. So much joy in both these activities.
09-14-2021
12:32 pm
I enjoy the piecing the most. Now that I have a long arm, the quilting is a close second.
09-14-2021
12:40 pm
I enjoy sharing as much of the quilting process of possible w my 99 yr old mother who gave me the wonderful quilting bug. She’s in skilled nursing and all her UFOs reside at my house. Now I am finishing those UFOs one at a time, consulting with her on fabrics, borders and the quilting design. Whenever our visit starts with quilting, the conversation goes deeper. Like music, art and quilting brings her more present and we are both blessed.
09-14-2021
12:42 pm
Creating something from my heart and giving it to a loved one.
09-14-2021
12:45 pm
The happiest part of quilting to me is the joy of seeing a finished project going to great use by a chosen recipient. I love to see my quilts being used on beds or to make forts in the living room since I want my love to surround my favorite people.
09-14-2021
12:51 pm
Happiness is found when I am in my quilt cave playing with fabrics that result in a one of a kind quilt for someone special.
09-14-2021
12:52 pm
I like touching the textiles and playing with the colors of the fabrics—so quilting is perfect to allow me to be creative.
09-14-2021
1:18 pm
I love the creativity in the ever-changing quilting world whether it’s a technique or tool or color. Our craft is always changing just like the world we live in. It brings me peace.
09-14-2021
1:26 pm
I have always enjoyed every part of quilting until recently when I realized I don’t enjoy binding as much as the rest. But the part I enjoy most is when I see all the different pieces and colors come together and make a beautiful quilt.
09-14-2021
1:39 pm
Apart from making something pretty with my favorite craft, I have enjoyed all the other people I’ve met at guild meetings, retreats, and over the internet. So much learning and inspiration!
09-14-2021
1:40 pm
I just love it when a design comes together and I can see where it is going. That said, I also love the “feels” we both get when I present a finished project to a loved one.
09-14-2021
1:44 pm
I love to make quilts to give away either to a family member or a person in need. My family is quite large so there always seems to be either a new baby or a wedding. Both are blessed events that should be marked by a new quilt. I also enjoy participating in BOMs at my local quilt shop where we are challenged with a new pattern and having to find fabric that will go together to make a stunning quilt.
09-14-2021
2:08 pm
The part of quilting that makes me the happiest is giving the finished quilt to the recipient. It is always a joy.
09-14-2021
2:12 pm
I love all aspects of quilting. Cutting the pieces, piecing the puzzle pieces, sewing and even IRONING the blocks. Probably the MOST REWARDING part is gifting a quilt to someone (who values the time and effort it takes to create a work of love), and seeing the look on their face!!
09-14-2021
2:23 pm
There is nothing more satisfying that finishing a quilt. The planning to piecing to quilting is a great deal of work but when it is finished – aaahhhh! Such bliss. I retired just so I could quilt more. LOL
09-14-2021
2:36 pm
I love the learning that takes place as I tackle a new project. Whether it is learning about how different colors change the look, a new piecing technique, playing with the pieces on my design wall or researching best quilting designs for the finished product, all of it keeps my brain active and engaged.
09-14-2021
2:38 pm
I’m happiest when I see the final result of my vision for a quilt go from EQ to an actual finished quilt.
09-14-2021
2:58 pm
When I am quilting/sewing, I get so lost in thought; and it is my great escape. I do some of my best thinking when quilting. All aspects of the process make me happy, and I don’t think I have a favorite part because they all possess something different….from the shopping for fabric, to dreaming up the pattern, to sewing it together, to quilting, and then to giving it away as a gift to a loved one. It is easy to see how much I love quilting!
09-14-2021
2:58 pm
It CALMS me!
09-14-2021
3:02 pm
I love the creativity involved in quilting. Turning fabric into something beautiful and also useful is so exciting for me. It brings me so much joy to know that whomever I’ve gifted the quilt to loves it and appreciates the work that was a labor of love!
09-14-2021
3:24 pm
I have the original HQ16 on a 10 foot frame and I find when I am quilting on it whether with my QBot computer system or freemotion quilting I am totally absorbed in the project and relaxed- any worries I might have fade away for that time. I quilt a lot of Quilts of Valor and charity quilts and find it very rewarding to have a finished quilt to give away.
09-14-2021
3:33 pm
When I look at a finished project and am proud of it.
09-14-2021
3:42 pm
I am happy when i am quilting as it helps me forget about the stressors of work. I am in essential services and quilting is a great therapy
09-14-2021
4:03 pm
The people! I never met a stranger in a quilt store.
My dearest friends are quilters. They lift me up, challenge and inspire me, and make me a better person. Cheers for the quilting community!
09-14-2021
4:12 pm
I love sewing the pieces together and putting them up on my design wall to see the whole quilt evolve. My design studio is right in the living room, so I can work while my husband is watching TV.
09-14-2021
4:25 pm
I am happiest when I can be with my quilting friends, sharing what we made or sharing tips/tricks and teaching.
09-14-2021
4:29 pm
I love quilting because I can always challenge my brain with a new project or different aspect of quilting. (my mom and sister have passed from alzheimer’s so it’s essential to me to keep my brain active). There are so many types from basic piecing, hand piecing, english paper piecing, freezer paper paper piecing, foundation paper piecing, embroidery, well you get the idea. I love it all. It is just my happy place.
09-14-2021
5:02 pm
The thing that makes me the happiest about making quilts is seeing the pattern emerge as I piece. The perfect alignment of the units as they come together into an amazing design makes my heart sing.
09-14-2021
5:39 pm
What makes me happiest when I am quilting is adding the last stitch when I am hand sewing the binding down by hand. I often want to do the happy dance to celebrate all of that time , and creative energy that goes into making something so beautiful even if it’s meant to be given away to bring someone else joy. I can’t imagine my life without quilting.
09-14-2021
5:53 pm
I love planning and Piecing. Especially sewing on projects with my sister.
09-14-2021
6:55 pm
I love seeing the shock and awe their face when they open the wrapping paper on a quilt I have made as a gift.
09-14-2021
8:13 pm
My favorite aspect of quilting is the marrying of color and texture. The right color and texture combinations can make a simple design rich and more complex or keep a complex design fresh and interesting.
09-14-2021
8:51 pm
The happiest part of quilting is hand stitching the binding. It gives me time to reflect on its making, the colors, the pattern, the problem solving and the family member that I love who will soon have it wrapped around them.
09-14-2021
10:54 pm
It is hard to say one thing about sewing that tops the list. Some days it buying fabric, Then coming up with design or pattern. I love cutting, pressing, sewing the pieces and seeing the magic come to life as a quilt. Now it is time to design the quilting part. Love it all. It is hard to give it away. I love EQ8.
09-14-2021
11:24 pm
My favorite part is seeing the way the colors “play” with each other. Sometimes the way I had hoped, and other times I am happily surprised.
09-15-2021
3:14 am
I’d say, the happiest thing is planning and buying fabric, but seeing the blocks sewn together in a top comes a close second!
09-15-2021
6:33 am
My favorite parts of quilting are opening a new FQB knowing what I’m going to make and putting the binding on.
09-15-2021
7:13 am
Using EQ to design new quilts for teaching on the ships! I love it!
09-15-2021
7:37 am
I also enjoy the whole process, but my favorite is when I sew the finial stiches on the binding, awe the satisfaction of a finished quilt.
09-15-2021
7:43 am
Getting a project completed is what makes me happiest when quilting.
09-15-2021
9:12 am
The thing that makes me happiest while quilting is being able to surround myself in wonderful colors and patterns. I love manipulating the colors and patterns until they tell the story that is in my heart for that quilt to share with the outside world.
09-15-2021
9:27 am
Quilting is my daily therapy session. I learned how to sew from my mother very young, but when I saw my first quilt in a shoppe I was hooked. I have had many events in life that were very difficult to get through. Quilting allowed me time to process my feelings through every stitch. My daughter going off to college was really hard on me. I cried through every stitch until I became so excited working on a project that it lifted my spirit. I continue to grow and know that I can get through hard things.
Quilting is my lifeline and brings me enormous buckets of happiness <3
09-15-2021
10:06 am
I really love designing or selecting a pattern and then picking fabrics for it, and seeing it come together in a quilt. But most of all, I love seeing the faces of the recipients when they get a hand-made quilt from me.
09-15-2021
10:10 am
I have an advanced case of rheumatoid arthritis and quilting gives me the chance to be creative and also a sense of accomplishment. I love giving away what I make to those I love and those in need. EQ allows me to make a dream into reality!
09-15-2021
4:08 pm
I am happiest designing in EQ8! Love how easy it is to make original designs and color them.
09-15-2021
4:54 pm
The thing that makes me happiest about quilting is the final touches that indicates it done, time to gift it, and start a new project. I’m a novice at using EQ8 but I jumped right in and designed my first quilt. I think having complete control over a quilt from the design stage to the final state of binding will be very rewarding.
09-15-2021
8:55 pm
I am fairly new to quilting; however, I get into my zone when quilting. I love piecing it together. I find quilting to be relaxing: it brings me peace and tranquility. I’m in my happy place while sewing the pieces together.
09-15-2021
9:11 pm
What makes me happiest is the time spent praying for the recipient of the quilt as I make it!
09-17-2021
3:35 am
No matter how sick I am, nor how fatigued I get, quilting takes me to a place where nothing else matters! From designing, to piecing, to quilting, to giving this to that special person – quilting is the best therapy!
09-18-2021
8:31 am
Nothing makes me happier than sitting in my quilting room, putting something together to gift to someone and the anticipation of them receiving it.
09-18-2021
8:42 am
I love to learn! When I attend classes and trunk shows by quilters and designers it satisfies a thirst for putting my knowledge to work! Thank you, Melissa for your expertise!
09-18-2021
6:59 pm
I am happiest when I finish a project or quilt. It gives me a sense of accomplishment and I can take on the next project.
09-18-2021
8:46 pm
I love finding ways to use leftover fabric pieces in new projects. Of course sharing ideas & techniques with others is always fun.
09-19-2021
2:29 am
I love seeing the smiles on people’s faces when they receive a quilt. Someday I will buy EQ.
09-19-2021
9:14 am
I love the relaxation I get from feeding patches of fabric into the machine.
09-19-2021
10:07 pm
The thing I like most about quilting is making special gifts for family & friends!
09-19-2021
11:59 pm
What makes me the happiest, well… I took up quilting after a back surgery that don’t go as planned, I had to give up most all my other passions and find new ones, I found quilting about a year ago. I love making and doing and most of all it helps with easing my pain on bad days, and I can feel proud of what I’m doing. Even tho I have a long way to go with learning, I’m happiest sewing.
09-20-2021
9:46 am
This contest is closed. Winners: Judy, Elaine in North Texas, and Debra L Reber! Winners will be contacted via email.