In November we announced that we’ve teamed up with the Quilts of Valor Foundation® (QOVF) for a special 8-month collaboration! We’re requesting both an image of your EQ-software-QOV design and a picture of the accompanying finished Quilt of Valor®Scroll down below to read more details about this heartwarming event!

Kimberly E.

Last month we featured 4 of the amazing designers who are in the All-Star Quilts of Valor book. This month, one of the designers we’re highlighting is Kimberly Einmo, who not only has a beautiful quilt in the book, but also wrote the Foreward!

She sums up this incredible organization perfectly by saying, “I can think of no greater way to honor these modern-day heroes who have faithfully served our country than with the gift of a Quilt of Valor to show them their service was – and is – appreciated by a grateful nation and will be remembered in a tangible way.” We couldn’t agree more! Here is Kimberly’s elegant quilt, “Stars and Bars”, which was inspired by the ranks worn on epaulets of men and women in the armed forces. Thanks to all those who have and continue to serve, including Kimberly’s husband, Kent!

 

“Stars and Bars” EQ design and finished quilt

Wendy S.

Wendy Sheppard is another accomplished designer. She likes that “quilters are able to encourage soldiers and veterans through quilts!” You can see her patriotic QOV in the Summer 2023 issue of Quilter’s World magazine. Wendy loved combining easy classic blocks in a quilt design and was pleased with how well 9-patches and Ohio Star blocks played together to create her regal “Sweet Land of Liberty” quilt!

“Sweet Land of Liberty” EQ design and finished quilt, featured in the Summer 2023 issue of Quilters World magazine

Using EQ to Design a Quilt of Valor

Both Kimberly and Wendy use EQ to design all of their stunning quilts! You can see both of these talented quilters and their respective gorgeous quilts in major quilting magazines. Kimberly also has several quilting books, a few which the Electric Quilt Company turned into add-ons for EQ8 (reminder, you can use the VALOR25 code toward the purchase of any of these add-ons and save)! And, you can find Wendy’s fun patterns in her Etsy shop.

Whether you’ve had EQ software since the beginning or you’re new to it through this event, here are some tips on how others have used EQ to design QOV, and you can, too! There are only a few requirements to keep in mind when designing an official QOV.

Blocks

Split Back Star block drawing

Split Back Star block with fabric

You can use any of the over 6,700 blocks pre-loaded in EQ8 in your quilt or you can draw your own, including the 2023 QOVF “Split Back Star” block. It’s easy to draw, then you can audition different fabrics until you’ve found the right ones to blend with other elements of the quilt.

Fabrics

“Stars and Stripes” fabrics from Northcott

Speaking of fabrics, you can search by color or name (i.e., try patriotic, America, liberty, etc.) to find appropriate fabrics for your quilt. You can also import fabrics into EQ8, including our November free Fabric of the Month, Northcott’s “Stars and Stripes” collection, which is part of the prize-pack for selected winners (see prizes below)! This collection includes a panel, which can be easily incorporated into a design, so don’t shy away from a meaningful panel.

Free Projects

Magnificent Memorial EQ project

We also offer a free Project of the Month and this month’s project, Magnificent Memorial, is ideal for a QOV! The only thing to note about this star-studded design is that its original size of 34.5 x 34.5 is too small to be recognized as an official QOV. Therefore, all you need to do is open the project, edit the quilt to the Quilt Worktable, go to the LAYOUT tab, and change the size. Quickly changing the center layout to 60 x 60 makes the finished size with borders 69.5 x 69.5, falling right in the middle of recommended sizes.

Quilt Layouts

EQ8 Layout Library

Lap-sized quilt from the EQ8 Layout Library

You can always choose your own quilt layout and develop it from there, but you can also start with a pre-designed layout from the Layout Library. The Layout Library is categorized by size and style. While you can adjust any of these, looking at the Layouts by Size, particularly “Lap,” will get you closest to what is required to be a QOV.

For this example, starting with the “12″ Blocks – 9 Total – 2″ Sashing” lap-sized quilt layout, you’ll see that the overall size of 60 x 60 does not meet QOV guidelines. Similar to the Project of the Month quilt, once the lap-sized quilt is on the Quilt Worktable, go to the LAYOUT tab, and adjust accordingly. For this example, the number of Vertical blocks was easily changed from 3 to 4 which makes the overall size 60 x 74, perfect for a QOV!

Again, those are just a few ideas! What have or will you design? You’ve got 2 more months to submit your quilt to be entered into this event (see rules below). However, whether you’re designing for a particular service member, want to contribute to the ongoing need for these special quilts, make one now or after our collaboration is over, your efforts are greatly appreciated!

Recap

For more inspiration, be sure to check out previous posts! If you’ve already posted some of your quilts, thank you, and be sure to check back to see comments about your awe-inspiring quilts. In additional posts, we’ll include more heartwarming pictures and stories, hoping they will encourage you to submit your own pictures and reasons for making the quilt.

Special offer

There are still 2 months to join in this special project. If you don’t have EQ8, you can save 25% by applying code VALOR25 to your order (expires July 4, 2023).

Or, if you’re more comfortable simply viewing, enjoying, and commenting on any of the patriotic quilts in the posts, please do so!

Submissions and Prizes

You can submit as many different quilts as you want, as long as they meet the requirements. Remember, at the end of this event, all submissions are eligible to win 1 of 3 amazing prize packs, including:

  • a bundle of Northcott’s Stars and Stripes fabric
  • an American Express gift card
  • a copy of the recently released QOV book, All-Star Quilts of Valor (written about in this post!!)

(See the Rules and Prizes sections in the first post.)

Now, please show us your designs and quilts!

How to submit an image of your quilt design from EQ and the photo of your sewn QOV:

  1. On the EQ Quilt Worktable, click the PRINT & EXPORT tab.
  2. Click Export in the ribbon.
  3. In the palette on the left, click Image.
  4. Type a name for your image, choose PNG or JPG as the file type, and click the Save button. (Make sure you know where you’re saving the image on your computer. We recommend saving to your My EQ8 > Images folder.)
  5. We recommend setting the Resolution setting to 150. Quilt and patch lines are optional.
  6. Click Browse by the “Upload an Image of your EQ Design” box to upload the image.
  7. Take a picture of your sewn QOV and save it to your computer. (Again, make sure you know where you’re saving the picture on your computer.)
  8. Click Browse by the “Upload a Photo of the Finished Quilt” box to upload the photo.
  9. Enter why you made the quilt in the Comments field.
  10. Click Submit.