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!  :-D

This week’s featured friend: Linda Franz!

A bit about Linda!

Starting in 2001, Linda has been on the leading edge with her self-published books, downloadable books, CDs and DVDs. Inklingo (US Patent 7,814,832) is her proudest achievement. Her love of hand piecing inspired her to invent Inklingo—a method of printing shapes on fabric with any ordinary Inkjet—but its most profound effect will ultimately be on the way quilters machine piece and appliqué.

When did you start using Electric Quilt and how has it changed your quilting life?

I started using EQ with the first Windows version (EQ4) in 2001 when I was working on my first book, Quilted Diamonds – Jane Austen, Jane Stickle & Friends. I drew all of the diamonds in Electric Quilt software for the book because that was the software that was familiar to me. Since they are vector files, I was able to easily convert EQ project files into a format that was usable by the book printer. I learned very quickly how supportive and generous Penny McMorris is. She encouraged me to produce an optional CD to go with the book with all of the diamonds for quilters who use EQ. That book and the CD have been reprinted many times since 2002 and are still available on my website.

Quilted Diamonds

I met Penny and Dean in person on my first trip to Quilt Market in 2002 and had a booth next to them the next year. They were very generous with advice. One of my favorite memories was having dinner together (including Monkey) when the wonderful Barb Vlack treated us with her famous homemade marshmallows.

Linda Franz’s booth in Houston, 2002

Electric Quilt’s booth in Houston, 2002

I have included information about using EQ with Inklingo in my books (downloads and paper) many times over the years, including my newest one, Winding Ways Quilting the Inklingo Way (April 2021).

Quilted Diamonds designed by Linda in EQ

What is your EQ “Pearl of Wisdom” for EQ users?

There are so many great tools with Electric Quilt that it is hard to pick just one tip. Many quilters do not realize that every version of EQ is “backward compatible” so even old projects drawn in EQ4 or EQ5 can be opened and edited with EQ8. You don’t lose anything when you upgrade to get the next new tools. The tracing tool in EQ7  (and newer) has been very useful to me. I can import a photo or hand drawing and trace it with EQ7. I also like to use EQ to count the shapes required from a particular fabric.

Quilted Diamonds 2

What are you up to now and what do you have coming up?

There is a lot going on with Inklingo! I publish new Inklingo shape collections at frequent intervals, so there will be many more in 2021 and 2022. In many cases, I also add a free EQ project file on the All About Inklingo blog, so you might want download those and subscribe so you know when there is another new one. I am planning more hardcover books for quilt shops once we can all shop in person again.

My newest book (April 2021) is a beautiful hardcover, Winding Ways Quilting the Inklingo Way. It is for quilters who use freezer paper templates or who print shapes on fabric with Inklingo in a choice of 5 sizes. There is a short video describing it here.

Giveaway

This contest is closed. Winner: Claudia Rickel!

If you would like to win a free copy of the hardcover book Winding Ways Quilting the Inklingo Way, please enter by letting me know your favorite quilt design. For example, Sunflower, Hexagons, Dresden Plate, etc. There are many free EQ project files on the All About Inklingo blog to complement the Inklingo shape collections, so even if you do not win the new book, there are many free project files for you!

Question to enter:  What’s your favorite quilt design? 

Comment below to enter. Contest closes Sunday, October 17 at 11:59pm ET. Winner will be chosen at random and contacted via email.

Winding Ways Quilting the Inklingo Way

Quilt designed by Linda 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!

View all Pearls of Wisdom posts >>