EQ8 Lessons with Yvonne

Fall colors are rich and vibrant. Fall to me means colored leaves, pumpkins, and cooler evenings with bright sunny days.  Looking around outside you can see that every color imaginable is represented in nature.  The colors blend, contrast, and define each other.  Therefore, anything goes!!  I design in fabric prints, solids, and a gradient palette of my own making.  All of this is possible to do in EQ8. When I am designing I may not necessarily be making a pattern to follow. Often, my design is simply a source of visible inspiration.  I can ‘see’ how the quilt will look when completed.  EQ8 is often a place for me to just test out ideas. The easiest way to stir creativity is to begin with an idea and build on that.  Often, I am under a time crunch so I will look in the huge EQ8 library first rather than try

When teaching classes, I often design my pattern and notes in gray scale.   If I use color, the students like to reproduce my work and make theirs exactly as I have done.  If I create in gray scale, the students seem to feel more free to use their own fabrics in their own favorite colors.  EXAMPLE–Show a child’s quilt in blues and they automatically assume it is for a boy.  If they wanted a quilt for a girl, they dismiss attending the class based on the picture of the blue child quilt.  So designing in gray tones and suggesting coloration options often works out better.  The students become more individual and creative without further influence from myself.  I love the value of  unique  creative expression. Open your EQ program. Click on the quilt worktable icon at the upper right side of the screen. Before we begin our quilt layout we

I absolutely love doing paper piecing because of the accuracy.  My points always match and my material is always stable with the paper pattern.  But, just because you can draw a pieced design does not necessarily mean it can be easily paper pieced. Two of the biggest issues I see when teaching paper piecing drafting is that the images people want to paper piece can’t really be sewn with a paper piecing method, or they are so complex the beginner designer may just give up.    The other concern is when you design a paper pieced block that has multiple seams coming together at one place and it creates an impossible bulk in the seams that are difficult to make it lie flat with pressing.  These issues can be prevented when thinking ahead during the pattern drafting process. Take a look at the image below.  It is very intricate and

Spring is coming up fast.  It makes me think of new beginnings with new fresh flowers and the leaves budding on the trees.  This inspires me to start a new quilt celebrating the flowers sprouting up from the cold winter ground. Open your EQ8 program and click on the ‘design a block from scratch’ heading on the opening page. On the block worktable, click on the new block tab>applique>motif. On the block properties bar at the top of the worktable, set the block size to 8 x 8 inches. In the drawing tools box at the left click on the shapes icon and then click on the stencil maker icon. In the dialogue box, use the slider bars to change the shape of the elements to create a flower like design then click OK to place it onto the worktable. Once the design is on the worktable and still selected,

I was at an EQ8 class not too long ago and we were all making quilt layouts.  I was laughed at because my layout was so intricate that one observer said “You would never make that!”.  It had so many details to the piecing pattern in multiple sizes that it would indeed have been a challenge.  I often play with my EQ8 program to see what I can create.  But, I may not necessarily have the time to make it in fabrics.  No problem!  EQ8 lets me still be creative and use the most intricate of patterns I can think up. I find designs very interesting if they are one block only made in multiple sizes and all sewn together.  This can be accomplished easily using the custom set quilt layout options in the EQ8 program. Open your EQ8 program.  On the opening page, click on the work on quilt

Christmas evokes all kinds of childhood memories for me.  Some people think of the tree and decorations, some think of presents under the tree, some think of the amazing Christmas meal, but I think of Winter Wonderland.  I love Winter.  I loved being outside in the crisp clear air with the sparkle of snow surrounding me.  I think of ice skating, making snowmen, sledding and tobogganing.  I am 65 years old now and I tried ice skating a little while ago.  It did not go well!  But, I can relive my childhood with a Winter Wonderland quilt theme. Open your EQ8 program.  On the opening page, click either on the ‘design a block from scratch’ or on the ‘block worktable icon’. On the block worktable, under the ‘new block tab’, click on the ‘applique icon’ and then click on the ‘motif icon’. NOTE: A motif is an applique without the

I absolutely love Bargello Quilts.  I love the colors, the movement, and the ability to create them so very easily in EQ8.  I can choose to use an EQ8 quick quilt layout option or I can design my own strips.  The options to create these are endless.  These designs look complicated but they are so easy to design and stitch that even a beginner can create these beautiful masterpieces. Bargello Quilts are simply, vertical strip quilts.  On each vertical strip, you define the number of blocks and the sizes of the blocks.  You also decide on the number of strips and the width of the strips.  Of course, you can easily insert a strip with no blocks to section off your quilt layout.  The design is entirely up to you. Open your EQ8 program.  On the opening page, click on the Start With A Quick Quilt project icon.  In the Project