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 friends: Mike and Vicki Shetter!
Tell us a bit about yourselves!
First and foremost — CONGRATULATIONS ON 30 YEARS.
During our stint as Soft Scrap, from about 2006 to 2017, we started working with EQ selling ink jet printable fabric, then one day we talked with Penny about the possibility of selling EQ7…and the journey began.
When did you start using Electric Quilt and how has it changed your quilting life?
Doing up to 25 shows each year we had a chance to meet many interesting, funny and very creative people who were using EQ to design fabulous quilts. I was always amazed, that each time we demonstrated the product or held a class, the room was filled with enthusiasm for the product and unique design ideas.
The training and demonstration process suddenly became much easier and more interactive with the introduction of EQ8. When someone would ask “how do you …” all I had to do was say “look at the screen.” They would look at me then look at the screen and suddenly they understood what EQ8 was all about.
What is your EQ “Pearl of Wisdom” for EQ users?
Ours is simply, “Ask yourself – What do I want to do? – Then look at the screen … the answer is right there!”
What are you up to now and what do you have coming up?
Vicki and I are officially retired…for the second time. After a career in Corporate America and a second career doing quilt shows, it’s time to relax. I’m spending most of my time playing with my 3D printer, including making EQ templates and sewing related “stuff” for Vicki. I’m also spending as much time as I can sailing. Vicki is finally getting to use EQ for her projects rather than booth samples. We also are enjoying time with our family.
Vicki and I wish everyone at EQ happiness and success.
Giveaway
This contest is closed. Winner: Darlene Crosby!
The Electric Quilt Company will be giving away the Inkjet Fabric Sample Pack to one lucky winner! The Sample Pack includes two 8.5″ x 11″ sheets of each our 3 inkjet fabric sheets. Print sharp, photo-quality images for a wide variety of projects including quilt labels, memory quilts, pillows, tote bags, and more!
Question to enter: Tell us, what would you do with the printable inkjet fabric sheets?
Comment below to enter. One entry per person. Contest closes Sunday, December 26 at 11:59pm ET. Winner will be chosen at random and announced in the comments below on Monday, Dec 27.
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!
12-21-2021
6:22 am
I really like the idea of printing quilt labels, and this is what I would do with the printables if I won. Right now I have several quilts in need of a label. What a great idea. Thanks for the chance.
12-21-2021
10:29 am
I would love to include pictures of my family on quilts to personalize for my kids. The sample image is so vivid!
12-21-2021
11:14 am
I import a print of the fabric and use it for the background in my labels. My printer likes the EQ fabric the best. It just eats the rest.
I do lots of charity quilts so need to make lots of labels.
12-21-2021
11:21 am
I’m an amateur photographer and quilter. I have had the great fortune to have traveled the world for corporate America, I would love to print some of my travel memories for a quilt.
12-21-2021
11:24 am
I would definitely print labels designed in EQ8!
12-21-2021
11:26 am
I have a grandson with a camera and I would like to make a quilt with pictures printed from it.
12-21-2021
11:27 am
I love to color and paint on fabric. I would print line drawings on the fabric, paint or color the design and ten make a quilt using the designed fabrics.
12-21-2021
11:31 am
I would print a family tree quilt with pictures.
12-21-2021
11:37 am
I would use them for labels. So much easier the my poor printing.
12-21-2021
11:39 am
So, so many possibilities! I sure could have used this product while making a T-shirt quilt last summer, to include photos of the recipient. Memory quilts, custom designs, labels, Oh! The list is endless.
12-21-2021
11:46 am
To use my original artwork in quilt projects and multi media work with fabric.
12-21-2021
11:49 am
I use the printable for all my labels. It allows me to put so much more information about the quilt on the label.
12-21-2021
11:53 am
Labels! I’ve fallen behind on getting labels on several quilts–something that always comes back to haunt me while teaching beginner classes and exhorting them to label,label,label! I’m also working on a charitable t-shirt quilt for the Local 22 IBEW and would love to have a way to print their logo to center the quilt!
12-21-2021
11:56 am
I would use the sheets to print quilt labels. It is so important to document our quilts. They are tangible history for the next generations of quilters and quilt lovers!
12-21-2021
11:59 am
I would use most of the sheets for making quilt labels but I would love to print pictures of my seven grandchildren to add to a quilt or maybe a tote bag.
12-21-2021
12:01 pm
Labels of course.
12-21-2021
12:07 pm
I finished my very first quilt in October of this year. I have yet to put a label on it. I can’t decide how to do it. I had considered printable fabric. That’s what I would do with the printable fabric if I were to win it.
12-21-2021
12:19 pm
I currently use mine for labels. However, I designed a Valentine quilt in EQ8 with photos of my grandchildren, and it would be fun to have the printables to be actually able to create the quilt.
12-21-2021
12:22 pm
I’ve really wanted to try making a snuggle and read pillow for my grandchildren. They would be so awesome with their picture with a book on the front of them. This would be the perfect product for doing just that.
12-21-2021
12:28 pm
I have been making printable lables for years using freezer paper and quality cotton muslin. The pritable fabric just takes this up another notch and I love how sharp the colors are on the EQ printables. I would use the labels to continue labeling my quilts for the future!
12-21-2021
12:31 pm
I have never used printable fabric but would like to give it a try. I do my labels on my sewing machine then hand sew them to the quilt. This could make it even easier.
Merry Christmas and a Happy Safe 2022.
12-21-2021
12:35 pm
I would love to print old postcards and use them for gift bags and labels for quilts. Thanks for this chance!
12-21-2021
12:36 pm
I would love to print images from old postcards to use for labels and gift bags. Thanks for the chance to win!
12-21-2021
12:41 pm
I would love to do a memory quilt for myself with the babies pictures!!!
12-21-2021
12:54 pm
Make a memory quilt with old family photos for my grand-girl. And labels, of course.
12-21-2021
1:32 pm
Wow. Great idea. Printing labels and photos for sure.
12-21-2021
1:34 pm
A number of years ago I made a small “Busy” quilt for a relative with Alzheimer’s that included pictures of all her family members with their names underneath. The quilt helped her remember/relate when they would visit. I would like to make more of these lap sized quilts for the local nursing home. I would contact relatives requesting that they send or scan photos to me and then create quilts with the names underneath. In some cases, these residents do not have family who live nearby.
12-21-2021
1:36 pm
I love printing unique labels for my quilts & I also love making landscape & memory quilts. I would definitely have the freedom to do it all if I were to win.
12-21-2021
1:40 pm
I recently used the Printable sheets to make two memory quilts with a total of 122 photos! All the photos printed beautifully and the graduates were thrilled with their memories preserved on their quilts!
12-21-2021
1:42 pm
I would use the sample pack to test prints on the different fabrics. Then I would be able to choose which fabric to use for the different quilty printing tasks I have: poetry, action photos, portraits, flowers, my family at different ages, labels, etc!.
12-21-2021
1:48 pm
I’d use the fabric to print pictures that I could put into a quilt.
12-21-2021
1:48 pm
I’d print pictures that I could put into a quilt.
12-21-2021
2:17 pm
I’d print family photos and use them in a quilt for my 92 year old mom
12-21-2021
2:18 pm
Oooh! Labels for sure, photos to add to family quilts, photos and/or designs to use in applique — so many options — anxious to try these!
12-21-2021
2:19 pm
I would use it for labels, as well as photographs for quilts.
12-21-2021
2:30 pm
I love to make memory quilts and pillows. They make awesome gifts.
12-21-2021
2:38 pm
I would print some photos of wooden toys on fabric to use on my new Grandsons baby blanket cars planes and trains
12-21-2021
2:41 pm
Recently my embroidery machine has a mechanical failure, due to the shipping issues the part is not available I’m new to EQ and I was impressed with the ease of printing quilt labels. I will make these labels the final addition to my projects
12-21-2021
2:43 pm
I would make quilt labels. Right now I have to iron fabric onto freezer paper and run it through the printer. The prepared fabric sheets would be so much easier.
12-21-2021
3:03 pm
I would print labels with some pictures that you could color!!!
12-21-2021
3:58 pm
I would put a picture of our aunt in California resting under a tree in Yosemite National Park. She took our family to several historical places in central California. It was an enjoyable and memorable trip. The quilt will be for our aunt.
12-21-2021
4:02 pm
I have been doing quilts for over 30 years, and now I want to do something a little different for me. I would like to start doing art quilts and this would give me the chance to include pictures , and shape that I have altered in some way.
12-21-2021
4:10 pm
I would love to use photographs in my quilting. I would probably use nature photos with birds, flowers and the textures of the natural world. thanks and Happy Holidays.
12-21-2021
4:44 pm
Quilt labels designed in EQ8. So much easier than EQ7.
12-21-2021
4:49 pm
I’ve recently started finishing my labels before quilting my quilt so I can quilt them right into the quilt. I love my EQ printable fabric sheets for labels.
12-21-2021
4:55 pm
I would make quilt labels. I’d also like to try printing a miniature quilt.
12-21-2021
5:24 pm
I would use the inkjet printable fabrics to make memory quilts and ornaments.
12-21-2021
5:33 pm
I find the little girl adorable surrounded by the dresdens. I think a babu quilt with a similar photo in the center surrounded by dresdens in shades of yellow for the sun would be too cute! Thanks.
12-21-2021
5:37 pm
I rescue unfinished quilts and finish them. EQ comes in handy even for that! I like to tell the stories/history of what I can find out about these gems, so the history is not (totally) lost. Using the best possible fabric for labels is really important. So glad EQ has one I can count on!
12-21-2021
5:41 pm
I would love to make a quilt for my grandson that had pictures of all the important people is his life so when he’s missing his us he will have pictures to look at of us and be able to snuggle with us.
12-21-2021
5:48 pm
I would make a memory quilt shadow box for my husband of almost 53 years, of his mother’s and his grandmother’s unfinished yoyos intended for a quilt. There are not enough yoyos for a quilt, so I would include photos printed on your inkjet fabric sheets, in addition to sewing notions that they used to construct the yoyos.
12-21-2021
6:21 pm
AT this point in time, I’m getting ready to make a cover for the crate for our dog, and I would print pictures from when she was a puppy to make a quilted cover. It’s a wire crate and I just have a blanket over it now, so she can feel snug in her sleeping area, I think a quilt would look great.
12-21-2021
6:38 pm
I would use the printer sheets for quilt labels and memory quilts.
12-21-2021
6:45 pm
I have a vision of making a small wall quilt using a pic of my late father in law with a small three quarter dresden plate made from his ties going around the pic. I have the vision perfectly in my head I just need the printable fabric to make it a reality.
12-21-2021
7:07 pm
I would be using the sheets to print sheets with several of the photographs of our Roads Less Gravelled life in our 5th wheel RV. We have been travelling western Canada and have some wonderful wildlife photos. Then I would thread play over them to highlight and embellish sections, and also pad with batting to make the photo have a 3D effect, a technique I have used on many of the Toni Whitney animal applique patterns.
12-21-2021
7:16 pm
I would definitely use it for quilt labels. There is so many creative ways to label a quilt!
12-21-2021
8:10 pm
I would definitely make quilt labels!
12-21-2021
8:46 pm
I would use the printer sheets for labels. I also like using printer sheets to make memory quilts. I have an anniversary coming up I would like to the sheets to make a wall hanging or perhaps a pillow.
12-21-2021
9:53 pm
I would most likely make a photo memory quilt to document the life of our Golden Doodle puppy .
12-21-2021
10:22 pm
I would create personalized labels for my quilts. I use photos and/or clip art. I also choose the fonts and ink colors to coordinate with the style and fabrics in the quilt.
I am already on your mailing list.
12-21-2021
10:33 pm
My Grand daughter loves cows and she wants me to make a quilt with cows on it. I can not find fabric with cows that look like cows or can I find patterns to piece a cow on a block. Printing some pictures of the cows she loves would be a perfect solution for me. Also I have h=just purchased EQ8 and I am hoping to learn how I can make a pieced block of a cow with this program. and then design the whole quilt with EQ8
12-22-2021
12:48 am
I would love to make a quilt for my granddaughter commemorating her journey in Irish dance from the age of 5. We have so many pictures. It would make a wonderful quilt for her bed in her college dorm. I’m also learning EQ8 and think it would be helpful in creating Celtic design blocks to accent the photo blocks.
12-22-2021
1:24 am
I use inkjet sheets to make quilt labels. Love them!
12-22-2021
4:08 am
I would use them to make a memory quilt for my niece who lost her son. She is consumed with grief he was so young.
12-22-2021
4:08 am
Printing images of the ships I quilt on is the ideal way to have a central block on the quilt with a photo of the ship I am on at the time. The EQ printables are amazing for this.
12-22-2021
6:19 am
I will make some keepsake memory items for the guests at my parents 50th wedding anniversary, mug rugs, coasters, a long table runner for the head table, etc.
12-22-2021
6:27 am
I have used the printable fabric and love it. I love the idea of using it for quilt labels!
12-22-2021
7:07 am
My Mum passed in June she was 94 She was an English war bride. My dad was in the Mighty Eigth Airforce in a bomber unit . My mum was in the Royal Observer Corp. She would look at the planes flying over and report in as to what they were. I would love to print pictures of them through the years and make a memory quilt.
12-22-2021
5:26 pm
I would make a wall hanging or throw with family photos of those we lost in 2020. It would be a great way to celebrate with them through out the year! Thank you for such a generous offer. Merry Christmas!
12-22-2021
6:02 pm
I’d use some to print quilt labels, but will also try to actually print a particular fabric that is no longer available. Thank you!
12-22-2021
7:11 pm
I use the printable fabric to make quilt labels. I also use them to print words that can be appliqued to a quilt. Thanks for the giveaway.
12-22-2021
8:00 pm
I would print pictures of myself with the recipient on my labels for the quilts that are give away!
12-22-2021
9:45 pm
I would use the EQ Printable for custom quilt labels and family photos.
12-23-2021
12:39 am
Make a memory quilt for my sister
12-23-2021
7:55 am
Lately I’ve been focusing on UFOs, so printing quilt labels would give me experience printing on fabric and give me labels for my quilts.
12-23-2021
9:24 am
I would use inkjet sheets to print pictures for a memory quilt and for printing pictures that I have colored with artist pencils. Then I would make myself a bag
and a quilt for relatives with the printed pictures!
12-23-2021
9:33 am
Everyone talks about how their kids love their quilts and projects. Not me – my quilts are not cool enough for my family – my nieces and nephews love them, but not my kids. I’d love to win the fabric so I can make pillows and such with the little pics – I know they would love that.
Thank you
12-23-2021
11:21 am
My Mom, who lives in Australia, turned 98 this past August. Before COVID, I visited her every year. Now, I’m not sure I’ll ever see her again. I have saved letters she wrote to me over the years and want to print portions of them onto fabric to include in a quilt. Your sample pack would be perfect to test your products.
Thanks for reading.
12-23-2021
1:38 pm
Labels, pictures, artwork, quotes, personal handwritten messages.
Printed fabric options create so many personal possibilities.
12-23-2021
2:44 pm
I would add a picture to the quilt, or even to the quilt label! I would enjoy adding my grandchildren’s pictures to the quilts! Thank you for a chance to win!
12-23-2021
3:27 pm
I’ve just recently been adding labels to my quilts, so that is what I would print the most.
12-24-2021
8:56 am
I would use your fabric sheet to label my quilt for my very first great granddaughter!
12-24-2021
9:49 am
I have always wanted to make a memory quilt of my family. I have been quilting for many years and I was a garment sewer before that. I think the printable sheets might just be what I need to get me started on my family memory quilt.
12-24-2021
1:42 pm
I use the printable fabric sheets to create custom quilt labels & print photos for my quilts.
12-24-2021
2:26 pm
I’d learn how to make something with our grandkids pictures on it!
12-24-2021
4:08 pm
I would print the photograph of a ripe cotton field I took. Then I would use it use to make a quilt. The quilt will be called100% cotton.
12-24-2021
7:10 pm
I would print nature photos I have taken, then use them in a quilt to practice my thread painting.
12-25-2021
1:35 am
EQ’s printable fabric always prints with the best clarity. I would like to try printing some photos for overstitching for an art quilt
12-25-2021
7:18 am
I started quilting a couple of years ago and realized and had found my artistic niche! Then I found EQ8!! A match made in heaven!
I would like to use the EQ8 to design my own fabric and appliqués and then print them on your inkjet fabric sheets and incorporate them into my quilts and sew some on my clothes as works of art!
Merry Christmas everyone!
12-25-2021
10:17 am
Will make the labels for the quilts
Wish you all the best hugs
12-25-2021
2:46 pm
I would make labels. I love to put pictures of a newborn with the parents on the back of the quilt.
12-26-2021
8:35 am
I love “kiddie art” art made by children. I would print art from my grandchildren, nephews, nieces and just friend’s children. These make such sweet projects. The children love to see the art they created on other items.
12-26-2021
9:50 pm
I’m not sure! I just got EQ8 for Christmas. I am learning to use it. I would love to try it!
01-04-2022
11:07 am
This contest is closed. Winner: Darlene Crosby!