EQ8

CONTEST IS CLOSED! Thanks for participating! Click to see who won! Get your EQ Academy enrollment paid for—up to $360 value! One random winner will be selected and announced on January 10, 2020. See what classes are being offered! THREE WAYS TO ENTER! Enter the contest by commenting on this blog post, on our Facebook post, on our Instagram post, or ALL three places! (You do not need to enter in all three places, but you can if you’d like!) All entries will be tallied together to choose one winner. FOR ENTRY: “Name an EQ8 class topic you would like offered at EQ Academy.” Comment below with your answer (on this blog post). Comment with your answer and tag a friend on our contest Facebook post. Comment with your answer and tag a friend on our contest Instagram post. Contest closes January 9, 2020 at midnight ET. Good luck! Contest

Du nouveau! Des livres en français pour EQ! EQ8 has enthusiastic users around the world! Did you know that the EQ8 User Manual and EQ8 Lessons for Beginners books are available in other languages? We are excited to share with you the translations provided by EQ8 users in the languages below. Spanish Translation Available (Traducción al español disponible) Lessons for Beginners in Spanish, or Lecciones para Principiantes, was translated by Marga Jackson, but it was completed thanks to the collaboration of her namesake Margarita Gutierrez, the person who prompted her to translate the book. Marga has tried to keep the soul of the design of the original edition, whilst constantly having to create more room for the extra lengthy Spanish words! She has also kept the English words that were necessary to keep the flow of work in English, and added a small booklet, included with the book, that contains

EQ8 is so versatile.  Not only can you create quilts, but with the Image worktable, you can create any image you wish using the EQ tools and blocks to create a photo design.  You don’t need to worry about block size or placement on the quilt layout table.  Just arrange the images and blocks in the way you want your layout to look and then save the image to your computer to use for sending best wishes to people through any internet medium you choose (Facebook, Instagram, messenger, etc).  Try this project and send your image in an email to that special person in your life or just post it to the internet for everyone to see. Start by opening your EQ8 program and click on the quilt worktable icon  on the upper right side of the screen. Set the layout to be 1 block horizontal quilt layout with the

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

The new school year is right around the corner. Here’s a round up of our favorite Back to School-inspired projects! Please note: You must have EQ8, EQ7, or EQ Mini software to use these project downloads. Awesome Academics Click here to download the project file for Awesome Academics. Back to School Click here to download the project file for Back to School. Welcome Back Click here to download the project file for Welcome Back. Schoolhouse Quilt Click here to download the project file for Schoolhouse Quilt. Outstanding Orchard Click here to download the project file for Outstanding Orchard.

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