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Let’s discover some easy and quick ways to change existing projects. For example, I’m going to use this month’s free project of the month, Scrappy Sweetheart. You can download the project here. It also includes 50 fabrics! This is just one of over 320 free project downloads for EQ8. Check them all out! Download the project and double-click on the project to open it in EQ8. If you’re having trouble finding the project, please read this. Click the Quilts section Click on the quilt Click Edit This quilt it a little quirky and pretty bright. Let’s try it with some lighter colors. Click DESIGN > Fabric Tools > Randomize > Map to Colors Choose Brightness and click on the quilt to see the brightness level change. Click Add to Project Sketchbook  . If the project is unnamed EQ8 will prompt you to do so. (To be saved, your item needs

Thread is the glue for our stitching.  Without thread, there would be no sewing of any kind.  Art quilters use different mediums to create their amazing masterpieces.  Thread plays a big role in the decorative/embellished look of artsy quilts.  If you can’t draw, like me, I can use EQ8 to help me create my designs first and then use my threads or paints to finish my project. Launch your EQ8 from your desktop.   Click on the ‘create a new project’ icon on the upper left side of the screen.  The project helper screen will open.  Name your project ‘Thread Painting Using EQ8′. Click on the OK at the bottom of the box. Confirm that the project’s name shows at the top of the screen.  Once it is named, everything you add to your sketchbook while working on this project will be listed under this named project. To create a Thread

This lesson is great for anyone starting off with EQ8, or if you want a refresher on the basics! We have lots of other resources available for learning EQ8, as well. Let’s get started! Open EQ8 and click Design a Quilt from scratch For this lesson we are using the default layout and border, but you can learn more about Layouts here and more about Borders here. Please note that in EQ8 always works with finished sizes. When you are choosing sizes for blocks, or anything else, EQ8 adds the seam allowance for you. Click the DESIGN tab > Block Tools > Open Library Beside 01 Classic Pieced click the plus sign + to open that category, then click the Four Patch style Click on Clay’s Choice and click Add to Sketchbook Click Four X to open that style Click on The Arrowhead Click Add to Sketchbook Click Close Click Set Block

This month we’re playing with different ways to make wreaths in EQ8! EQ8 comes with some wreath blocks already installed. Let’s check those out first. Open EQ8 and click Search for block patterns Click Search > By Notecard Type in wreath Check all 3 boxes. Make sure it reads Find at most 300 items. Click Search Click on a wreath you like and click Edit to Block Worktable This is a Polydraw + Applique block, with everything drawn on the Applique tab. If you want to edit here is a lesson about applique blocks. Otherwise, click the COLOR tab and recolor the block, if you’d like. (We’ll be changing the block and recoloring it again in a few steps, if you want to wait.)But, even a spring wreath can look more wintery with some new colors or fabric! One option is to use fabrics from the Fabric Library > Themes >

My favorite colors are Blue, Purple, and Fuschia.  Most of my fabric stash is in these colors.  When I design a quilt or block in EQ8 I often start with grayscale colors and add my favorite colors later.  I prefer to have all my favorite colors in one project that I can return to with future projects and import the fabric library I created with my favorite colors. Open your EQ8 program and create a new project named ‘My Favorite Colors’. I start making my favorite color project by removing all the blocks and fabrics in the EQ program by default.  This way I can create a clean sketchbook with only the blocks and fabric colors I like. In the sketchbook under the blocks heading, click on the three little dots on the upper right side.  Click on the option to ‘clear all unused blocks.   In the pop-up box, click

Working with ombré fabrics in EQ8 may be a little tricky if you don’t understand how images are cropped, repeated (or tiled), and displayed in EQ8. With most fabrics we recommend cropping to the repeat or not more than about 7 inches. Below is a fabric that doesn’t have a repeat so was cropped at a inconspicuous spot. Even when you see where the fabric tiles it isn’t very obvious. (Click on the image to make it larger.) When you place the fabric in a block you can’t see the tilling at all, and even if you did it would be easy to get rid of with a little fussy cutting. But, because of the way ombré fabrics are designed, those techniques don’t work very well.  If you imported this fabric (Peony by Jennifer Sampou)… Cropped it to 7 inches and added it to a block, it would look like

For this month’s Design & Discover I was inspired by Margaret J. Miller’s Block Bender Quilts book, which uses irregular grids. Playing with irregular grids can return some fun and unexpected results. Let’s get started! The first and easiest way to do this is to use a layout from the Layout Library. Open EQ8 Click Design a quilt from scratch Click Libraries > Layout Library >Layouts by Style > Irregular Grids Click on Irregular Grids – 6 or Irregular Grids – 7. (In the example I used Irregular Grids – 7.) Click Edit to Quilt Worktable. Click the DESIGN tab > Block Tools > Set Block Experiment with different blocks and the effects they create. Remember holding down the Ctrl/Command key on your keyboard will set the block in each patch. Click Fabric Tools and recolor. It can really make a big difference! When you are done, click Add to