Just Because

Today is our day to post in the Villa Rosa Blog Hop! Villa Rosa Designs creates “Fast & Fun” quilt patterns featuring pre-cuts like 1/2 yards, fat quarters, 10′′ squares, 5′′ squares, 2 1/2′′ strips, fat eighths, and fat sixths, as well as other fabric cuts like panels. Tricia Maloney, who formats all of the Villa Rosa Designs, uses EQ8 for each one, and designs her own patterns in EQ8, too! EQ8 Giveaway! This giveaway is now closed. See the winner! As part of this amazing Blog Hop, we’re giving away one EQ8!  Please leave a comment below letting us know why you want your own EQ8 to be eligible for the giveaway. We will select one winner at random from all of the submissions on January 27 and announce it the same day. Special Offer For those of you who don’t win, or already have EQ8 and want other fabulous

Over the years, many of you have had the pleasure of interacting with our cofounder, Penny McMorris, either at quilt shows or when you called in to our support line with a question. And many of you also know the story of how Penny and Dean created the first version of Electric Quilt (if you don’t, you can learn more about it here). But did you know how Penny helped to support contemporary quilt artists and about her contributions to the creation of the International Quilt Museum? The International Quilt Museum is home to the world’s largest publicly held quilt collection with the mission to build a global collection and audience that celebrate the cultural and artistic significance of quilts. The IQM was established in June 1997 when Ardis and Robert James donated nearly 1,000 quilts to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is celebrating their 25th anniversary this month! Penny

You can export SVG files for the 4000+ blocks in BlockBase+, which makes it easy to cut the fabric for your blocks using a digital cutting machine. But it also opens up a world of other crafty possibilities using these blocks! In this post, I’ll walk you through the basic steps of exporting an SVG file that you can use for an ornament. I cut the design from heat transfer vinyl (HTV) and applied it to a blank wood slice ornament from the craft store. For more info on using BlockBase+ SVGs, visit our support site. Find a Block Look for a block in BlockBase+ that you’d like to use for your ornament. I’m using Block 3541 from 20 Wheels > 10 Intersecting Straight Lines. I added the block to my Favorites too (that’s why you see a little heart in the corner of the block). I suggest picking a

Do you plan to gift some quilts to family and friends this holiday season? Don’t forget to put a label on the quilt before you wrap it up! It’s important to document your quilts for future generations. And you worked hard on that quilt! You should “sign” your work, just like any other artist. Did you know you can design your own personalized labels in EQ8? Print the labels on EQ Printables Inkjet Fabric Sheets and you’ll have the perfect label for quilt. Create Your Own Quilt Label in EQ8 Below is a simple option that won’t use much ink, but still has a holiday flair! Download the free Lightbulb Border project from DoYouEQ.com. If you are given the option to open or save, choose to save the project. Most browsers will save the project file to the Downloads folder. Open the project file (Lightbulbs.PJ8) in EQ8. View the Project

“No matter how much we evolve as quilters our foundation will always remain rooted in the traditional building blocks of patchwork. Barbara Brackman’s updated Encyclopedia is an essential primer for anyone who is passionate about quilts, whether you are a collector, a maker, a designer, or a historian.” – Tula Pink, Fabric Designer and Quiltmaker As the holidays approach let’s take a look at a book that is the perfect gift for every quilter and quilt lover, the third edition of Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns. The History of Brackman’s Encyclopedia This book is the result of decades of research by quilt historian Barbara Brackman. Barbara initially set out to find the original names of quilt block patterns, but as her research progressed, she realized that task was impossible. The names of different quilt block patterns vary greatly between regions and time periods. Instead, what she created was

You may have thought BlockBase+ was great for printing and exporting blocks for sewing…but did 3D printing ever cross your mind?? It did for our friend Mike Shetter! Mike says, “With BlockBase+ and a 3D printer you can make reusable plastic templates for over 4000 blocks in ANY size you need. BlockBase+ can generate SVG files that can be used to create 3D models that can be printed on any 3D printer.” If you’re curious, here’s a summary of Mike’s 3D printing process starting with BlockBase+. Step 1 – BlockBase+ To create the plastic templates, the first step is to export the SVG file for the block from BlockBase+. It’s important to check the Finished Block Size is correct and that a 1″ square in BlockBase+ equals a 1″ square in your 3D software. Step 2 – 3D Software The next step is to open the SVG file in the

Did you know every third Saturday in March is National Quilting Day? To celebrate we’re offering a free project! It includes the same quilt colored three different ways. And of course with EQ it’s easy to recolor any way YOU want. Click to download National Quilt Day Project for EQ8 Click to download National Quilt Day Project for EQ7 Click to download National Quilt Day Project for EQ Mini Some other ideas to help celebrate are finish an UFO, display a quilt outside your home, clean out your sewing room, buy some fabric or other quilting supplies, spend the day designing quilts or…quilting! Tell us how you’re spending this National Quilting Day!